Gunpowder+and+artillery

=Gunpowder, Artillery, and Weapons=

by Chris Freeman
= Gun powder and artillery = = during the time of the renaissance =

Gun powder is a very old substance the first recordings of gun powder was from the Chinese Wujing Zongyao of 1044 AD. Gun powder was used for military uses and construction uses and recreational uses. There are many theorys about how gun powder made it to europ. Some people say that it came to the Europe on the trade road called the silk road. Gunpowder was probably used for the first time in Europe during the Battle of Crécy in 1346﻿. The invention of gunpowder greatly changed the way men fought. The Medieval knight could not defend himself against firearms and cannons. Knights were replaced by the foot soldier who carried firearms. Between 1670 and 1729 William Congreve developed rockets to use during wars. In the seventeenth century the gun was developed by the English. Gun powder changed the world as we know it today. Gun powder made the mid eval world change a lot, changed the way things were built and how wars were fought. This canon was from 1478 A.D. Was one of the first ones.

Gun powder reached Europe some where in the 1200's. Gun powder is mainly made of saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal. Gun powder changed the way people built there kingdoms. The reason the people had to change the way they built there kingdoms is because the were castles made of stone and the were no match for the power of gun powder. Gun powder also changed the way they fought like there knights in metal and is good for stopping sowards and arrows but no match for bombs and bullets. During this time Europe built lots of canals during this time frame. They were built because parts of Europe by the coast is below or even with the ocean, and some of these areas were large swamps. They used gun powder to blast canals and build levees to help control the water.

Guns were stating to be made during this time. The musket was the first gun ever made. The musket allowed small forces to take out mass numbers of armies that didn't have muskets or cannons. Gun powder didn't really change the formations of the way they fought. When two armies had muskets they would line up in formations and shoot at each other, when they would shoot a couple rounds or so they would charge each other and go back to hand to hand combat.

This different ways gun powder is made they make it large chunkes or smaller chunks for different uses.

Gun powder was not always used for war or construction. Some people found a way to use it for recreation. They found ways to put different colors and shoot them in the air and and they would exploded and look cool. They would use this for celebration and early on used it to scare enemies. Gun powder was one of the most significant changes in the world still today.

Kennedy,J.E 1991. Gun Powder The World Book Encyclopedia Chicago

http://www.mce.k12tn.net/renaissance/inventions.htm

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Pan, J.L (Eds) (1993).Time Frame AD 1500 -1600 Time life books: Alexandria, Virginia