[This chapter is going to be mostly summarized]
We ended up deciding to just build Carlisle his practice in one of the busier areas of this era's version of New York.
Which wasn't even a shadow of what it will one day become.
Doing it like this allowed us to wait for Julius to send people over to open a branch of Greingotts here, which will give me a steady revenue as well as a strong backing for what I had planned.
The workers we had hired to build a two story structure for Carlisle's medical practice had just finished when the gringotts delegation arrived in New York.
They came in a fleet of nine massive ships from our trading section.
One ship held the delegation members, who would deal with the local government as well as any issues that might arise from the locals.
On three of the other ships were the four hundred members of the gringotts legion.
All for the protection of the ship's as well as the two ships stuffed with gold for the purchase of the land for the bank, as well as the materials needed to build it.
The other three ships were war ships, each sporting one hundred cannons each.
To say their arrival stirred up the locals would be an understatement.
It is known worldwide that wherever gringotts opens a bank, the locals as well as the kingdom or city state would prosper greatly.
For the locals, as well as the economy.
The locals because there will always be a need for jobs.
From building the large bank that was always a staple of gringotts, to the staff needed to work the bank.
the economy, because gringotts was a large exporter of local goods, and always paid fairly for anything we bought.
Sending more money to the people.
I didn't go to meet with the delegation's leader when they arrived, as I didn't want to get in the way of them dealing with the local government.
So, for the first few months, I stayed and helped Carlisle in his medical endeavors.
I didn't help with stitching people up, but instead with herbal remedies, which I had thousands of years of experience with.
Quickly, the medical shop took off, and Carlisle was having to hire helping hands, which was good for me, because I figured it was a good enough time to finally go and meet with the delegation.
The bank decided to build the new bank in the Manhattan area, a few blocks from the harbor.
They bought the land from a second-generation farmer who inherited the land.
It wasn't much, only about 40 or so acres.
Which was good, because I didn't want this bank to be like all the others, which normally kept the gold underground.
With all the underground train tunnels that would one day criss-cross under all 5 burrows, I figured it would just be best not to interfere with that.
Instead, this bank was going to have all the gold stashed in large safes above ground.
So this bank was going to need to be much larger.
I made my way to the new location of the bank, where I knew the new bank head was going to be, who was also the leader of the delegation.
I was wearing new clothes that Carlisle had talked me into wearing.
The coat was tailored with wide lapels, cuffs, and intricate decorative buttons. The waistcoat, worn underneath the coat, was also embellished with embroidery patterns. Then plain breeches, which were knee-length pants, worn with stockings and buckled shoes.
To complete the look, I wore a tricorn hat and carried a walking stick. I also had a nice gold pocket watch that I twirled on the chain.
In Layman terms…I looked, as well as felt, like a clown.
A rich one at that.
Because Apparently, it wasn't "proper" to show up to the business "I" started in whatever I wanted.
But instead, I was to show up in clothes that fit my status with those who I was going to meet.
Which I found funny, as I was a religious figure to most of the top brass of my bank, who probably wouldn't really care what I was wearing.
The meeting went smoother than I had originally thought It was going to.
As soon as the guards saw my beat and battered gold card, I was instantly escorted to the large tent that was holding the delegation as they did their work.
What surprised me was the new uniforms that my legionary guards were wearing.
Gone was the armor, helmets, shields, and swords of the original legionary.
Instead, they now wore uniforms that resembled what English soldiers wore.
Except, instead of red, they wore purple coats, and pure black pants, with muskets.
I read Julius all over that decision.
But at least the captains and lieutenants still wore the legionary sword.
I knew it was bound to happen eventually, but that didn't mean I had to like it.
But to be fair, It's not like I could have armored legionary soldiers patrolling my banks in the 21st century in full regalia…or perhaps…nah.
The new bank head was a large man, not fat or anything, but instead looked to be built like a brick shit house.
As it turned out, the man was German and could speak almost perfect English.
His name was Friedrich Wilhelm Schmidt, and was a nice enough fellow who seemed very interested in my idea.
By the end of the day, that exact plan was written out and sent to Julius, who would be able to enact them.
