Download or read book Ancient cannon in Europe written by sir Henry Brackenbury and published by . This book was released on 1865 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Medieval Cannon 1326 1494 written by Jonathan Davies and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2019-08-22 with total page 49 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first illustration of a cannon in Europe can be dated quite precisely to 1326. This book explores the development of gunpowder, the earliest appearance of cast-bronze cannon in Western Europe, followed by the design and development of the wrought-iron cannon. The wrought-iron hoop-and-stave method of barrel construction was a system that came to dominate medieval artillery design both large and small until the end of the 15th century, and saw the cannon used not only as a prestige weapon, but start to be used as a practical and terrifying weapon on the medieval battlefield. In 1453, the Ottomans' conquest of Constantinople, with their extensive artillery, marked the triumph of medieval firepower. The book will focus on the technology and tactics of early European artillery on both sea and land, and assess its impact on medieval warfare.
Download or read book Paths of Fire written by Andrew Nahum and published by Reaktion Books. This book was released on 2021-06-10 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Type “Mikhail Kalashnikov” into Google and the biography of the inventor will come back to you almost at the speed of light. Squeeze the trigger of a Kalashnikov and a bullet is kicked up the barrel by an archaic chemical explosion that would have been quite familiar to Oliver Cromwell or General Custer. The gun—antique, yet contemporary—still dominates the world. Geopolitical events and even consumer culture have been molded by the often-unseen research that firearms evoked. The new science of Galileo Galilei and Isaac Newton owed much to the Renaissance study of ballistics. But research into making guns and aiming them also brought on the more recent invention of mass production and kickstarted the contemporary field of artificial intelligence. This book follows the history of the gun and its often-unsuspected wider linkages, looking from the first cannons to modern gunnery, and to the yet-to-be-realized electrical futures of rays and beams.
Download or read book The Rise of the Gun written by Kelly DeVries and published by Medieval Warfare Special. This book was released on 2019-04 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is perhaps the most significant technological change in the history of warfare. The Middle Ages would see a new type of weapon emerge - the gun. This special issue looks at the invention of firearms, beginning in China, its spread throughout Eurasia and its influence on battles, armies and fortifications. Featuring articles by Tonio Andrade, Ruth Brown, Kelly DeVries, Kay Smith and more. One key aspect of this book is to show how experimental the use of guns and gunpowder is. In medieval China, Europe and Asia, there is a lot of new things happening in how warfare is being conducted. For example, how are cannons being used on the battlefield, and when are they successful (or unsuccessful) in changing the outcomes of battles? How do fortifications change, and how much of that is because of the threat posed by artillery? I want to give a sense to the reader that this is really a dynamic period, with new technology leading us to different and unexpected places, much like the computer revolution we are now in is changing our own society in unforeseen ways.
Download or read book The Gunpowder Age written by Tonio Andrade and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2017-08-29 with total page 444 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A first look at gunpowder's revolutionary impact on China's role in global history The Chinese invented gunpowder and began exploring its military uses as early as the 900s, four centuries before the technology passed to the West. But by the early 1800s, China had fallen so far behind the West in gunpowder warfare that it was easily defeated by Britain in the Opium War of 1839–42. What happened? In The Gunpowder Age, Tonio Andrade offers a compelling new answer, opening a fresh perspective on a key question of world history: why did the countries of western Europe surge to global importance starting in the 1500s while China slipped behind? Historians have long argued that gunpowder weapons helped Europeans establish global hegemony. Yet the inhabitants of what is today China not only invented guns and bombs but also, as Andrade shows, continued to innovate in gunpowder technology through the early 1700s—much longer than previously thought. Why, then, did China become so vulnerable? Andrade argues that one significant reason is that it was out of practice fighting wars, having enjoyed nearly a century of relative peace, since 1760. Indeed, he demonstrates that China—like Europe—was a powerful military innovator, particularly during times of great warfare, such as the violent century starting after the Opium War, when the Chinese once again quickly modernized their forces. Today, China is simply returning to its old position as one of the world's great military powers. By showing that China’s military dynamism was deeper, longer lasting, and more quickly recovered than previously understood, The Gunpowder Age challenges long-standing explanations of the so-called Great Divergence between the West and Asia.
