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The Essen Steel Chronicles, Part 2: Louis de Geer

Written by Kim Mackey

July, 1631

Louis de Geer refolded the letters from his niece in Grantville. Interesting information, he thought. But he was a powerful and busy man, much like a four-masted battleship. Battleships do not change course easily or on a whim. Verification of Colette’s claims was the first order of business.

The person Louis de Geer turned to after reading Colette's letters was Jan de Vries. Jan was Louis' most trusted agent. He had over ten years experience in the Dutch army as an engineer and artillery officer and was a deadly man with a sword. He spoke and read six languages and had demonstrated his loyalty time and again the past eight years. To someone like Louis, Jan was a priceless asset.

“Jan, I want you to investigate this Grantville. I want to know everything you can discover about them. Military, political, economic. And bring back some evidence that they are really from the future. Perhaps a book.”

De Vries nodded. He liked these types of assignments. He had an insatiable curiosity and enjoyed ferreting out information. “You will want maps of the area?”

De Geer nodded.

“Shall I make contact with your niece?” De Vries asked.

De Geer shook his head. “No, she’s made up her mind to stay in Grantville. If you make contact she may decide to tell someone.” De Geer smiled. “It is difficult for a spy to do his job if everyone knows he is a spy.”

De Vries laughed. “True. How long should I stay in the town?”

Louis thought for a moment. “At least a month. That will give you plenty of time to get a true impression. Any less and you might miss something important.”

De Vries nodded. “I will leave tomorrow.”

November, 1631

De Vries was glad to finally return to Amsterdam. He reported to De Geer the day after his arrival. He would be preparing a written report, but knew that De Geer would want to get his impressions first hand. And there were always items of importance that were best left out of written reports.

“So their military forces depend on their advanced infantry weapons and the mobility of their vehicles?” De Geer asked. “No artillery?”

De Vries nodded. “Oh, they used military rockets at the battle with the tercio outside Badenburg, but it was not the rockets that broke the tercio. They broke the tercio in less than five minutes with rifle fire and the fire of their ‘machine gun.’ And with less than three hundred riflemen.”

Louis de Geer grunted. Formidable indeed. As long as their ammunition lasted. “Vulnerabilities? Weaknesses? How would you attack them?”

De Vries rubbed his chin. “If I were attacking the town I would use well-trained cavalry in a night attack. Infiltrate them in close, attack at night and set fire to the town at various points. It would be much more difficult for the Americans to use their technical advantages. But as long as their capabilities are not assessed properly, they will have the element of tactical surprise.”

“And the political situation? Who seems to be in charge?”

De Vries smiled. “A man by the name of Mike Stearns is in charge of their Executive Committee. He was head of their coal miner’s guild, although guild is a poor description of the organization they refer to as the UMWA. A capable man.”

For De Vries and De Geer it did not matter whether Mike Stearns was a nobleman, coal miner or manure handler. Unlike many in the seventeenth century they concerned themselves more with the aristocracy of ability than the aristocracy of birth.

“But what you will find most interesting, I think, is that Mike Stearns’ future consort, who is also a member of the Executive Committee, is Rebecca Abrabanel.”

De Geer blinked in surprise. “Balthazar Abrabanel’s daughter?”

De Vries nodded. “And Balthazar Abrabanel has taken up residence in Grantville as well.”

De Geer knew that the last shipment of silver to Gustavus Adolphus from the Netherlands had been sent with Balthazar Abrabanel. “Did you see any of Gustavus Adolphus’ men?”

“Yes,” De Vries said, “A few hundred Scottish cavalrymen under an officer named MacKay. They fought together with the Americans against Tilly’s tercio at Badenburg.”

So and so thought De Geer. The Abrabanels in Grantville as well as Swedish troops. Obviously an alliance of some kind had been formed, even if it was just an informal one.

“How are the Jews being treated? Are the people resentful of Rebecca Abrabanel?”

De Vries shook his head. “The Americans believe that all religions should be tolerated. They call it ‘Freedom of Religion.’ The secular authorities do not impose a state religion and in turn the churches submit to the secular authorities. It seems to work well.”

Again De Geer grunted. After the years of strife between the Remonstrants and Counter-Remonstrants in the United Provinces, he could see the benefits of such a system. Not to mention it would be good for business. And if nothing else, De Geer was a businessman. If all religions were tolerated, then the Jews would find Grantville to be a haven. He suddenly sat up. And with the Abrabanels already in Grantville and the daughter of one of them intimate with Grantville’s leader . . .

De Geer laughed.

De Vries looked at him with a puzzled expression. De Geer explained.

“So you think the Abrabanels will flock to Grantville? That will certainly provide Grantville with capital to expand their economy.”

“It will do more than that,” De Geer said. “With Swedish troops already engaged in some form of alliance with Grantville, inevitably Grantville will come to the attention of Gustavus Adolphus. So what do you think will happen, Jan? Think of the combination: money from the Abrabanels, advanced weapons from Grantville, and Gustavus Adolphus. What is most near and dear to the Swedish King’s heart?”

