Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 411 Improved Technology
Iran's economy is booming, but Britain's economy is struggling. The collapse of Overhanger Bank triggered a run on several London banks and financial institutions, causing a stock market crash and interest rates to soar to 10%. The Bank of England was forced to suspend the Banking Charter Act of 1844, which allowed for excessive money printing.

This event also affected other countries; the Lyon silk industry was impacted by declining British demand, and the Paris stock market experienced brief volatility. British capital in Austria also saw some fluctuations.

Prime Minister Palmerston was busy saving the economy and was not paying much attention to diplomacy elsewhere. Of course, this was at most an internal matter for Britain and had not yet spread to the world like it had in 1857.

As a statutory holiday, Nowruz has a seven-day break. After it ends, everyone goes back to their own lives and gets back to their busy schedules.

Parsi Chemicals, located in Baghdad's Upper City, was one of the first companies to establish itself in the area. The dyes required large amounts of water, creating a significant demand from the textile industry. Zarif Mousavi, the company's founder, seized the opportunity and invested all his savings in the dye company. Benefiting from the growth of the textile industry, the company gradually expanded.

"Boss, two more textile factories have placed orders for purple dye with us this month. Should we expand our production capacity?"

Zarif smiled slightly as he listened to his subordinate's report. "I understand. Expanding production capacity is essential. Currently, most of the dyes on the market are from Britain and Prussia. One day, we will drive them out."

Such economic nationalism is common in many countries, after all, no one wants foreign goods to flood their domestic market (except for compradors and a certain bald man). However, currently, only aniline purple is produced on a large scale as a synthetic dye, and to make money, the variety needs to be increased.

"Alright, let's see how my great inventor is doing."

Zarif entered the research room. Mahmoud Fazi, whom he had hired at great expense, was a returned student who had graduated from England. It was said that he had studied with William Perkin, the inventor of aniline violet. It was unknown how well he had learned, but he seemed to be doing quite well.

"boss!"

Upon seeing Zarif, Fazi immediately handed him the sample, saying, "I succeeded! Take a look!"

Zarif took a look; it was red cloth, but a lighter shade than regular red. It looked fine and could withstand other tests.

What's this color called?

"Ah, it's called magenta. It was originally invented by a Frenchman, but I made some improvements on it, reducing its toxicity and making it suitable for mass production."

Magenta was invented in 1858, but the process at that time relied on arsenic acid, which was highly toxic and had low yield. Fazi made some improvements in his experiments: he replaced arsenic acid with the safer nitrobenzene and strictly controlled the temperature to prevent explosions due to overheating. This made it a dye that could be mass-produced, reducing costs by 40%.

"Thank you for your efforts. I think the government will definitely give you the corresponding reward. Of course, I will also give you patent fees."

Iran's patent law, enacted in 1862, aims to encourage private invention and corporate innovation. A successful patent application grants a 15-year patent term, which includes the possibility of improving the process; proof of significant advancement after improvement is required for a successful application. And the improved magenta clearly falls into this category. "You know, boss, I want more than just this."

Zarif smiled and nodded. "I know what you want is for those who look down on you and your country to bow their heads and beg you."

Fazi faced considerable disdain in Britain. Although Iran had earned respect from the government, discrimination persisted among the general public. He endured much scorn while learning under Perkin, particularly when he asked to observe the aniline violet production process up close. Perkin's response, "Do you even know what this is?" infuriated Fazi. At that moment, he secretly resolved to show Perkin that Iran could achieve what he had.

"Get ready for mass production as soon as possible. Also, make the workers work a little harder. Let them work overtime for the next few days and pay them double for the extra hours they work."

Most workers in Iran currently work twelve-hour days. Although there are regulations that limit working hours to ten hours, these regulations are not strictly enforced in practice.

Of course, Zarif, the boss, didn't just start with twelve-hour shifts, as that would damage his reputation. Therefore, he had a complete plan. First, he had the workers adapt to twelve-hour workdays. Then, he announced that due to too many orders, the factory would need to split into two shifts, eight hours each, for a continuous sixteen-hour production run. Then, he would engage in a price war with other brands at a lower cost, aiming to dominate the domestic market.

However, even if the workers could accept the lighting situation, providing adequate illumination at night was a major challenge. Using gas lamps or candles was too risky as to cause a fire, and their brightness was insufficient for workers to perform their tasks effectively. Therefore, production was absolutely prohibited during the darkest hours.

Zarif held the magenta cloth up to the light of the kerosene lamp; the vibrant red shimmered with a silken sheen. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes—this was not merely dye, but a weapon to break the European monopoly.

“Fazi,” he suddenly turned around, “if I triple the factory’s capacity, can you guarantee the quality?”

The young chemist pushed up his glasses: "As long as the supply of nitrobenzene can keep up, we can surpass the French production within a month!"

Zarif grinned, revealing his white front teeth: "Then we'll let those dye merchants taste the power of Iran."

The Passi Chemical Plant awoke in the morning light, the roar of steam engines startling waterbirds from the banks of the Tigris River. Fazi stood in the newly built magenta workshop, his fingers tracing the first batch of finished products that had just rolled off the production line—the bright red powder shimmering like jewels in the glass bottles.

"Boss, the sample test results are in!" Fazi ran over excitedly. "The colorfastness is 20% higher than the French product, and the toxicity is only one-third of the French product! Most importantly, the cost is only half that of the French product."

Zarif pinched a pinch of dye and rubbed it gently. Powder flowed from his fingers like a red waterfall. "Go get a reporter from the Business Daily," he suddenly said to his deputy. "We need to let the whole country know that Iran has its own top-quality dye!"

This process couldn't be named after a foreign color like "cinnabar," so Fazi gave it a new name: Shah Red. A patent was quickly applied for, and the Iranian Patent Office, after verification, determined that Shah Red represented a significant advancement and thus granted it. The factory began large-scale production, which would change the current dye landscape.

(End of this chapter)