Chapter 241: Salt and Glass (1/2)

Now that Berengar had complete control of Austria, he had access to the Mediterranean via Istria. This presented a valuable opportunity to expand his business into two major areas. Glass and Salt production.

The man was hard at work drafting factory blueprints to create facilities in Istria to mass-produce such materials. The first object on his list of designs was what was once called the glass cone in his previous life. An invention used in England during the 18th Century for making glass.

Due to technological limitations, such as a lack of electricity Berengar was incapable of using modern techniques like float glass to manufacture ample glass supplies. Thus he had to dig back further into his memory to make a glass industry from scratch.

If Berengar wanted to out-compete the Venetians in the glass trade, who at this point were the major Glass producers of the world, then he needed a superior product. Luckily he knew of an invention from the late 17th Century that made England the world's top glass merchant.

This invention was known as Lead Glass in the modern era, also known as Crystal Glass due to its superb clarity. This glass was invented by adding a minimum of 24 percent lead(II) oxide to the mixture. With this technique, Berengar could create a superior glass quality compared to the Venetians and slowly take over the market.

However, drinking from lead glass could be harmful, and lead was a valuable resource in the production of munitions. Thus Berengar had opted to replace the Lead(II) oxide with Zinc Oxide instead. This created a similar level of clarity within the glass, but it was lighter weight and safe to drink from.

Berengar had an overabundance of Zinc due to its content within his mines and those of the Lords underneath his rule. Thus he was more than happy to make glass this way. Berengar intended to produce such materials in glass cone factories, where after its production, it would be manufactured into various objects.

A glass cone furnace was powered by coal and had a large central furnace surrounded by smaller furnaces to ensure that the glass did not cool off quickly. Within the center of this formation was a work area for the glassblowers to shape the glass into the final product.

He intended to build a large factory containing several of these glass cone furnaces where he could produce a sufficient amount of glass. By doing this Berengar planned to dominate the glass trade and add another industry to his portfolio.

On the other hand, the saltworks would be much easier; all he needed to do was create a large salt evaporation pond, also known as a salt pan. Essentially, all that was required was to create a shallow area where seawater is trapped and left to evaporate in the sun.

After the water was evaporated and the salt remained laborers could quickly gather it, where it would then be treated and purified into proper edible salt. The Byproducts left over would be valuable chemicals that can be used elsewhere in Berengar's industry.

If he could set up several of these saltworks across Istria, he could gain access to a large amount of salt and thus help him gain access to the salt trade. Though he would not be able to dominate the industry like the others he had entered into, it would still add another means of revenue to his pockets which would aid him in the long run.

After spending half a day designing these things, Berengar ventured to the Parliamentary building that contained the House of Lords. Though it was merely a formal procedure, he needed their approval to begin the production of the two trades he had in mind.

The moment he entered the House of Lords, the various men he had assigned to the task or were voted in by other members of the nobility all stood up from their seats as a sign of respect. It was not every day Berengar ventured into Parliament; usually, it was over something important that he wanted voted upon right away when he did so.

Thus when Bernegar stood at the podium, all of the men gathered were waiting patiently for the words he began to speak. After getting his files in order, Berengar cleared his throat before addressing the members of the nobility.

”My Lords, I have come here today to introduce a set of the legislature that needs your approval. In essence, I will be entering our Duchy into the glass and salt trades. I require your consent to construct various facilities within the province of Istria that will provide us with a large amount of the two materials.

”With my production methods, we can enter the glass trade and eventually dominate the market due to the clarity and quality of the glass produced. The wealth that is afforded to the Venetians via their stranglehold over the market shall shift to us!”