No problem, I'll translate the provided French text into English.
Here's the English translation:
Preamble Funambule
At a time when maritime powers engaged in games of influence as perilous as they were refined, a handful of thinkers within the Consortium of Cold Marches developed a bold model to assess the wealth of past centuries without succumbing to the confusion of the value of money or the price of bread: conversion by budgetary capacity equivalence.
🔍 The Founding Premise: It wasn't about how much a sou cost, but what an entire state could accomplish with 35 million livres tournois. The reasoning moved away from precious metal tables to adopt a structural logic: how many arsenals, fleets, roads, carriages, schools, or embassies such capital could finance—just as the 535 billion euros of the modern French budget would correspond to 120-150 million livres tournois in 1670.
📐 The Formula:
"If a sum is equivalent to the total ordinary revenues of an organized State, then the conversion is made not according to unit price, but according to the global role it plays in the social economy and human organization relative to available comfort."
Thus, the rate established in the alcoves of this comparison:
📜 Estimated Royal Budget around 1670:
Historians estimate that the ordinary revenues of the French monarchy were around 120 to 150 million livres tournois per year.
535,000,000,000 €÷120,000,000 livres≈4,458 euros / livre tournois
Estimated Wealth of the "Sith Company" Consortium:
35,000,000 livres×4,458 €=156,030,000,000 €
None of them are yet in the Forbes ranking of the time, but the others are particularly... hidden.
(By mobilizing the resources of the Horizon Brazil consortium, it might be more.)
Furthermore, some might wonder about the "why" of such aggression towards the United Provinces; one must know their historical policy in Europe: ultra-aggressive, and tending towards the monopolization of naval trade.
According to an inquiry conducted in 1664 by Colbert, the Dutch fleet comprised about 6,000 ships, representing 400,000 tons of gauge—and the majority were fluyts.
_________
The Liquidation of João's Precious Stones: A Cinematic Scenario
João had always known this day would come. The 2 kg of precious stones, patiently accumulated and jealously guarded, were much more than a mere collection. They represented years of trouble transporting them without doing anything with them, of calculated risks, and now, the stones had to be liquidated. But liquidating such a treasure wouldn't happen on a street corner. It would require discretion, expertise, and a touch of audacity.
The Discreet Shop in Le Marais, Paris
Maître Dubois's small office, a notary specializing in high-value transactions, was nestled at the back of a cobbled courtyard in Le Marais, hidden from prying eyes. The walls, paneled with dark wood and shelves overflowing with files, exuded confidentiality. João's agent, impeccably dressed but with sharp, anxious eyes, sat opposite two men. The first, an elegant and affable businessman named Antoine, was his Parisian agent. The second, Monsieur Klein, a third-generation wholesale lapidary, had thick fingers and piercing eyes that seemed to see beyond polished facets.
"We have examined the samples, Monsieur," Klein began, his voice hoarse. "The quality is, as we expected, exceptional. The Ceylonese sapphire... a marvel. The Burmese ruby, of rare purity."
Antoine intervened, his tone calm and confident: "Monsieur Klein represents a demanding clientele, Monsieur. Jewelers from Place Vendôme, certainly, but also private collectors, some... very discreet." He emphasized the word with a slight nod.
João's agent nodded. "I'm looking for a quick sale, gentlemen. A clean transaction, without the uncertainties of public auctions."
Klein clicked his tongue. "Quick means a price adjustment, of course. For a lot of this size, a discount of 20 to 30% is to be expected. We must absorb the risk; resale requires time and capital." He pointed to a small velvet pouch on the desk. "These stones... they speak for themselves. But the market is volatile. Trust, certification, are paramount."
Antoine added: "That's why we insisted on the expert reports. Each stone, Monsieur, is a complete file."
A slight glimmer of hope crossed João's agent's gaze. "What if we divide the lot? By quality, by type of stone?"
"Excellent idea," Klein replied. "A jeweler will look for calibrated sapphires, another will focus on unique pieces for a high-end engagement ring. That allows us to optimize each segment."
__________
A Private Club in the City, London
A few days later, the atmosphere in London was radically different. João's agent found himself in the hushed smoking room of a private club in the City, the smell of cigar and polished leather permeating the air. Facing him, Lord Alistair Finch, his London agent, a man whose casual elegance masked formidable commercial acumen, discussed with Monsieur Davies, a precious stone broker with the air of a banker.
"The London market has always craved beautiful pieces," Lord Finch declared, his distinguished accent. "Demand is strong among our clientele of financiers, aristocracy, and cosmopolitan communities here. They appreciate tangible investment, especially in these uncertain times."
