In theory, the Hungarian Plain, with its lush grass and abundant water, should never have suffered a food crisis.
But three consecutive years of natural disasters, starting in 1845, and the resulting poor harvests sent Hungary's domestic situation into unprecedented decline.
On top of that, the economic crisis that erupted in Britain plunged all of Hungary's industry and agriculture into a deep depression.
Whether conservative nobles or liberal capitalists, the first thing they thought of was passing the crisis on to the common people.
In the midst of this food and economic crisis, grain prices in Hungary reached unprecedented heights, while purchase prices for grain hit historic lows.
Under this bizarre arrangement, countless farmers went bankrupt. In theory, their ruin should have benefited industrial development.
But in reality, the economic crisis, compounded by Hungary's own high tariff barriers, meant their goods couldn't be sold at all.
The common people had no purchasing power, either, so their goods piled up unsold. Naturally, there was no need for all that surplus labor.
A woodcutter's work for three days earned him only one meal, and things were much the same in the factories.
Farmers and workers with nowhere else to turn staged a number of uprisings, but they had no unified leadership and made no effort to coordinate with one another.
As a result, small-scale uprisings were quickly suppressed, while large-scale ones died in the cradle for lack of organization.
Compared with the Hungarians' wretched plight, the Imperial Manor was flourishing. It wasn't that the disasters had spared it.
The Imperial Manor had to contend with floods and droughts just like anywhere else, but that was when the importance of leadership became clear.
Under the coordinated efforts of the imperial stewards and appointed officials, the Imperial Manor's ability to withstand natural disasters grew