Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

1st July 1657

Akhand Bharatiya Empire, Cheranadu State, Economic Capital Thiruvananthapuram

It was a pleasant and warm morning. John Brown, walking through the busy streets of the business district in the special economic zone, was mesmerized by all the things he was seeing around him. Several white people were bargaining with the merchants, and multiple groups of Europeans were looking around the marketplace like curious babies.

Various Bharatiya manufacturers had set up their offices in the city’s business sector, making the place even more rowdy. Although he had seen some big markets before, seeing the vitality here, this was clearly the liveliest market John had ever seen.

However, unfortunately, he could not slowly explore the marketplace as he had important things to do.

When he came to India, it was not because he was searching for an opportunity to make it big or to hit a jackpot, but because he was desperate. This was one of the reasons he came to India alone, unlike every other European he had seen so far, who travelled with a merchant group.

I mean, it made sense to travel in groups—with regards to safety in numbers, unknown location and all—but his circumstances were unique.

Back home, John Brown was filled with worry because of his financial condition. Although, compared to the ordinary citizens of any nation, he could be considered a rich person, but due to some unfortunate circumstances, if he stayed in Europe any longer, he wouldn’t even have a home.

All of Brown’s wealth was inherited from his father, Old Masson Brown Jr., which included a rich heritage of a 500-ton merchant ship, an estate in Ireland, and a few mansions in the countryside here and there, all valued at over 22,000 ducats.

Although he couldn’t live a proper noble life with his wealth, it was enough for him to live the life of an affluent baron, as even some of the barons would not have the wealth his family had. Sadly, his father had not only passed his wealth to him but also his debts. His father owed a lot of money to a noble in London, who happened to be an earl.

When John went to inquire about the debt, he was shocked to find out it was actually over 19,000 ducats.

John was heartbroken. His worries further increased when the noble’s lackeys frequently bothered him to return the money. With nowhere to go and his pressure’s increasing, John sought help from some of his family’s friends and his father’s business partners. Sadly, they did not even give him an opportunity to meet them; it was as if John Brown had suddenly become the god of plague.

He was desperate, John already knew that his livelihood in Ireland would be difficult because the money his father owed was almost all the wealth he possessed.

John Brown, who naturally did not want to go bankrupt to settle a debt, was in a bad mood. Fortunately, upon seeing Bharatiya ships in the Mediterranean, he got an idea.

"Why don’t I operate in the Indian subcontinent for a few years? No matter how big of a noble you are, can your power work in India?" When he had this thought, it was uncontrollable.

After selling his 500-tonne merchant ship, his large estate in Ireland and 14 manors, he hastily arranged himself to be kidnapped to slip away from the sight of the earl and decisively boarded a merchant ship going to India and took a leap of faith.

John Brown, moving through the busy street, did not attract too much attention as the business district in Thiruvananthapuram was filled with white European people. But as John Brown went further and further away from the core area of the business district, he started to attract some attention.

This made John Brown uneasy. He was not worried that something would happen to him because he had seen several police officers patrolling the streets regularly; he was just worried that he was taking the wrong way.

Looking at a young boy who appeared to be selling a unique plough, he decided to inquire with him.

"Dear Sir, is this the right way to reach the 4th Street?" John asked, his voice not too loud as there were no hawking sounds around him anymore.

Govinda was perplexed by what the young white man in front of him was asking. ’Doesn’t this guy have a translator?’ he thought.

looking at John’s face, which looked a little worried and uneasy. Govinda waved his hand for the man to wait.

"Damn Idiot!" John Brown cursed to himself as he had forgotten to bring a translator. When he had come down from the ship, there were a lot of Bharatiya translators available for hire, but in his worry, he seemed to have overlooked the translation part. He felt annoyed.

’Should I go back to the port and hire a translator?’ he thought to himself. However, just then, a middle-aged man around 45 years old approached with the young lad who had just left.

"English, Spanish, German?" the man asked.

John Brown was taken aback as he did not expect the man to know three languages. Although his mother tongue was Irish, he was already familiar with major European languages due to his profession, but he chose the language he was most comfortable with English.

"Sir, is this the right way to reach the 4th Street?"

The Bharatiya man did not hesitate and replied, "Yes, this is the way. If you walk 300 meters, you will find the board specifying the name." Fearing that the foreigner wouldn’t know Bharati’s numbers, the man took up a piece of paper, wrote a symbol on it, and said, "It is written like this."

John Brown was very thankful for the help and, knowing that paper was a costly material, offered to pay him for his loss. However, the man adamantly refused. So, he was left helpless and continued on his way.

After walking for a few more minutes, John Brown finally reached the 4th Street.

His eyes lit up as he actually saw three shipbuilding offices at the intersection. He naturally did not recognize the text on the banners, but he identified them based on the design of the banners in front of the offices.

Everything was in Bharati text and some other local language that he did not know, but he was sure that this was the shop the kind lady had talked about.

---

Ashwin Ambani was bored sitting in the shop all day long. He had bragged to his dad that he would get a lot of business for the company, but sadly enough, he seemed to have miscalculated. Originally, he thought that Thiruvananthapuram, being a large export hub, would provide a lot of business for their Reliance Shipping and Shipbuilding Company.

However, after spending a few weeks in Thiruvananthapuram, he realized he was wrong. The large business hotspot is mainly for exporting goods, with the main customers being foreigners from Europe. On the contrary, the customers for their shipyards are Bharatiyas, leading to them having no business.

Usually, the customers who want to buy their ships would go to their offices either in Mangalore, Visakhapatnam, or Mumbai, not Thiruvananthapuram.

Ashwin, who unknowingly fell into the pit while thinking about the encouraging and gloating face of his father, couldn’t help but clench his teeth in anger. He did not understand why his father was so smug when he told him of his decision. It was only now that he realized how sinister his old man was. ’God damn it, old man, he should have known earlier.’