De Vries smiled. “Corpus Protestantorum Evangelicorum.”

De Geer nodded. “Corpus ProtestantorumEvangelicorum. I think the politics of Northern and Central Germany are about to get very interesting indeed.”

Now thought De Geer how can this be turned to the advantage of a shrewd businessman? The first step of course, would be a trip to Grantville. Best however to let the situation ripen a bit. Perhaps March or April. But it was time to bring Colette into the picture. Louis knew that Colette had done an excellent job helping to run his brother-in-law’s businesses in Liege, no simple task for a woman, no matter how intelligent. And since she was, according to De Vries, now married to an American, she would have valuable insights into the people and culture of Grantville.

De Geer smiled. “Jan, I think it is time you met my niece, Colette.”

April, 1632

Louis arrived in Grantville the first week of April. A firm believer in family business ties, he brought his son, Laurens, his brother-in-law, Steven Gerard, and his nephews, Hendrick and Louys Trip. A protégé of Hugo Grotius, Dirck Graswinckel, also accompanied them to provide legal advice.

The twenty soldiers who had provided security on the trip from Amsterdam camped out by Josh Modi's crucible steel plant and the rest of the party had rooms at the Modi inn. After several days of talks and sightseeing they found themselves at Bart Kubiak’s foundry and cupola furnace.

“So how did you get the kind of cast iron you needed?” Louis de Geer asked. Josh Modi translated.

“We had to do a three-way deal,” Bart said. “We had cast iron from the suppliers outside Grantville, but it wasn’t of the quality needed to build steam engine cylinders. The local blast furnaces already had contracts to supply pig iron to their customers. So we offered to sell our pig iron to their customers at a slight discount if the blast furnace owners provided us with cast iron using coke for fuel, which we brought to them. Even then they were leery until we sweetened the deal by offering to build some metal pistons to provide air blast for the furnace instead of leather bellows. Once they saw how efficient the new pistons were, even with their water wheels, they were eager to sell.”

“So how much cast iron did you get?” De Geer asked.

“About one hundred twenty tons,” Bart said. “Financing took awhile. Once we get the kinks in the cupola furnace worked out, we should be able to start pouring a good cast iron. It helps us that the quality of the cast iron actually improves with remelting in a cupola furnace. We’ll do a lot of experimentation and proof of principle work this summer. When the blast furnace season starts up again in October we’ll be ready. We already have contracts for over a thousand tons of cast iron. The coke we’ll transport to each blast furnace and each will be fitted with metal pistons for the air blast. As the cast iron comes in, we'll start the actual work of casting the cylinders and other cast iron parts we need for the steam engines we’re building for the electrical plant. Those should be done by early spring of next year and everyone can breathe a sigh of relief.”

Bart looked around at the foundry he had put so much work into over the previous seven months. “If we have excess over our needs we can provide cast iron for consumer goods like stoves and pots and skillets. Even cannon for the army. And there’s already a couple of companies making inquiries.

“The hardest part . . .” Bart patted the side of the cupola furnace affectionately. “Was scaling this baby up. Not quite the same as my old ten inch furnace, not one bit. But it’s coming along and we should be in great shape soon.”

“So it is the silicon that is important?” De Geer asked.

Bart nodded. “Right, you get higher silicon content due to the speed and heat coke brings to the blast furnace process. You want to do it quickly to prevent graphitization, too much unmixed carbon. You can get higher silicon content to a certain extent by fiddling with wood charcoal in a blast furnace, but after awhile you get diminishing returns. So better to use coke to get the best product. Steam engine air blast is to be preferred over water wheels, of course, and we should have that for our own cupola furnace by next fall.”

As they walked away De Geer was thoughtful. Metal pistons for air blast. Now that was something that could be easily implemented in his own blast furnaces in Sweden.

During their tour of Grantville Josh Modi had warned them to be careful of what he termed ‘Pie in the Sky.' Many Americans were involved in projects with eager German business partners, especially those turned down for funding by the Executive Committee. But often the Americans did not have a clear understanding of the processes or machines they were attempting to build and the Germans had insufficient capital to fund the necessary research to make the business a profitable one.

De Geer turned to Josh. “How much will the piston air blast improve blast furnace production?”

Josh shrugged. “We’ve had no expert analysis done yet, but at least fifty percent.”

Fifty percent thought De Geer. From something so simple. Now that was not 'Pie in the Sky,' but money in the bank.

***

Louis set down his wine glass. The meal had been very good. “So, should I invest in Grantville or not?”

Josh smiled. “Actually, after analyzing the strategic picture, we think the majority of your capital would be better invested elsewhere.”

Louis de Geer and Steven Gerard looked at each other in surprise. This was not what they had expected to hear.

"Colette and I are still discussing the where." Josh glanced over at his wife. "But we should have that for you by next week. In the meantime, let me talk about the why and the what. Grantville's arrival has disrupted history as we Americans know it. In effect, a new universe has been created. For an up-timer the Industrial Revolution occurs approximately two hundred years in the future. This is a bit simplistic since the Industrial Revolution depended on the previous development of infrastructure."