Davies, his gaze fixed on a spreadsheet on his tablet, looked up. "Your valuations are solid, Monsieur. The quality is indisputable. But speed comes at a cost. We're talking about a substantial block of capital to mobilize. A 25% discount seems reasonable for a single transaction."
João took a sip of his drink. "What if we specifically target investors, those who see stones as a safe haven?"
"Absolutely," Lord Finch replied. "Some of our contacts are less interested in setting than in pure holding. They buy by the kilo, almost. We have already sounded out some of these private investment funds."
Davies nodded. "Guarantee and certification are the language they understand. Our certificate is their assurance; it's their guarantee of future liquidity. Less frills, more numbers."
"My objective is simple," the agent declared with determination. "To liquidate the entire stock in one or two major operations. To avoid fragmented sales that stretch over months, even years. I need that certainty, that finality."
Lord Finch smiled, a smile that reached his eyes. "That is precisely what we can offer you, Monsieur. A discreet, efficient, and above all, quick transaction. My contacts, and Davies's, are ready to act. A sum approaching 300,000 net pounds is entirely achievable."
The agent felt a weight lift from his shoulders. João's request was now feasible, with some of his companions already seeking engineers and experts in shipyard and shipbuilding construction, it could finally begin.
In this winter of 1669-1670, the cold had descended on Sweden with a ferocity characteristic of this "bad weather sent by divine wrath," as some called it (the Little Ice Age), marking one of the most severe winters of that era. The newly founded port of the "Sith Company" was now a landscape frozen by the cold. The waters, caught in the grip of the cold, here and there revealed a tiny, almost imperceptible, layer of freshly formed ice, scattered like crystalline cobwebs, testifying to the incessant bite of the frost.
Despite everything, activity had not frozen. The floating docks stretched along the shore, supported by skillfully driven piles in the port bed. These wooden walkways, though rigid under the cold's grip, retained their essential function. Boats, their hulls covered with a thin film of frost and their bare masts standing like ghostly sentinels, were moored along these docks. Nearby, the port warehouses, robust structures, offered precarious shelter from the glacial winds.
In this austere and implacable landscape of beauty, a few men moved with determination on the cracking pontoons with each step. These were not departing sailors, but the guardians of this dormant port. Their faces, weathered by the cold, were hidden under thick hoods, their silhouettes bent by the biting wind. They were there to supervise, to maintain the ships during the rigors of the boreal winter, ensuring that ropes did not freeze and break, that hulls did not suffer too much from ice pressure, and that everything was ready for the thaw to follow.
Each step on the frozen wood of the floating docks resonated with a dry crack, a sound amplified by the deafening silence of winter. The air, so cold it burned the lungs with each breath, carried the incessant whistle of the wind and the slight creaking of moorings taut with frost. It was a group effort, thankless and essential. These men, true sentinels of winter, embodied human tenacity in the face of the rigor of a merciless winter, watching over the sleeping vessels, awaiting their return to the seas, from "Karl's Harbor."
______
February 1670
Conclave and its surroundings,
Still stirring between two factions, the imperial faction supported by the pro-inquisition faction, a move completely in the "of two evils, choose the lesser," and the French (Gallican) faction supported by the moderate and the now completely anti-inquisition faction, did not arrive at the two-thirds required to elect a pope, and was getting stuck in a stalemate. The people around were claiming scandal. Before leaving, the agents of O'pescador - Dom Miguel - had released many copies of the proofs of the inquisition all around Rome, and Italy, even Naples, and Sicily. While quickly suppressed, the information was unleashed... And the conclave's validity got openly distrusted, since the departure and demission of a cardinal.
While the secular faction of the church reacted in haste, sentencing that ex-cardinal to excommunication, and branded him a heretic, as if they had decided to force the hands of the most recalcitrant to changes. It put quite the stir in the Catholic world, especially when the news reached the Protestant princes in the empire, and elsewhere (Holy Roman Empire HRE, England, Holland). And that, two years earlier than João had decided to release the totality of the proofs, under pressure, even in that cold and hard February, the group decided to make the total release available in Stockholm for anyone to look at and copy.
Inside the conclave:
"Well, so it's again a turnover and decide better, we are all in our right mind to not concede anything."
"Did you think of the possibility that he was right?"
"Who? Right about what?"
"Chigi."
"Ha, are you mad? You wouldn't want to lose all we have? Who cares about spirituality nowadays? They never cared before, they would never care, so do like them and never care about it, since when did we ever care about the truth?"
