How Did Gunpowder Affect Society

Gunpowder was known of in China since the eleventh century, but it reached Europe in the mid-thirteenth century, however, it was not until the fourteenth century when gunpowder began to be used practically. Innovations such as the cannon were used widely throughout europe when attacking and defending from sieges. The timely process that was siege warfare was quickly cut down by the cannon by 1380. The defensive walls that had for so long defended fortresses crumbled quickly due to heavy cannon bombardment. The first response was to thicken defensive fortress walls, however, by the later fifteenth century the french began to use trenches. The effect of gunpowder on medieval warfare took a long time to actually become noticeable because of the many cons to using cannons. Cannons were very hard to move because of their weight and some of the earlier cannons had to be dangerously close to the target in order for the shot to reach, not only that, the reloading the cannons was a lengthy and unconventional process making the use of early cannons not so desirable for attacking armies. Early cannons were also the cause of a good number of accidents that mostly resulted in death such as when James II of Scotland was killed when the chamber of a cannon exploded. While gunpowder did affect medieval warfare, it was not until the very end of the middle ages when weapons that

The World of Gunpowder and How It Revolutionized Weaponry and More Invented by an unknown Chinese alchemist, gunpowder has changed the world of weaponry and the the world of weapons as well. Gunpowder has changed the world in many ways. Invented in the fifth century, a Chinese alchemist was trying to find a potion to immortality, but it failed (Ross). Eventually they found out the powder can explode by igniting a flame to it. With gunpowder, fireworks were invented and people thought it could ward off evil spirits with their bright lights and loud noises (“THOF”).

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

gunpowder itself. Such as where was it originated, when was it originated, and how did it

Gunpowder single handedly changed the world. What once started as fireworks, would eventually become the greatest aspect of warfare known to man. It was first used by the Chinese, as colorful displays of fire in the sky, but under the rule of the Ming and Ching it became a feared machine of war. Although the effects of gunpowder were mainly positive, there are still some major disadvantages.

European history has been filled with war, but none has caused quite the damage like the Northern Wars. The Northern Wars were a series of campaigns during the 16th century throughout the 18th century that would leave devastation in the northern regions of Europe. Throughout the series of wars that contributed to the mass destruction of property and wealth, none could be comparable to the destruction that the Great Northern war caused. During the beginning of the 18th century, 1700 - 1721, the Great Northern War engulfed Europe into a time of war and destruction. The result would cause an immense shift of power within the European nations. The result would cause the prevention of advancement

To begin, Europeans lived under a system called feudalism which was important to their social status. “Feudalism was a political, economic, and social system in which nobles were granted to use of land that legally belonged to the king”(Doc1).The kings provided money for the knights(Doc1). Then the knights provided protection and military services for the serfs,nobles and kings(Doc1). The serfs farmed the land. Lastly the nobles gave land to the serfs, collected food from them, and reported to the king (Doc. 1). These roles were important because their rank in feudalism controlled their social status.

There was not just one type of gunpowder. Blinding powder, flying powder, violent powder, poison powder, bruising and burning powder, and smoke screen powder were all types of gunpowder. Before gunpowder was used in warfare, gunpowder was used as just fireworks. People seeking immortality first used gunpowder called photo-gunpowder. The first time gunpowder was used in warfare was during the Song Dynasty (904 AD) against Genghis Khan and the Mongols, according to “Invention of Gunpowder.”

The discovery of gunpowder changed war from being fought with medieval weaponry and battle tactics to more modern day weapons and tactics because the gunpowder powered weapons are more deadly. Weapons that use gunpowder to launch projectiles have a greater range than melee weapons and are more powerful than bow and arrows. Also, cannons are more powerful and have a greater range and accuracy than catapults and they also can be reloaded faster than catapults. Gunpowder weapons changed war because they are stronger, more accurate, have a greater range and are able to be reloaded faster than medieval weaponry.

I will argue that the development of gunpowder and gunpowder weapons brought about a military revolution in Europe which changed the way wars were fought. The areas of change in warfare I will be focusing on are ground warfare, naval warfare and siege warfare. I will also look at the beginnings of gunpowder in China as it is important to understand on the basis on which the Europeans were expanding on. The specifics on when and how gunpowder was invented is greatly debated among historians.

Gunpowder helped countries grow, as well as they contribute to the decline and disadvantages. Gunpowder helped countries grow at first, and that was the advantage. With this gunpowder the empires could conquer or take over more land from surrounding countries, like the Ottomans, Russia, and Safaldes. Ottomans used it also as a way to protect their trade routes. But later fell to a more powerful technology. As for the Russia they didn’t use it as well as they could’ve. They used it to force locals into things. They took advantage of their power when it came to their own empire. Or like the Safaldes who used it besides of expansion, like reestablishing Persia powers. But sadly their Empire didn't last because of the bad leadership. So when

First up is the longbow, a great invention but sadly it was not yet of this time. Believe it or not the long bow wasn’t on the Europe main land until many years after it was invented. According to Max Perham the longbow was invented by the Celts in Wales around 1180, but was not really used by the English military until the 1300’s. Also according to Virginia Ream the army’s attacking would not just bombard the castle walls. There were people that would dig under the castle’s walls to weaken them then they would fire at that area to bring them down.

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

2017). From there, the Moors and the Ottoman Turks created their own forms of firearms. The Moors fought the Europeans in Spain for control of the area, and not even a year after that war the first firearms were finished in Italy. Soon after that the first cannons began to appear, the earliest to appear was from the Turks, they created the bombard. Which were these huge cannon, bigger than one could imagine. The bombards would blow down castle wall this was one of the key weapons that caused the city to fall. With it, fell the recipe of another type of gunpowder, which was mostly used as an early form of flame thrower (Sammon, J. 2012).

In War in Human Civilization, Azar Gat asserted that, “Europe experienced a so-called military revolution,” in the 16th and 17th centuries as a result of social, technological, and economic factors. Likewise, historians Williamson Murray and MacGregor Knox affirmed that European militaries experienced revolution during the same period for a variety of other reasons, including the development of the military profession and the disbursement of regular pay. These authors recognized the extensive and lasting impact of the radical military, social, and economic transformations resultant to the rise of the nation state from approximately 1560 to 1700, culminating in a post-Westphalian Europe. The product of this military revolution, subsequently, was a shift from, “bellicose persons… [and] men acting in unison with plenty of brute ferocity but no effective control,” to a professionalized force, with the equivalent of a functioning institutional “central nervous system.” Fundamentally, the emergence of the modern state constituted a military revolution because it subordinated the act of warfare and the monopoly of violence to the newly formed state, enabled the establishment of the modern military institution where none existed previously, and instituted a process for integrating modern and emerging science with military matters. Consequently, the conclusion of feudalism and the emergence of modern states demonstrated a paradigm shift in both the conduct of governance and