At Louis' quirked eyebrow, Josh continued. "Roads, canals, bridges, mines and so forth. Something else that happened in the up-time universe was an agricultural revolution which started before the Industrial Revolution but was accelerated by it. Except in the seventeen provinces, agricultural productivity down-time is very low. So an agricultural revolution must come in tandem with an Industrial Revolution in this universe. Increasing agricultural productivity will free more workers to become available for industry. In addition, agricultural productivity will depend in part on the Industrial Revolution so there will be what is called a positive feedback loop."

"Positive feedback loop?" asked Gerard.

Josh nodded. "An up-time term. It means that each enhances the other in turn, back and forth, to ratchet production and productivity ever higher. It was thought that typically it took at least thirty years for a nation to reach 'take-off' so that the industrialization of an economy was self-sustaining."

Josh leaned back in his chair and cupped his hands behind his head. "So what to focus on? Here in Grantville, Colette and I think you should focus on steam engines and agricultural innovations that will enhance productivity. At the site of your main industrial complex you should focus on vertically integrating everything it takes to manufacture steam engines. Steam engines were the driver for the Industrial Revolution, and in the down-time universe everyone will want one. This will mean coal mines, iron mines, blast furnaces, refineries, steam engine works and boiler works."

De Geer nodded. "By having everything in one general location we would save on transportation costs and production costs."

"Yep." Josh smiled. "In addition, since this is a new plant, you will achieve economies of scale by building a complex capable of producing three to five thousand tons of cast iron or wrought iron a year. And you'll have the ability to expand to ten thousand tons per year. The steel plant will be near the iron complex but initially it will operate with iron from your blast furnaces in Sweden or blast furnaces close to the location of the complex . . . perhaps in the Siegerland or the Sauerland. The crucible steel plant can be built quickly."

Gerard took a sip of wine. "What kind of production would you expect?"

"Trained workers will produce five hundred tons a year." Josh thought a moment. "My figures indicate an estimated profit of two to three hundred thousand guilders a year. The steel could potentially be used for payment of goods in markets like Asia, the Levant and Russia where payment is often demanded in silver only."

"Based on what you've said, the location must be somewhere in the Rhineland," De Geer said. "Correct?"

Colette laughed. "Perhaps, uncle, but we still have a little research to do. We'll be ready in a week."

***

Six days later they had their first real strategy meeting on the floor above the common room at the Inn of the Maddened Queen. The week had been well-spent. Besides touring Grantville and its industries, De Geer had had a chance to get to know Colette and Josh on a personal level and observe them in unguarded moments. Their love for each other was obvious and their marriage seemed stable. He was especially pleased to see the way Josh treated his employees, four young men he'd hired in Erfurt. De Geer himself believed that a close relationship between workers and management fostered loyalty to the business. He was well known for providing churches, schools and books for his Walloon workers in Sweden.

"So, are you ready to reveal this mystery location?" De Geer asked.

Josh motioned towards his wife. "Colette?"

Colette brought a large rolled-up map from the side of the room and laid it on the table. She put weights at each corner. The map was an accurate representation of central and northern Germany with simple markings for rivers and mountains. The area around Grantville was clearly marked with all political and ecclesiastical boundaries as was an area near the Dutch border.

"Here, Uncle." Colette laid her finger on the map. "We think your major industrial complex should be here."

"Essen?" murmured Steven Gerard, reading the map. "Why Essen?”

Josh smiled. "Up-time it was often said that there were three requirements for a successful business . . . location, location, location. Essen is located in what is called the Ruhr basin, an area between the Ruhr and Emscher rivers. The Ruhr was the center of the German Industrial Revolution because of the coal fields, which are the largest in Europe by far. The coal fields in the Ruhr start at the surface near the Ruhr River and descend downward towards the Emscher. There are many areas that contain anthracite, a coal even more suited for industry in some ways than the bituminous coal in Grantville. There are also blackband iron mines in the Ruhr basin. These are iron ores mixed in with coal in a coal mine.

"The second important factor favoring Essen . . ." Josh swept his hand westward on the map, "is distance to markets. The Ruhr is very close to the Rhine and thus has access to Amsterdam via barge. During the German Industrial Revolution Duisburg was the largest inland water port in the world. Down-time Duisburg is a mile away from the Rhine, so the port might better be placed at Ruhrort at the mouth of the Ruhr, or, if floods are a concern, at Styrum.

"Third, Essen and the area around it are now occupied by Dutch troops. We have a saying up-time: "Possession is nine-tenths of the law."

Louis smiled. He could appreciate that saying.

Josh continued. "While you'll want to make arrangements to obtain the proper legal authority to mine the minerals and build industries in the Ruhr, the fact that the occupying forces are Dutch should be very helpful for Dutch industrialists. Fourth, you're close to areas with skilled labor. As your industry expands you will be able to more easily recruit iron and foundry and other workers from the Flemish and German iron centers.

"Legally," Josh said, "you'll want to obtain mineral and transit rights so you can get your products to market. Colette has identified three areas of importance. Colette?"

Colette ...