The invention of gunpowder
Have you ever wondered how gunpowder was invented? Or how gunpowder has been a huge turning point in warfare for everyone? Gunpowder has a very interesting history, many uses, and most importantly has changed warfare drastically.
Gunpowder was first invented in ancient China. The Chinese accidentally invented gunpowder while trying to make an elixir for immortality. Unknown by the Chinese at the time, this accident would make major history. The Chinese mixed charcoal, sulfur, and saltpeter to create gunpowder. After this accident, the Chinese used gunpowder to launch fireworks and other non-lethal objects. This accidental invention helped the Chinese because before the invention they just tried to outsmart the
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These arrows would be lit with a fuse and when they would hit the destination, it would light everything on fire. The arrows are the first use of gunpowder in war, this showed how effective gunpowder can be in battle so the Chinese made other weapons utilizing this explosive powder. The Chinese figured out that they needed two innovations to fully utilize gunpowder in rockets, first they would need a counter- balance to make sure that the rockets would have a straight trajectory. The second innovation needed is an efficient or easier way of drilling holes in the exact center of the gunpowder so it would burn evenly and would also allow the rockets to have a straight trajectory. They ended up making both innovations in the 12th and 13th centuries. Additionally the Chinese made something that would be very useful to them, …show more content…
by a Portuguese ship. Then the Portuguese got interested in this explosive powder. The Portuguese invented the cannon, made rifles, and made better innovations to their rifles than the Chinese or the Europeans. Then hundreds of years later the Europeans made trades with China for their more advanced and effective gunpowder. In the 14th century gunpowder also spread to Japan, Islam, and Europe. They all improved the powder for more lethal or military use and was a big reason that they won battles in the future. In Japan they secretly started to produce saltpeter and eventually, gunpowder. The silk road was actually a big part of the spreading of gunpowder and helped it travel to most areas. The Muslims also did work on the powder and even made their own, new
The Chinese had what is called the Chinese Four Great Inventions to offer the West. These are paper making, printing, gunpowder and the compass. It is easy to see how significant these were in history and the world’s development. Many of these items were first discovered in China but revolutionized in the West. Let’s first discuss paper. Paper was originally made from fishnet, bark and cloth. A paper factory was setup by the Arabs who captured some paper makers in a war between the Tang
During the Tang dynasty, when Buddhist influence was strong, gunpowder and printing blossomed. Printing was created within the walls of Buddhist monasteries and gunpowder was developed by Daoist alchemists a couple centuries later. Along with these inventions, the compass was formed, which allowed for more complex navigation of the waters. Using the compass, the Chinese discovered a direct route to spice markets of Java and found the Spice Islands in the Moluccas. Silk and porcelain became significant trade items of China; southern market drove large quantity of goods produced in
gunpowder itself. Such as where was it originated, when was it originated, and how did it
With a lemon-shaped piece of iron and a tail made of paper or cardboard, the handheld explosive greatly resembled a dart. On the front of the grenade’s body was a plunger, which held a percussion cap filled with explosive material.When the the grenade fell onto its nose and applied pressure to the plunger, an explosion was triggered, only to be met by more gunpowder inside. Although the resulting explosion caused a great deal of mayhem and shrapnel, it was not very reliable because its detonation depended on the grenade falling directly onto its nose. Because of its temperamental behavior, the grenade got a reputation for not being very accurate.
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]
Hiram Maxim created Machine Gun and in 1883, he created the first multi bullet-firing weapon. This lead to wider development of automatic weapons which were later used in war. (Note: the 1862 Gatling gun which was ran by hand cranking.)
Another result of technological progression was the matchlock, which would shoot with ignition of a lit match. "The introduction of firearms into the Elizabethan Weapons Arsenal saw the end of castle warfare and the building of the magnificent Medieval castles"(Alchin 1). With the invention of lethal, quick cannons came the decline of forts for defense as soldiers prepared for battle. Cannons were made of bronze and iron, in many different sizes, and they fired stone or iron, to be used on land or
the most used and biggest invention was the .58 or .69 caliber minie ball . it was invented in France in killed more men than ever in the Civil War. It was the first cone shaped bullet ever and fit into the barrel of a rifle perfectly. so it took less time to load. Because of the Riesling in the aerodynamic shape it was shot way faster also there was a. 58 caliber gardener in a .577 enfield.
Furthermore, while Landes bestows Europe with the accountability of “invention of invention,” many of the ground-breaking inventions that the world saw in the 15th century were generated in non-European societies. In 895 A.D., China saw the invention of gunpowder. While initially used for flame throwing, it was soon used in bombs, grenades and rockets by 1231 A.D. This opposes the theory that Europe took initiative to employ gunpowder in warfare while China merely used it for leisurely purposes, including flame throwing. Printing and paper-making were also invented in China, and ultimately led to the widespread use of paper currency and the printing of literature. China also saw the innovation of printing by paving the way towards other inventions such as wallpaper, tissue paper, toilet paper and certain articles of clothing. Many of these
Gunpowder was invented long before the Europeans were introduced to it. Gunpowder was invented by the Chinese in the ninth century .
The Chinese evaporated and sometimes mined salt so they could salt fish. During this time, the Chinese invented or are believed to have invented gunpowder and the pickling process. They also invented a condiment called jiangyou, or as we call it in the west, soy sauce. In 252 B.C, the governor Li Bing (today the province of Sichuan), ordered the drilling of the world’s first brine wells. Brine is water that is strongly saturated with salt, and it could be used to produce salt during the process of solar-evaporation. Afterwards, the Chinese made extreme advances in drill technology that the West wouldn’t discover until the early 20th century.
Another artifact shows how the invention of gunpowder increased Chinese trade and caused the rise and fall of empires and governments. And that a small invention, with seemingly no use at all, contributed to the creation of even greater technology like ammunition and first generation
During Matteo Ricci’s visit to China, he discovered that the Chinese were using their known metals for many different purposes. One purpose was that of gunpowder technology, mainly used for entertainment and cultural events. A chief attraction of Chinese festivals was fireworks, made from the valuable saltpeter. This use of the gunpowder technology for entertainment was shocking for Ricci, because the Chinese did not use it in war as much. I believe the Chinese did this because gunpowder was relatively primitive and not superior to that of a crossbow yet. Enemies of the Chinese mainly consisted of cavalry units like the Mongols, which were hard to defeat with early guns. Another reason was the power of the Emperor to decide to prevent technology
During the 17th century the European powers developed a whole new array of firepower. The old gunpowder weapons that fired by
The discovery of gunpowder was discovered in 850 A.D. by accident. Gunpowder also called black powder is considered the earliest explosive invented. The Chinese alchemists of the ninth century were considered to be a major force behind the early development of gunpowder. They first used the substance to treat skin diseases and to kill insects before people realized it would be