Download or read book Artillery Through the Ages written by Albert C. Manucy and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1994-04 with total page 97 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A description of types of artillery used in warfare throughout history, including the ancient engines of war; gunpowder introduced to Europe; the bombards; 16th century cannon; the 17th century and Gustavus Adolphus; the 18th century; U.S. guns of the early 1800s; rifling; the Civil War; and the change to modern artillery. Also includes the characteristics of cannon; projectiles; tools; the practice of gunnery; glossary; and selected bibliography. Many of the types of cannon described in this book may be seen in areas of the National Park system; some parks with especially fine collections are listed. Illustrated with detailed drawings.
Download or read book On the Weapons Army Organisation and Political Maxims of the Ancient Hindus written by Gustav Salomon Oppert and published by . This book was released on 1880 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On the weapons and war implements of the ancient Hindus -- On the authenticty of the Śukranīti -- On the use of gunpowder and firearms in general -- Inside the home of gunpowder and firearms -- On the Army organization and political organization of the ancient Hindus -- Appendix: Identification of the Manipura of the Mahabarata with Manipura or Manaluru or Madura in South India.
Download or read book Medieval Siege Weapons 1 written by David Nicolle and published by Osprey Publishing. This book was released on 2002-09-18 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Medieval era was a period of huge variety and invention in siege warfare. Before the use of cannon and other gun-powder artillery, siege engines relied on assorted sources of power, from torsion 'energy storage' systems to man-power, counter-balances and others. This book reveals how technological traditions from the Graeco-Roman world, Persia, India and above all China made a massive contribution to siege warfare techniques. It also covers developments in military engineering, such as mining, counter-mining, the breaking of walls, the use of noxious and chemical fumes and the use of fire-weapons.
Download or read book A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder written by James Riddick Partington and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 1999 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For nearly 600 years, from battles of the early 14th century to the dropping of the atomic bomb at Hiroshima, firearms derived from gunpowder and other chemicals defined the frightful extent of war. In this classic work, first published in 1960, distinguished historian James Riddick Partington provides a worldwide survey of the evolution of incendiary devices, Greek fire, and gunpowder. 21 illustrations.
Download or read book War in European History written by Michael Howard and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2009-02-26 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published over thirty years ago, War in European History is a brilliantly written survey of the changing ways that war has been waged in Europe, from the Norse invasions to the present day. Far more than a simple military history, the book serves as a succinct and enlightening overview of the development of European society as a whole over the last millennium. From the Norsemen and the world of the medieval knights, through to the industrialized mass warfare of the twentieth century, Michael Howard illuminates the way in which warfare has shaped the history of the Continent, its effect on social and political institutions, and the ways in which technological and social change have in turn shaped the way in which wars are fought. This new edition includes a fully updated further reading and a new final chapter bringing the story into the twenty-first century, including the invasion of Iraq and the so-called 'War against Terror'.
Download or read book Toward Combined Arms Warfare written by Jonathan Mallory House and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1985 with total page 235 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Artillery of the Dukes of Burgundy 1363 1477 written by Robert Douglas Smith and published by Boydell Press. This book was released on 2005 with total page 406 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A major new exploration of the history and development of gunpowder weapons in the 15th century based on the artillery of the Dukes of Burgundy. The four Valois Dukes of Burgundy created, in little more than a century, a fabulously wealthy and independent state. Their centralised control and chancellery have bequeathed to us a vast treasure trove of documents, including accounts and inventories of the Masters of the artillery under the later Dukes. Although many of these were extracted and transcribed in the late nineteenth century, modern historians have largely ignored their unprecedented insights into fifteenth-century guns and their use. When Charles the Bold, the last Valois Duke, took on the combined Swiss confederate forces in 1476 he lost not just the battles and his personal fortune, but much of his artillerytrain as well. Of the dozens of cannons captured, at least 25 pieces survive in Swiss museums. The documents that survive from the Valois state give us, almost for the first time in medieval Europe, the ability to see the course of history in a period when Europe was undergoing some of the most profound changes before the 20th century. The Artillery of the Dukes of Burgundy is the first attempt to combine all these sources, bringing newand fresh insights into the development and use of artillery in the fifteenth century. Moreover this is the first modern study of medieval cannon, one of the most important discoveries of the post-classical world. KELLY DeVRIES has authored numerous books and articles on medieval warfare. ROBERT DOUGLAS SMITH formerly Head of Conservation in the Royal Armouries, Tower of London, is an acknowledged expert on medieval artillery. This study is thefirst major fruit of their combined researches.