"So he was right..." the cardinal got a veil lifted about his own companions of service....
______
A sauna, somewhere near Stockholm
"João, what am I supposed to do, you left me in Portugal and then you drive me here to Sweden?"
Sighing: "Find your dreams and goals..."
"Having children, does that count as a goal?"
"What the f*ck are you...." he paused, looked at little Simão and little João, and then at Beatriz: "What???"
"Hey....."
"No!!!! not again!!! I need to go to India!!! Quickly!!!!"
"Hehehehe," the two young boys laughed.
"Ha! Because you two got informed before me? Tsss ha, little boys are so... cute... when they are little..."
______
Somewhere in France, while the Protestants got emboldened by the recent Inquisition scandal
"Here is a draft, Sire, of the new criminal procedure:
ROYAL ORDINANCE ON THE REFORM OF JUDICIAL PROCEDURE
Given by the Grace of God, King of France and Navarre, to our good and loyal subjects, by these presents, make known:
Considering the necessities of the good administration of our Justice and the need to ensure public order and the tranquility of our Kingdoms, it has seemed indispensable to Us to reform and clarify the procedures in use in our Courts of Justice, so that the Truth may be fully manifested and that None may evade the just application of our Laws and our Royal Will.
To these ends, We have decreed and ordered the following:
TITLE FIRST: OF OUR OFFICERS OF JUSTICE AND THEIR OFFICE
Article I. Our Judges, in all the Courts of our Kingdom, are and shall remain the faithful Depositories and Arbiters of our Royal Prerogative. It shall be their duty, first and foremost, to ensure the execution of our Ordinances and Decrees, and to ensure that our Authority and the reasons for our Government are fully respected and defended in all matters brought before them. Their judgment shall be an emanation of our own Justice.
Article II. We institute the office of Investigator, Royal Officer of our Justice, whose function shall be to establish by the most diligent and rigorous means the truth of the facts. The Investigator shall proceed to obtain the necessary evidence and testimonies for the instruction of any matter, according to the methods and procedures he deems appropriate and which he alone shall declare before the Court, in accordance with Article IV of these presents.
TITLE SECOND: OF PROCEDURE AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF TRUTH
Article III. The procedure before our Courts of Justice shall aim at establishing the Truth by a methodical and transparent instruction.
Article IV. The Investigator, having completed his investigations, shall present to the Court the report of his diligence, the evidence collected and the depositions obtained. He shall clearly set forth the method and process by which these elements were obtained, so that the Court and the parties may judge their regularity.
Article V. The Advocates, designated to assist the parties, shall have the faculty to contest the regularity and validity of the procedures employed by the Investigator, if these do not conform to the forms established by our present Ordinances or by the usages of our Courts. Furthermore, the Advocates may present counter-evidence and testimonies contrary to the facts alleged by the Investigator.
Article VI. However, when the Advocates present new evidence or depositions, they shall be bound, in the same way as the Investigator, to clearly explain to the Court the method and process by which these elements were obtained, in order to guarantee their transparency and admissibility. No evidence or deposition shall be admitted if its origin and methods of obtaining are not duly disclosed and deemed regular by the Court.
TITLE THIRD: OF JUDGMENT AND THE APPLICATION OF JUSTICE
Article VII. The Judge, after having taken cognizance of the Investigator's conclusions, the evidence and depositions presented by him, and after having heard the arguments of the Advocates both on procedural validity and on the counter-evidence produced, shall render his Sentence. In his deliberation, he shall weigh two primary considerations:
First, the strict and faithful application of our Royal Law and the defense of our own Sovereign Motives and Interests.
Second, when the clarity of the Royal Law would not impose a unique and manifest outcome, or when circumstances would require it for the peace and satisfaction of our subjects, the Judge shall endeavor to render a judgment that reflects the result most desired by our subjects, provided that this does not go against the necessities of public order and our authority.
Article VIII. None shall evade the authority of our Investigators nor the decisions of our Judges, under penalty of the most severe sanctions.
In his cabinet at Versailles, in the evening, after the formal lever, with a few trusted advisors.
His eyes scan the parchment, perhaps a faint, approving nod.
"Hmph. 'Our Judges, in all the Courts of our Kingdom, are and shall remain the faithful Depositories and Arbiters of our Royal Prerogative.' Good. Excellent. This leaves no room for doubt. No more of these tiresome squabbling over ancient customs or local privileges. My justice is my justice, and should not come from some dusty tome or the caprice of a provincial judge."
