18 - Krupp Steel pt. 1, Friedrich Carl and Alfred Krupp, or, Primitive Accumulation

We're about to take a long voyage into German steel production through the lens of Krupp Steel, from 1587 into the 1960s. You're going to learn so much about German heavy industry, but I promise it's not boring. It's all about Essen, Germany, and this episode is about the start of the Krupp family, the way they made their early fortune, their actions in the Napoleonic era, and the race to figure out how to make cast steel. We meet Friedrich Carl, who almost ruins the family forge, and his son Alfred Krupp, who figures out how to make cast steel. There's industrial espionage, Austrian bribery, and even the revolutions of 1848.  w/ Krupp und Krause theme song