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What does "will not go unsold to" mean in the following sentence?

The King of Portugal, Lord of Spices, has set... prices just as he pleases, for pepper, which, at any cost, no matter how dear, will not long go unsold to the Germans.

Source: Bound Together: How Traders, Preachers, Adventurers, and Warriors Shaped Globalization, by Nayan Chanda
Google book link--- http://goo.gl/YPngmK

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Seems to me like a double negative. Meaning Will be soon sold to Germans.
not long = soon (shortly)
not go unsold = will sell

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  • I wouldn't read "not long" as "soon", but as "not for a long time". The pepper well not remain (in an) unsold (state) for a long time. And that unsold state is further defined as unsold to the Germans.
    – oerkelens
    Commented Apr 9, 2015 at 10:35

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