Chapter 10: The death of the Kaiser
March 9, 1888, Berlin.
The German people instantly forgot the scandal caused by the cigarette controversy and went into national mourning, Kaiser Wilhelm I had died.
# He was king of Prussia, from January 2, 1861, and the first emperor of the German Empire from January 18, 1871, until his death.
The entire Hohenzollern royal house was summoned to the coronation of the new emperor at Charlottenburg Palace. Different dignitaries from all over the world rush to Berlin to bid farewell to one of the most prominent figures of the 19th century he will forever remembered as the first German Kaiser.
In the carriage sitting next to my grandfather, I watched his gloomy and pensive expression.
The Hohenzollern house unified Germany and became one of the world powers but now it is going through one of the first challenges as an Empire and a world power, the change of political structure. Like any monarchy, the emperor has immense influence on the decisions of the state.
Crown Prince Friedrich, now Emperor Friedrich III. He is known for his liberal ideals, after being influenced by his mother from a young age and then by his wife who reaffirmed his progressive ideas, he is against the absolute monarchy.
* The new Kaiser Friedrich III, is the one mentioned before with a rare laryngeal disease (cancer).
Arriving at the Charlottenburg Palace, he quickly began to blend into aristocratic social circles. I also had the opportunity to watch my grandfather discuss politics with the Iron Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck.
Suddenly, I saw a contingent of royal guards escorting what might be a close relative and confidant of Wilhelm I. As I got closer I heard him giving an encouraging speech.
"....United in this new chapter, to dedicate ourselves to building the future. For the Kaiser and the Empire!" He finished the speech to loud applause from those present.
As the applause died down I watched Freidrich III enter in a military uniform with a firm expression but a pale face as he walked at a slow pace.
After a few hours, the coronation of the new Kaiser of the German Empire was over. Many idealists and liberals came to congratulate the new Kaiser, who, according to them, would bring change and democracy to the empire.
But it was all an illusion that as the days went by many realized the serious illness of the new Kaiser did not allow him to make the reforms he always spoke of or govern the empire.
March 28, 1888, Berlin.
Yesterday my grandfather and I met with Ernst von Bergmann, Kaiser Friedrich III's doctor. After demonstrating him with a bottle of water, and introducing him to the victims, he took the possible cause of the emperor's illness very seriously.
(experiment: Fill the bottle with water and screw on the cap. We light the cigarette while uncovering the hole. When the trickle of water comes out of the hole, the bottle will empty and suck the air from outside, that is to say: the bottle will smoke!)
After explaining how the filtered cigarette worked, a chemist and a doctor explained to him it was 90% safe as it burned the toxins and only let harmless smoke pass into the body.
Days later...
Recognized doctors and scientists even those who denied the damage to health caused by tobacco at first, published articles about the experiment and why it had not been discovered before. All the blame fell on the tobacco magnates and some political figures, who were "hiding" the information from the public for personal gain.
My grandfather convinced me to compromise with the nobles who hindered my company's loans, they are old noble families and it's meaningless to seek revenge on them. After some mediation, we agreed to discuss reconciliation terms at a later date.
June 15, 1888, New York.
Frederick traveled to the US to discuss a possible partnership with America Tabacco Company for the authorization of sales of filtered cigarettes. This time he came with Oliver, as Rudolph was left in charge along with other servants sent by Carol I to Germany.
For now, the company has expanded through Europe faster than we initially expected thanks to our new market strategy, so we decided to enter the American market the same way we did in some countries of Europe.
The Hohen Tabacco company has been his best investment if we only count on immediate profits. Frederick has a liquidity of 2 million pounds of which 500k pounds he had invested in the company Sigmaringen-Benz Automobile that, according to estimates by mid-1890s will have the functional prototype of the 4-wheeled vehicle.
The reason for the sudden increase in my liquidity is the same reason for our rapid expansion, in order to resolve conflicts and reach more markets, I have authorized the use of the filter patent and a few of our new formulas to European tobacco companies in exchange for a sum of money and a percentage of their profits until my patent rights expire.
Going back to why Frederick is still in New York to complete a deal, Oliver recommended an investment opportunity in Gramophones. Frederick will invest £60,000 and become a senior partner in a new company called the Berliner Gramophone Company in the United States.
While Frederick was in the US, tragic news came from Germany, Kaiser Friedrich III had died and the crown Prince Wilhelm became Kaiser Wilhelm II.
August 20, Frederick resumes classes at the Prussian Military Academy.
September 26, Frederick was promoted to sergeant major and went for military training in Bavaria.
On October 4, Frederick had his 15th birthday almost a year since he came to Germany.
December 20, 1888, a few days before the end of the year, the Sigmaringen Consortium was founded. A joint decision of Prince Frederick and different advisers to facilitate the management of companies under his ownership. Alexandrei, Rudolph, and Oliver, plus new trusted employees brought in from Romania are now being trained by various business management professionals.
Meanwhile, Frederick, who has recently returned to Berlin, is enjoying a few days of vacation.
December 25, 1888, Frederick receives a letter from his father, King Carol I informing him that in January next year, he will be visiting Germany together with Queen Elisabeth I.
On December 27, Inspired by seeing bicycles growing in popularity, Frederick founded a new brand of futuristic bicycles.
After hours of trying to draw a prototype similar to those that will be used in the future and ordering the bicycle air brake to be investigated.
Frederick finally decided to spend the rest of the year at his grandfather's mansion.
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Author note: (1) This chapter originally was more lengthy but I decided to cut off the Kaiser Freidrich death 'cause is unnecessary for the plot, he died of cancer and he was a heavy smoker so... The full history of his death you can search it on Wikipedia is quite interesting but that's it...
(2) As you may guessed Friedrich/Frederick/Federico are the same just that Friedrich is in German, Frederick is in English, and Federico is in Spanish.
(3) Please be aware that smoking is bad for our health. The "filter" that's mentioned in this chapter as being able to burn toxins is nonsense, the filter is one of the greatest scams of the century, and cigarettes with it can be even worse than without it!
(4) As I mentioned before, the butterfly effect already took place!