Bab 44: Cotton Is King
Eli Whitney, the creator of the cotton gin, the infamous inventor which would lead to the bloom of the trans Atlantic slave route to the USA.
The production of Cotton would double over each decade until the middle of the 1800s, though Felipe was a little late, he still has 3 decades or so to milk the cow that is cotton. After that, no matter how much cotton bonds the south creates, it will be fated to lose.
And for much that Felipe was looking to change history, he was not going to be in the wrong side of history, but yet again, he only has to win and the history would be written by him; not enough time or interest to take a stake in the USA.
"Your excellency, you wish to know what we do here… there are 3 steps… aaahhhh, a person has their own batch of picked cotton, they have to clean it, big impurities, then we shredded it to take off the cotton from the seeds… this machine… we the men operate them… they are hard to turn sometimes when they get stuck, but there is nothing we can't do or solve." He quickly arrived to the machine and with enthusiasm he began to turn the handle.
Felipe heard the sharp sound of a machine with not enough lubrication. The rust was clearly there, also increasing the pitch of the sound. There were 4 of those machine, all the same, rusted and old looking with the same model.
Felipe didn't took out his handkerchief from his mouth and nose as he was able to see the dust and small fibers of cotton would go up in the air. He quickly put his hand up which indicated to the slave to stop; he did just that.
Felipe looked closer to the machine, there was drum roll with sharp indentation teeth full of cotton fibers, there there was a filter that would stop anything but cotton fibers go through, then there was another rolls with brushes able to pick up the fibers of cotton from the drum roll with a counter movement from which the drum roll was going.
On one side, cotton seed would be collected and on the other it was only the cotton fibers. That is the machine that made cotton king, and surprisingly enough, the person that created such marvelous and simple machine did not become the most wealthiest person in the world, but a poor baster that was buries by legal fees.
Felipe showed his disinterest in the machine and signaled to the slave to continue his tour of the barn. He was less than unimpressed, he actually felt quite sorry for the owner of the establishment. He has seen the mainstream Cotton Gins, they don't look nothing like the one that the governor has in his plantation.
'Costume ones, probably a copy cat making it cheaper. Not even a descent one.'
Eli Whitney didn't almost go broke because people sued him, he almost went broke because he was suing everyone that was profiting from his invention, and who can blame him? Seeing all the plantation owners becoming super rich from the jight to day with his invention.
Thankfully Felipe was willing to spend the money, and had the money to close down every single shop that made matches in the early times of the company.
Plus, it helped that not anyone could make a match, they needed to have knowledge of basic chemistry, which in the late 1820s, that was not a common thing.
Felipe was able to enforce huge amount of Authority across the world, even in China.
He sent an envoy with the proper knowledge of Chinese Ethics and was able to make a deal with the Chinese Dynasty, a very bad deal, but a deal that would cement the power copy right law for his matches.
Basically, he was going to give most of the revenue in Taxes, in exchange, the Matches if The Matches Company would be the only one to be sold in the country or exported; very bad deal for the country, very good deal for emperor and the high court, plus, he licensed his product in exchange for part of the profit, creating factories in china that only produce for China but not fully owned by him.
Never the less, it was a constant stream of revenue, helpful to cover miscellanies expenses. Plus, it was able to maintain the market share in the rest of the world without cheap products from China.
"Your excellency…. After the cotton is shredded, they start making it into Yarn." He said as he showed 6 racks of weaving cotton into yarn.
All the 6 stations were occupied, even with some female slaves sitting on the floor behind it with their own DIY holder for cotton to make their own yarn their baskets full of de seeded cotton; they were laughing and chatting before they noticed Felipe entering the barn.
'The stations must be popular, and more comfortable than the floor.' Felipe though as he made eye contact with all of them in the floor. Even though they were such conditions, their eyes were not dull but bored, almost like a kid that is being forced to do homework instead of a slave.
Felipe used his free hand to pick a yarn and looked at it. The rays of the sun that were penetrating the barn let Felipe see the huge amount of small hairs sticking out, almost like the tail of a balding squirrel. The Yarn was clearly more thinner on some portions and thicker in others.
