Welcome to The Voyages and Travels of the Ambassadors, the epic story of a 17th century trade expedition from Germany to Persia that failed so completely its leader was publicly executed upon his return. This is Episode 6: The Cossacks.

We are now in Book 4, the date is July 30, 1636, and the ambassadors are about to board the Friedrich, and leave Nizhny Novgorod for Astrakhan, where the Volga River empties into the Caspian Sea.

But they discover that a labor dispute has been simmering among the shipbuilders, and a reckoning of construction costs is required. Upon investigation, they find two issues. One, that the recruiter who had hired the workers is getting a kickback of 40 rubles in exchange for securing higher wages. And two, that a blacksmith who had cheated the company is now threatened with punishment that might include a death sentence.

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