History of Gunpowder
It could easily be argued that one of the most important inventions or discoveriesin history has been gunpowder. And there are many things that can be argued aboutgunpowder itself. Such as where was it originated, when was it originated, and how did itspread across the world. These are three questions I will be looking at in this paper.However the purpose of this paper is to prove that gunpowder gave rise to the powerfulwestern world while it inevitably left the China and the Eastern World behind. It is generally determined that the discoverers of gunpowder were the Chinese. Asearly as in the T'ang dynasty (AD 618-906) there seem to have existed what were called"fire trees" and "silver flowers." Chinese legend has it that some herdsmen who weretrying to keep warm saw their campfire leap and fizzle around like a torch. They soondiscovered that the fire pit was built on sulfur with a rock containing potassiumperchlorate, the ingredients of gunpowder. This soon became a common mixture to makefire. To transport the mixture with so much firepower, the herdsman used a hollowbamboo stick with mud at both ends. The stick, accidentally fell into a fire and explodedwith a bang. Thus the "fire trees" and "silver
Who invented the first gun we may never know, for history is very confusing onthis point, but it is a historical fact that on February 11th, 1326, the Republic of Veniceordered cannon and bullets for the defense of its castles and villages, while in 1338 cannonand powder were provided for the protection of the ports of Harfleur and l'Heure againstEdward III. Some people think the "thunder" was a real cannon. At the time it was also a verycommon thing to throw "gobbettes of meate" and other leftovers from the table to thevarious animals who also shared the house. Only a few decades after this time, the Mongols completed their conquest of thegreatest land empire ever known to man, not only including all of China, but also most ofthe rest of Asia and Eastern Europe as far west as Poland and Hungary. Up until that time, the balance of advantage in a siege lay with the defenders. In England Elizabeth I granted a monopoly for digging and working saltpetre toGeorge and John Evelyn and Richard Hills, and so diligent were these gentlemen in thesearch for saltpetre and getting rich it was said in a heated debate in Parliament about the"Saltpeetermen" that: They dig in dove cotes when the doves be nesting, cast up malting floors when the malt be green, in bedchambers, in sickrooms, not even sparing women in childbed, yea, even in God's house, the Church. These floors were covered with rushes which probably stayed there for two or three yearsand just had a fresh layer added to them from time to time. It was boiled in large iron pots, and as it washeated, scum consisting of common salt, rose to the top and was skimmed off. Thisformula called exact mixtures of the three chemicals that when mixed correctly and litwould make a small explosion. In any case, the Chinesethemselves, despite knowing of cannons existing over the past several centuries, haverarely made great use of them until relatively recent times. The advantage of gunpowder went to whomever could make it the fastest as didmost advantages in those days. It was then poured into shallow pans which, as the liquid evaporatedbecame filled with saltpetre. And on top of that a wood grating was placed. However there has been considerableargument as to whether these references to explosives indicate that the Chinese knewabout the use of a cannon and also if the explosives were in fact gunpowder.
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Acceptance Essays
