jefnvk
March 17, 2005, 01:13 PM
The impact of the development of Gun Powder on the world :D
Learned many interesting things. Europeans were the most open to the new weaponry. They benefitted the most, by being able to arm untrained pesants with a weapon that didn't require years to master.
The Islamic world accepted it, but didn't have many resources available to produce it. Property rights gave all minerals to the ruler, so there was no incentive for landowners to search for mineable goods required to produce weapons.
The Chinese had a tradition that if a ruler required a strong military, he was not doing a good job. Therefore, they didn't really accept it, but they did realize it as a useful tool, especially in keeping out the Northern nomadic tribes.
The Japanese realized one thing right away: an armed pesantry is not good for tyrants. They didn't like the fact that Joe Blow could get a gun and kill a skilled Samuari. An immediate ban went on all firearms, supposedly if one pesant was caught with one, the entire village was executed. Random arm checks were conducted. Of course, the law did not apply to the wealthy nobility.
First major use of firearms was the Ottoman Empire taking the city of Constantinople. Because of the problems above, the ruler hired a European metal caster to make him some BIG guns. 30 inch bore, 27 feet long, with walls of the barrel 8 inches thick. Fired a projectile weighing 1200 pounds. The gun could only be fired 6-7 times a day, due to the immense heat buildup. The walls which had stood around the city for thousands of years fell in 55 days.
I just love having an old southern guy teaching in a very non-liberal college :D
Learned many interesting things. Europeans were the most open to the new weaponry. They benefitted the most, by being able to arm untrained pesants with a weapon that didn't require years to master.
The Islamic world accepted it, but didn't have many resources available to produce it. Property rights gave all minerals to the ruler, so there was no incentive for landowners to search for mineable goods required to produce weapons.
The Chinese had a tradition that if a ruler required a strong military, he was not doing a good job. Therefore, they didn't really accept it, but they did realize it as a useful tool, especially in keeping out the Northern nomadic tribes.
The Japanese realized one thing right away: an armed pesantry is not good for tyrants. They didn't like the fact that Joe Blow could get a gun and kill a skilled Samuari. An immediate ban went on all firearms, supposedly if one pesant was caught with one, the entire village was executed. Random arm checks were conducted. Of course, the law did not apply to the wealthy nobility.
First major use of firearms was the Ottoman Empire taking the city of Constantinople. Because of the problems above, the ruler hired a European metal caster to make him some BIG guns. 30 inch bore, 27 feet long, with walls of the barrel 8 inches thick. Fired a projectile weighing 1200 pounds. The gun could only be fired 6-7 times a day, due to the immense heat buildup. The walls which had stood around the city for thousands of years fell in 55 days.
I just love having an old southern guy teaching in a very non-liberal college :D
