Essay on 16th Century English Weapons

The rifle was invented in late industrial age because in the early industrial age, soldiers fought on horse or foot with a weapon called a muzzle-loading musket which was a single firing gun with a very slow rate of fire

There was a 17% difference in casualties from the Napoleonic Wars to World War I. This can be credited mainly to the new weapons. There were many different weapons in World War I, whether they were completely new or just variations and improvements of previous weapons. Some of the new weapons included machine guns, mustard gas, Zeppelins, and planes, while some of the improved weapons included the bolt-action rifle, the Howitzer, and pistols. The innovative new weapons that were introduced in World War I have forever changed the way wars were fought.

During the Elizabethan time there were a variety of weapons used for defence and leisure. Despite the end of the medieval times, many of its weapons were still in use (Mahabal). Because of this, the Queen pushed to have new, modern weapons be created in case of a war. The threat of a war was real because of the constant dispute between the Catholic Spanish and the French (Alchin). Most of the weaponry that came to be happened to influence English history forever such as the Rapier, the musket, and the cannon.

During the Middle Ages, or also known as the Medieval Ages, change was a major part of that period. Europe was watching war become much different. In the older times, a few thousands of troops were considered a large army. Nowadays, nobody has ever seen such size of an army with such variety in weapons including guns, munitions, and artillery that were all developed during that period. Besides, it was obvious that the face of warfare was changing by the end of the fifteenth century. Two of the most significant developments were the maintaining of a fair amount of troops on a permanent basis at the ready, and the rising need of gunpowder weapons and munitions. In essence The Middle

instrument they used is described as an iron tube or vessel that was filled with a powder or

The main purpose for weapons was to defend their selves in combat against their opponents. It was also a very significance during the Elizabethan Era. A main weapon used was a weapon called the ‘Rapier” it’s kind of like a sword but very long and do more than enough damage to one another. Very skilled people knew how to used the weapon to fight against enemies, however anybody could master the rapier.

During the Revolutionary War we do not see much advancement in weaponry, but we do see a wide array of weapons such as Artillery, Rifles and Muskets, Pistols, Swords and Sabres, Ship classes, and even Submarines. Although there was not a huge technological leap in weaponry, the weapons were very interesting and effective at the time.

As Europe became so much more industrialized, major problems started to rise and make itself known. Unemployment and lack of money for the people were two of the major problems (Doc R). Europe’s solution to this was to colonize parts of Africa and send all of the extra people there. This allowed the overflow of people to be minimized because of the new acquired space they now had. It also helped their economy because as European people were being pushed out to Africa, new factories and businesses were put up so they could work in them. Also, the inventions of the cannon based on the “gunpowder empires” in Africa and Europe allowed them to get ahead of their competitors (Doc H). This new artillery invention allowed Europe to take down African and Asian armies that were larger than theirs. Since the cannon was a necessity for Europe to take down their enemies, and was generally ahead in the military aspects, the factories had to make and model these in the most efficient way possible. This heavy demand for weaponry placed a big load of work on the factories to produce the cannon and send it out to the troops the fastest they could. This increase in workload in factories provided more jobs and strengthen the economy for Europe. Also, the gunpowder industry began as a result of the industrial revolution. This revolution was so popular in Europe that it paved the way for Europe to overall strive in many aspects such as the production of gunpowder. The new overseas technological advances and transportation gave Europe an extra layer of protection to their already great military (Doc H). The industrial revolution in Europe was were steamships and the transporting of goods originally started. This laid a foundation for the factories in improve the ships and put Europe ahead. Having effective and efficient

Light machine guns and sub-machine guns were invented during World War I as small arms, but the larger machine guns were modernized as well. Flame throwers were used as an offensive attack against trench warfare.[ix],[x]

In wars prior to the Civil War, soldiers wielded weapons such as the musket which shot only one bullet at a time. Though these types of weaponry could shoot as far as 250 yards, they were inconvenient and wasted time. To even aim at the target accurately one had to be 80 yards away. Similarly to muskets, rifles were inconvenient because they took a while to reload because the bullet was almost the same size of the barrel and again, wasted time. Bullets with a pointed tip were created in 1848 by Claude Minie. Because the diameter of the bullets were smaller than the barrel, soldiers could put them into the gun quicker and more effectively. With Minie’s bullets, rifles were simpler to reload but still had to be reloaded with one bullet at a time. That unprotected gap of time made soldiers more vulnerable so in 1849 a repeating rifle called the Volitional Repeater was patented by Walter Hunt. They were popularized in 1863 during the Civil War. By this time many models were being sold but the most common one was the Spencer Carbine which could shoot seven bullets in just 30 seconds. These, like most Civil War era weapons, were produced and used by the North, but not

This second edition of DeVries and Smiths’ book, Medieval Military Technology, encompasses many of the weapons, fortifications, vessels, machines, and armour developed throughout the medieval period, to provide a brief cultural history of the relationship between military technology and medieval society. DeVries and Smiths’ purpose in compiling this book was to lay out their argument in a way to which the reader can understand the purpose of medieval military and its relationship to society. The central

The result of World War II was affected by many different factors. One major factor which affected the war was the weapons and artillery used during the war. Since the beginnings of time, weapons have always been around. From swords and knives to nuclear weapons and missiles, weapons have evolved greatly throughout the years. The weapons and artillery used in World War II basically were evolved types of weaponry that were used during World War I (Military History 1).

Inventions and innovations in weaponry and warfare helped both the Christians and the Muslims. In the end, both sides learned from their experiences in war, thus many new inventions emerged, including the lance, the longbow, the crossbow, the flail, full-body armor, and chainmail. There were many other inventions changed the way that battles were fought, and continue to be used in the modern world of war today. Gunpowder, for example, is an obvious discovery that contributed to the later invention of cannons, which changed the way battles were fought both on the land and at sea. Siege weapons were also invented and improved upon following the Crusades. The blueprints for these incredibly powerful weapons were brought back to Europe and modified in order to meet the challenges faced throughout the Crusades.

During the 17th century the European powers developed a whole new array of firepower. The old gunpowder weapons that fired by

Gunpowder has been around for centuries, over millennium. How has gunpowder effected Warfare, and life as we know it? It could easily be argued that one of the most important inventions or discoveries in history has been gunpowder. Gunpowder permanently altered the way humans wage war. Gunpowder was to blame for the rise and fall of Empires (Schroder, M. 2012)