He paused, intently looking at Article V and VI, contemplating the new reciprocity.
"The investigator to declare his methods, and the advocate to challenge them... and also to present counter-evidence, provided their methods are disclosed? Interesting. A necessary concession, perhaps. It lends an air of... fairness, does it not? Even a King's justice must appear unimpeachable, lest the populace grow restless. It is not enough for our will to be applied; it must be considered to be just, even as it is absolute. This will quiet the whingers who always cry of arbitrary power, while still ensuring the proper outcome."
A slight, almost imperceptible smile plays on his lips as he reaches Article VII, particularly the second point.
"Ah, and here is the true genius of it. 'When the clarity of the Royal Law would not impose a unique outcome... the Judge shall endeavor to render a judgment that reflects the result most desired by the Populace...' Indeed. The will of the people, properly guided, is a formidable tool. Justice must not only serve the Crown, but be considered to be for the public good. Especially now, with this... Roman unpleasantness unfolding. Let the common people know that our justice, the King's justice, is swift, effective, and addresses their concerns, unlike the murky, self-serving machinations of certain ecclesiastical entities across the Alps. This will make them trust me, even as it gives us the flexibility to manage... difficult situations."
He leaned back, a glint in his eye, his gaze becoming more thoughtful, less about immediate administration and more about the long-term strength of the kingdom.
"It is precise enough to guide, yet broad enough to allow for the necessary discretion. It codifies what has long been my aim: to bring all aspects of governance, including the administration of justice, firmly under the umbrella of my royal authority. This will allow us to move with greater speed and certainty, to impose order, to collect what is due to us, and to silence opposition, while leaving room for some necessary discord, avoiding us to breed traitors like the inquisition did. A solid foundation, indeed, for the grandeur of France."
"You can let this preliminary functioning be known throughout our kingdoms; it will silence the Protestants and reassure the people that the prevalent law of the king will ensure their equity, thus probably avoiding any unrest; they never lacked patience."
"Thank you, Sire, and with the public support, they may even demand for royal justice to be applied in some noble's domains."
"Ha! Not like they will let it happen easily!!"
Discussion of the Eleven Shareholders of the "Sith Company" (SITC)
End of February 1670, first evaluation meeting, gathered around a large wooden table. The room is sober.
"Gentlemen, it's been almost six months since we launched the Stockholm Textile Company operations. Everyone has a copy of the report, and the Baltic Trade Company has finished its acquisitions; now ships can use any Baltic flag."
"We have proceeded with storing a lot of tools and iron and copper ingots destined for Poland and Russia! The guilds' productions exceed my expectations in this area. It remains to be seen if Baltic Trade will manage to keep up in terms of quantity."
"But, for now, the essential thing is the fabric of the textile trade. How much do we have exactly?"
"The figures for the production of thick linen and hemp, at the last count: 130,000 meters of fabric. And February's production alone, with our 240 operational machines, is about 38,400 meters."
"So, is India postponed?"
"Unless you manage to get out of the Baltic against the wind before May... yeah, it's postponed..." João said nonchalantly.
"Anyway, that's the crucial point: discretion. I especially don't want the Dutch to know we're aiming for a grain monopoly in the Baltic too early."
"Says the gentleman who put us in such a position that we had to release the documents we had on the Inquisition 2 years before the decided date."
"You have to understand me, I had no choice; an ex-cardinal like Chigi leaving a conclave by unfrocking himself, it was like leaving my line on the boat..."
"Only you manage to have so much luck, you know," João said, as if bored that the port wasn't already fortified and ready for him to finally go to India. Beatriz is experiencing nausea and crises; even the children prefer to attend this council from behind the door.
Shareholder 5 (Mr. Erik Lund, trade agent in Poland, back from the field): "Anyway, what happened to Chigi?"
"Last I heard, he wants to become a monk in a monastery of his own making, maybe even force boys to learn to read..."
A shiver runs through João and Luis.
"Or to swim."
The shiver becomes collective.
...
"To summarize, we are ready for the season."
"All that's missing is to know if my agents in England succeeded in recruiting experts to build dry docks and shipyards; without that, India..."
"And can't we just pirate the Dutch in the middle of the North Sea? With our Portuguese letters of marque?"
...
"An excellent question.... Do you think you'll go all the way to Portugal to claim your prize as legitimate?"
"Oh damn, well then, pirate?"
"Yeah... if you want, I'll ask Karl XI to prepare the rope."
"Okay, I get it."