Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 5: Autonomy in Property

The problem for Franz was that it was costly to travel, and although the life of Austrian aristocrats was one of extravagance, he didn't have the freedom to spend much money. Franz's only income was pocket money given to him by his parents--specifically, by his mother--and that was limited.

There was property in his name, but Franz had yet to receive it. The finances of the family were under his mother's control, a fact to which his father was indifferent.

Of course, getting money could be a mere trifle, considering his status; however, Franz cherished his reputation, so something like extortion would be out of the question.

It was also not a good time to invest in industries, considering the current climate in Europe. The February Revolution was about to break out in France, and then revolution would spread quickly throughout the European continent, with everywhere but Russia suffering greatly. Historically, Franz knew, Vienna would spend time under the control of the rebels. If the rebels burned his factories down, to whom could he run and cry?

After considering all the businesses with quick, immoral profits, such as reselling arms, dealing drugs, making counterfeit money, and issuing lottery tickets, Franz decided that mining and salvaging sunken treasures might be suitable for him.

After some calculations, though, Franz reluctantly had to abandon all these attractive options. The reason was simple: he was the heir to the Austrian Empire, not just any old capitalist. Conservatives would be disappointed to see a capitalist emperor, and Franz knew he needed their support, for the revolution in Vienna was around the corner.

"Franz, are you studying again? Young people should be active, and yet you're so dull. Why don't you come hunting with me?"

It was his father, Archduke Franz Karl, a man with a very unstable mind. His favorite hobby seemed to be hunting; his second favorite was hunting with his sons. Among the members of the Regency committee, Archduke Franz Karl was the invisible one. Because of his congenital defects, his intelligence was so low that it was too hard for him to participate in political affairs. If had it not been for his high status, the Austrian Regency committee would not have admitted him at all.

"Father, why don't you go on your own? I don't have time for hunting today, as I'm going to visit Archduke Louis," Franz refused hastily.

That was the problem for a young man: he was always considered seen as a child, even though he tried to appear as mature as possible.

Archduke Franz Karl was a good father and concerned about Franz even when Franz was his normal self, but this kind of concern was too much for Franz now.

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"Mother, as you know, my expenses have increased somewhat..."

"So you want your property back in your name, right?" Princess Sophie was too impatient to wait for Franz to finish his sentence.

As an Archduke Austria, how could he be without any property? As the firstborn boy of the third generation, Franz had been enlisted as an Archduke by his grandfather. He had been happy to do so after Franz was confirmed to be of sound mind, since both his father and his uncle were as mentally capable.

But Franz's title was only a hollow one, and his appanage land was outside Austria's control, with no revenue received from it.

There were many nominal dukes like Franz, like those in Hapsburg family. One might be called the King of Jerusalem but would only ever become its true king if it was taken over by Austria someday.

It made a big difference to have a grandfather who pampered you: although his title was nominal, Franz still inherited a substantial legacy. As Franz knew, it included five estates, two mines, several small workshops, and tens of thousands of Austro-Hungarian guldens.

(An Austro-Hungarian gulden coin weighed 8 grams, and its gold content depended on the coiners, for there were no uniform standards at the time.)

Until now, Franz had had no problem relying on his small allowance for his personal expenses.

"Yes, mother! You know I am grown enough to have free reign over my own property!" Franz sharply replied.

That was another difference in cultural traditions between Europe and the East: the division of property between parents and their children was clearly defined. In the West, Franz's request was perfectly reasonable, while in the East, a child would more than likely be given a good beating if they dared speak to their parents that way.

When Franz reached adulthood, his parents would have to stop handling their child's property and let him manage it himself. This meant that now, Franz could go audit each of his estates.

"Well, you are within your rights. But given your age, I will continue to supervise you during the next year, and any large expenses must be reported to me!" Princess Sophie said, after considerable thought.

"Not a problem at all!" Franz did not hesitate for a second.

These limitations were just trifles, as long as he could get back the control of his own property. If he could spend his own money any way he wanted, then he could bear that he must report to his mother.

"Well then Franz, send your financial staff here to settle the matter with me. I will hand over all the property to you after we deduct your spending all these years and my management fees for it," Princess Sophie said calmly.

She had been prepared for this: correct accounting meant good relationships could be maintained. To avoid damaging relationships between family members over money, she had to settle accounts with her own son.

"Mother, I believe settling is unnecessary. I trust you completely!" Franz said, in a fawning manner. To Franz, money was nothing to worry about, as long as there was enough to spend, for he would have a million ways to get plenty of money in the future.

Of course, his trust was only because she was his mother. With his knowledge of Princess Sophie, Franz did not think she could possibly swindle her own son.

"Franz, I have to make it clear that this is your right. But you must be sure you won't regret this choice, for I can only settle with you once!" Princess Sophie said seriously.

"Of course, Mother; I know exactly what I'm doing!" Franz replied, without hesitation.

...

At the end of 1846, Franz successfully completed the transfer of property. Several of his workshops went bankrupt that year, for the workshop production rate had long lagged behind the times in the emerging industrial age. Fortunately, the estates and the mines were still earning good benefits,, making Franz nearly 10,000 Austro-Hungarian guldens per year.

High income came with high expenses. Upon checking his account books, Franz was surprised to find that his personal spending was much higher than he expected. There were, for instance the expenses for his many private tutors, not to mention the servants, maidens, guards, tailors, coachmen...All these came at Franz's own expense, and that was to say nothing of maintenance obligations. Franz decided that since he had the money, he would live on his own.

In years past, , he hadn't had much money over the years, but now, he had around 60,000 Austro-Hungarian guldens all together, including the cash from inheritance.

What an aristocratic style! For all those years, he hadn't invested in anything to earn dividends on the cash in hand. But Franz didn't even bother to place blame.

All the Austrian aristocrats at that time tended to be conservative in investment, not yet completing the transition from a great noble class to the grand bourgeoisie.