’Ding!’

Hearing the sound of the bell, Ashwin immediately became attentive. He was ready with the professional smile that he had practised.

"Welcome gue—, " Before he could finish his greeting, Ashwin stopped mid-sentence because it was a white man who entered the office. He had never had a white customer, as all the foreigners buy ships from the 5 major shipyards of Bharat. The three minor shipyards of the empire never had any dealings with Europeans, so Ashwin did not know what to do next.

John Brown, looking at the young man dressed in simple but exquisite work clothes, put on a smile and approached.

"Are you shipbuilders, sir?" John Brown asked. Seeing the clueless expression on the young man’s face, John got annoyed. ’I forgot the translator again, damn it.’

The young man seemed to understand the problem quickly as he gestured for John to wait and went to get the translator, or so John presumed.

John sat down and drank the lemon water that was given to him. "Phaaaa," he exhaled a cool breath. It was refreshing. Although the market was very lively and exciting, it was also very tiring. He felt very relaxed now.

Ashwin had many thoughts running through his mind, among which the main thought being, ’Can Europeans also buy their ships?’. The reason for his customers always being from the Bharatiya Empire was not without reason. No European merchant would require a small merchant ship from India, which is thousands of kilometres away from their homeland.

Even if they ordered a larger 1,000-ton merchant ship from the three minor shipyards of Bharat, the question arises whether it can withstand the test of the ocean. No European wanted to pour so much money into testing out an untested ship.

’Can this white man be the first person?’ Ashwin thought with anticipation. Maybe if this deal was successful, his choice to come to Thiruvananthapuram wouldn’t be so bad after all.

John Brown, waiting in the office, was not too impatient. He simply looked around at the pictures of various ships painted on the wall. The ships ranged from small merchant ships to large merchant ships, and he even saw a ship that looked like an armed merchant ship. He was curious whether this shipyard could produce such ships.

Just then, Ashwin returned with a translator.

John Brown smiled at this and asked, "Sir, do you produce merchant ships?"

Ashwin nodded his head and replied, "Yes, sir, we do produce them. What kind of merchant ships would you be interested in?"

John Brown replied, "The ship I need should have a carrying capacity of at least 500 tons with a draft tonnage of no more than 700 tons, and should be purpose-built to store rice."

Ashwin was initially disappointed, as the man did not seem to be the first customer to buy the large merchant ship. But then his eyebrows were raised. ’500 tons and storing rice? What’s this man talking about?’ Even though Ashwin had many doubts, he did not voice them out, as he knew it would be rude.

Instead, he answered, "We can do it, sir. We currently have the design drawings of the Samudra Bandhu Class merchant ship, which is a 450-tonne vessel. The specifications could be adjusted to your requirements with some customizations. Or, if you are not satisfied, we could build a new ship purpose-built for you if the quantity you order is large enough."

John Brown did not notice the weird expression on Ashwin’s face and responded, "I naturally prefer the ships being custom-built for me, but even if I want to order custom-built ships, the quantity depends on the price. So, what’s the estimate for each ship?"

"Hmm, Let me see..."

Ashwin began some calculations. "Length, breadth, wood, mast, sails... hmm, okay."

"So, in my calculations, it should cost you around 55,000 Varahas if you are buying a customized ship of the Samudra Bandhu class. But if you want a new design, I cannot say for sure, but it will not be above 75,000 Varahas."

Noticing the clueless expression on John Brown’s face, Ashwin realized that this man might be new to the empire, so he added, "It is anywhere from 2.5 kilograms to 5 kilograms of gold."

John Brown knew that the prices of ships in the Bharatiya Empire were lower than in the European continent, but he had not witnessed it himself. He had been anxious until now. However, his worries proved to be unnecessary, as the prices were indeed low. According to his calculations, the prices were lower than at the major shipyards of Bharat.

He had heard that the La Sarenissima Class armed merchant ship bought by the Venetians had cost nearly 3033.33 Ducats (10.6 kilograms of gold) per ship, and that was a 1,000-ton armed merchant ship.

Comparing the La Sarenissima Class to the Samudra Bandhu Class, According to the price the salesman mentioned, he could almost buy 4 merchant ships totalling a tonnage of over 2,000 tons with a total carrying capacity of over 1,500 tons. The more John Brown thought about it, the more excited he became.

He naturally knew the advantages and disadvantages of an armed merchant ship versus a normal merchant ship, but his goal was not to engage in intercontinental trade with Europe; his goal was something different.

Confident in his plan, John Brown decisively stated, "I would need a new design for my use and I would like to order 4 ships."

Ashwin immediately became excited and did not care about how the white man was going to use the ships; all he knew was that someone was willing to fund the design of a new ship.

Ashwin was happy but did not show it.

"When will you be free to talk to the designers? We can get started on the process immediately, and if all goes well, you will have your ships manufactured by the end of the month."

John Brown had not arranged any lodging when he came, so it didn’t matter where he stayed. Hence, he replied, "If you don’t mind, we can leave now."

P.S. Thank you ABHI29 for the Pizza

P.S. Thank you its_a_joke For the Inspiration capsule

P.S. Clarification/ Recap Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The price for each Pune class battleship (San Marco class) is 296,082.67 varahas, or 20.13362 kg of gold, or 5,752.5 ducats, while each Bheema class armed merchant ship (La Serenissima) costs 156,127.49 varahas, or 10.6167 kg of gold, or 3,033.33 ducats.

The total cost for 10 San Marco class battleships is 2,277,559 varahas (154.874 kg of gold or 44,250 ducats), and for 15 La Serenissima class ships is 2,252,088 varahas (153.125 kg of gold or 43,750 ducats).