Felipe didn't know much about the cotton industry from his past life, but he knows for sure that long fibers create a high-quality product and are more durable, plus, consistency is also key.
Felipe came to an understanding which was that the Governor was running his own plantation like a dumb CEO that increasing profits would cut in quality improving processes to increase output and thus profits.
"It is normally sold as yarn?" Felipe asked with some doubts.
"No, your excellency… last year plantation the prices were low. Master made us yarn the cotton and he was able to sell it for more." The slave spoke with quite a lot of insight, he clearly the manager of the slaves. The snitch.
"How much?"
"Your excellency, those matters don't concern me… but, we are making it all yarn this time." He said as he nodded approving the insights of his master.
"I see… what about the picking up cotton season? Why is it earlier?" Felipe asked quite curiously, it was not yet Fall, yet, the plantations of the governor were already picking up cotton, unlike the other plantations.
"Master said that it was wise to plant earlier so we could sell yarn when everyone else is selling normal seedless cotton." He said with a lower expression, "But, the yield has not been that good."
At that moment, Felipe understood why the governor is asking for money, not such a good years for his cotton kingdom.
'I can put all these plantation owners out of business with just adding organization.' Felipe though as his ambition was growing, not really remembering that he is due to defend the Haitians in about 5 months. There is a need to create a navy and be sure to know what to do with that huge of a navy after wards. His vision was to create clippers add some guns, make them intimidate with accurate long range, then quickly strip them and use them as cargo ships that he will need in the future for his textile empire.
"Thank you." Felipe said as he left on his own. Harry has changed a lot since he arrived to the new timeline, but one thing has remained constant his good manners.
The slaves in the barn looked at each other as they were not able to process what just happened, after all, the stature of Felipe was just too big; he was way bigger than the governor and any of them, and unlike most rich people, he was with muscle.
"He is so handsome."
Pah.
She was struck on the back of her head by her mother, a gentle strike. "He is a white crown prince. Stop daydreaming and continue working." She knew the identity of Felipe as they also serve serving and the rumours spread quite quickly in the main house.
"Auch, okey ma."
--
"Oh, your majesty, here you are... Sigh, I was able to make it so there is no toproof as you requested…. The carriage is ready to leave for GreenWoods Villa." Quincy said as he was out of breath; he ran across the whole place looking for Felipe.
"Look Quincy, what do you see?" Felipe said as he was looking at the yet unpicked sea of cotton.
Quincy not wanting to insult the intelligence of Felipe, he continued with caution. "Cotton, your majesty."
"Yes yes, of course, but look at how they are ordered, isn't it very dense? There are no rows." Felipe explained.
"… Indeed." Quincy quickly came to realize what Felipe was getting to.
"75% of the field has been harvested already, way before time." Felipe inhaled deeply before exhaling deeply.
"… Yes, it looks like it."
"The other 25% What do you see in that… you must have done your research of cotton, after all, you are in the business."
"… They don't have as much cotton as they should sir… maybe it is because the way they were planted didn't let water arrive constantly." Quincy felt like answering an exam.
"Aye… looks like that… but they planted early… that's is what the slaves said… the other year, the governor had a pretty bad season… his equipment is cheap to save costs… he looks desperate. Yet, enjoying lascivious commodities… he is a wreck, Quincy."
"…" He stayed silent, after all, he has presented the governor to his boss.
"No real investment will be done in South Carolina, but we still need to keep Charleston Factory here. It is quite productive. So, bribe him. Offer money at the expense of the state while not hurting our bottom line. And don't associate with these people too much. Their sloppiness is contagious." Felipe said as he picked up a cotton ball and then threw it to the ground.
"Understood, your majesty." Quincy had a very high impression of the Crown Prince, but it was all letters. Now he witnesses him telling him what to do. So Domineering!
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
Well_In_a_Frog
Well_In_a_Frog I watched Spiderman Through the Spiderverse yesterday. Woah, the story telling. It got me exited. Anyways, thanks for reading.
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