The plan mostly contained the names of people we would be bribing, as well as orders to send my hundreds of protection/war ships to Africa to shew away anyone who was going to buy slaves until my plan could come to fruition.
My plan wasn't to bribe the kingdoms with gold, though.
Most of the countries that were involved in the African slave trade, besides England, were kingdoms that didn't have my banks in them.
Such as Portugal, Spain, France, and Norway.
So, I was going to bribe them with building my banks in their kingdoms.
The countries that did have my banks and were involved, I would just bribe the rulers.
Like In England, I would be bribing Queen Anne.
All of them I would have pass laws banning the trading of slaves of any ethnicity.
Of course, that wasn't enough to completely stop slavery, which was a deeply rooted problem.
So I went for something everyone also had a deep connection to…religion.
That's right, I bribed the church.
Or, to be more exact, I bribed the pope.
Delegations were sent to the Vatican, with 100 chests of gold.
Pope Clement XI was more than happy to take our…donation.
Within a month, he started a campaign to stop slavery.
As soon as I got a written quote from the Vatican of one of the pope's speeches to his cardinals, I opened printing shops across the colonies, all printing his words.
"Let us proclaim with unwavering faith and resolute conviction that all humankind, created in the divine image, are bound together by the sacred bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood. In the eyes of the Divine, there exists no distinction of race, ethnicity, or social status. Every individual, regardless of their station in life, is deserving of dignity, respect, and freedom.
For it is written in our holy scriptures, 'Love thy neighbor as thyself.' Let this commandment be etched upon our hearts, guiding our actions and shaping our society. Slavery, that abhorrent institution that tarnishes the very essence of humanity, must be abolished. It is a blight upon our collective conscience, a violation of the divine order, and a denial of the inherent worth of every soul.
To keep another human being in chains is to defy the divine plan, to deny the fundamental truth that we are all equal in the eyes of God. Let us cast aside the shackles of ignorance and prejudice and embrace the teachings of compassion and justice. For it is through love, understanding, and forgiveness that we shall bring an end to this dark chapter in our history.
As followers of the faith, we are called to be instruments of liberation and advocates for justice. Let us rise as a united voice, speaking out against the injustice of slavery and working tirelessly to dismantle its oppressive systems. May our prayers be the catalyst for change, our actions, the embodiment of our faith, and our love, the driving force behind the eradication of this deplorable institution.
Today, we declare our unwavering commitment to the liberation of all enslaved souls. We call upon governments, religious leaders, and individuals of conscience to join us in this noble cause. Together, let us strive to create a world where every person is free, where the chains of bondage are broken, and where the light of justice and compassion shines brightly for all.
In the name of our shared humanity, in the name of our faith, we declare that slavery shall be no more. May our words and actions echo throughout history, inspiring generations to come and ensuring that the divine commandment of freedom and equality is upheld for all eternity… signed pope clement XI"
This is the time I really started to realize how much power my banks had.
Aspeshaly when kings and queens started to fall over themselves to get my banks into their kingdoms, by passing laws banning all forms of slavery.
For a very long time, I only thought of my Banks as my personal piggy bank, which, in a way, it was.
But in reality, Gringotts Banks held an insane amount of political power all over the world.
Not only for the status of having our banks in their country, but also for the revenue it brings.
And as I later found out, we also held a metric fuck tone of blackmail over some very powerful individuals heads, like galatians.
(Cough)...Moving on.
Something else I did was buy all remaining slaves in America that weren't already bought yet.
After doing so, I instantly set them free.
Me doing so, allowed the newspaper I had in New York named the "New York Times" to start printing story's of my actions to everyone.
Of course they didn't use my name, and instead I was described as a "rich individual" who followed the pope's words, and set the available slaves in America free Like any good religious man should.
And after I printed a "letter" I had received from the pope for my actions, everyone and their granny started to do the same…mostly.
Of course there were still holdouts who were determined to keep their slaves working their farms fields.
Such as people from religious groups.
So I bought their farms, stock and barrel.
And Within 10 years, America was a slave free country, along with most of the other kingdoms.
_____________________
I know without a doubt that slavery couldn't have been ended so quickly.
But I figured it was best just to make it seem so, So I don't have to write a bunch of chapters about it in depth.
Because I'm ready to get to the main story.