Napoleon and Frederick business relationship

The business relationship between Napoleon and Mr. Frederick of Pinchfield Farm represents one of the most duplicitous and consequential economic episodes in the history of Animal Farm. It begins with a pile of well-seasoned timber, stacked in the yard ten years earlier when a beech spinney was cleared, and becomes the object of a protracted, secretive negotiation that exposes the pigs' willingness to engage in the very human practices they had once condemned. The transaction ultimately ends in fraud, violence, and the complete destruction of the windmill, marking a turning point in the farm's fortunes and the pigs' moral descent.

Origins of the Negotiation

The timber had been a dormant asset until Mr. Whymper, the solicitor who acted as intermediary between Animal Farm and the outside world, advised Napoleon to sell it. Both Mr. Pilkington of Foxwood and Mr. Frederick of Pinchfield expressed eagerness to buy, and Napoleon found himself hesitating between the two, unable to make up his mind. The rivalry between the two human farmers was well known: Pilkington was an easy-going gentleman farmer whose land was neglected, while Frederick was a tough, shrewd man perpetually involved in lawsuits and known for driving hard bargains. Napoleon's indecision was reflected in the farm's propaganda: whenever he seemed on the point of coming to an agreement with Frederick, Snowball was declared to be in hiding at Foxwood, while when he inclined toward Pilkington, Snowball was said to be at Pinchfield. This pattern reveals that the timber negotiations were not merely commercial but were entangled with the regime's need to maintain a narrative of external threat.

The Secret Deal and the Double Game

Throughout the summer, Napoleon conducted a double game. While maintaining a public posture of friendship with Pilkington and even instructing the pigeons to alter their slogan from "Death to Humanity" to "Death to Frederick," he was in reality secretly negotiating with Frederick. The animals were kept in the dark, believing that Napoleon would never deal with a scoundrel like Frederick, especially after terrible stories leaked out from Pinchfield about Frederick's cruelties—he had flogged an old horse to death, starved his cows, killed a dog by throwing it into a furnace, and amused himself by making cocks fight with splinters of razor-blade tied to their spurs. The animals' blood boiled with rage at these reports, and they clamoured to attack Pinchfield, but Squealer counselled them to trust in Napoleon's strategy. Two days after the windmill was completed and named Napoleon Mill, Napoleon called a special meeting and announced that he had sold the timber to Frederick after all. The pigs were in ecstasies over Napoleon's cunning: by seeming to be friendly with Pilkington, he had forced Frederick to raise his price by twelve pounds. Napoleon had demanded payment in real five-pound notes, which were to be handed over before the timber was removed, and Frederick had paid up. The sum was just enough to buy the machinery for the windmill.

The Fraud and Its Immediate Aftermath

Three days later, the truth emerged. Mr. Whymper, his face deadly pale, came racing up the path on his bicycle, flung it down in the yard, and rushed into the farmhouse. The banknotes were forgeries. Frederick had got the timber for nothing. Napoleon called the animals together and in a terrible voice pronounced the death sentence upon Frederick, declaring that when captured he should be boiled alive. He warned that the worst was to be expected, and sentinels were placed at all approaches to the farm. Four pigeons were sent to Foxwood with a conciliatory message, hoping to re-establish good relations with Pilkington. The very next morning, the attack came. Frederick and his followers, fifteen men with half a dozen guns, entered through the five-barred gate. This time the animals did not have the easy victory they had enjoyed at the Battle of the Cowshed. The men opened fire as soon as they got within fifty yards, and the animals, unable to face the terrible explosions and stinging pellets, were driven back. The enemy took possession of the big pasture, including the windmill.

The Destruction of the Windmill and the Battle

Frederick's men produced a crowbar and a sledge hammer, but instead of trying to knock the windmill down by force, they drilled a hole near its base and packed it with blasting powder. Benjamin, watching intently, was the first to understand what they were doing. A deafening roar followed, and when the smoke cleared, the windmill had ceased to exist. The force of the explosion had flung the stones to distances of hundreds of yards; even the foundations were partially destroyed. At this sight, the animals' courage returned. A mighty cry for vengeance went up, and without waiting for orders they charged straight at the enemy, heedless of the pellets that swept over them like hail. It was a savage battle. A cow, three sheep, and two geese were killed, and nearly everyone was wounded. Even Napoleon had the tip of his tail chipped by a pellet. But the men did not go unscathed: three had their heads broken by Boxer's hoofs, another was gored in the belly by a cow's horn, and another had his trousers nearly torn off by the dogs. When Napoleon's nine bodyguard dogs, who had made a detour under cover of the hedge, suddenly appeared on the men's flank, panic overtook the humans and they fled. The animals had won, but the windmill was gone.

Consequences and Significance

In the aftermath, Squealer, who had been absent during the fighting, declared the battle a victory and the gun was fired seven times in celebration. Napoleon created a new decoration, the Order of the Green Banner, which he conferred upon himself. The battle was named the Battle of the Windmill, and the unfortunate affair of the banknotes was forgotten in the general rejoicings. Yet the episode had profound consequences. The windmill, which had taken two years to build, had to be rebuilt from the foundations, and the stones were gone. Boxer, who had worked harder than anyone, was now eleven years old and for the first time felt that his great muscles were not what they had once been. The fraud also deepened the animals' dependence on Napoleon's leadership, as the crisis was used to rally them around the regime. The relationship with Frederick, built on mutual deceit, ended in violence and loss, while the attempted reconciliation with Pilkington produced only a note reading "Serves you right." The timber deal stands as a stark illustration of how the pigs, in their pursuit of economic advantage, adopted the very dishonesty and ruthlessness they had once attributed to human beings, and how that adoption led directly to the farm's greatest physical and moral catastrophe.