Download or read book War Made New written by Max Boot and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2006-10-19 with total page 664 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A monumental, groundbreaking work, now in paperback, that shows how technological and strategic revolutions have transformed the battlefield Combining gripping narrative history with wide-ranging analysis, War Made New focuses on four "revolutions" in military affairs and describes how inventions ranging from gunpowder to GPS-guided air strikes have remade the field of battle—and shaped the rise and fall of empires. War Made New begins with the Gunpowder Revolution and explains warfare's evolution from ritualistic, drawn-out engagements to much deadlier events, precipitating the rise of the modern nation-state. He next explores the triumph of steel and steam during the Industrial Revolution, showing how it powered the spread of European colonial empires. Moving into the twentieth century and the Second Industrial Revolution, Boot examines three critical clashes of World War II to illustrate how new technology such as the tank, radio, and airplane ushered in terrifying new forms of warfare and the rise of centralized, and even totalitarian, world powers. Finally, Boot focuses on the Gulf War, the invasion of Afghanistan, and the Iraq War—arguing that even as cutting-edge technologies have made America the greatest military power in world history, advanced communications systems have allowed decentralized, "irregular" forces to become an increasingly significant threat.
Download or read book Gunpowder Explosives and the State written by Brenda J. Buchanan and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-12-05 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gunpowder studies are still in their infancy despite the long-standing civil and military importance of this explosive since its discovery in China in the mid-ninth century AD. In this second volume by contributors who meet regularly at symposia of the International Committee for the History of Technology (ICOHTEC), the research is again rooted in the investigation of the technology of explosives manufacture, but the fact that the chapters range in scope from the Old World to the New, from sources of raw materials in south-east Asia to the complications of manufacture in the West, shows that the story is more than the simple one of how an intriguing product was made. This volume is the first to develop the implications of the subject, not just in the sense of relating it to changing military technologies, but in that of seeing the securing of gunpowder supplies as fundamental to the power of the state and imperial pretensions.The search for saltpetre, for example, an essential ingredient of gunpowder, became a powerful engine of sea-going European trade from the early seventeenth century. Smaller states like Venice were unable to form these distant connections, and so to sustain a gunpowder army. Stronger states like France and Britain were able to do so, and became even more powerful as the demand for improved explosives fostered national strengths - leading to a development of the sciences, especially chemistry, in the former case, and of manufacturing techniques in the latter.
Download or read book European Warfare 1350 1750 written by Frank Tallett and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2010-01-28 with total page 427 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The period 1350–1750 saw major developments in European warfare, which not only had a huge impact on the way wars were fought, but also are critical to long-standing controversies about state development, the global ascendancy of the West, and the nature of 'military revolutions' past and present. However, the military history of this period is usually written from either medieval or early-modern, and either Western or Eastern European, perspectives. These chronological and geographical limits have produced substantial confusion about how the conduct of war changed. The essays in this book provide a comprehensive overview of land and sea warfare across Europe throughout this period of momentous political, religious, technological, intellectual and military change. Written by leading experts in their fields, they not only summarise existing scholarship, but also present new findings and new ideas, casting new light on the art of war, the rise of the state, and European expansion.
Download or read book Why Did Europe Conquer the World written by Philip T. Hoffman and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2017-01-24 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The startling economic and political answers behind Europe's historical dominance Between 1492 and 1914, Europeans conquered 84 percent of the globe. But why did Europe establish global dominance, when for centuries the Chinese, Japanese, Ottomans, and South Asians were far more advanced? In Why Did Europe Conquer the World?, Philip Hoffman demonstrates that conventional explanations—such as geography, epidemic disease, and the Industrial Revolution—fail to provide answers. Arguing instead for the pivotal role of economic and political history, Hoffman shows that if certain variables had been different, Europe would have been eclipsed, and another power could have become master of the world. Hoffman sheds light on the two millennia of economic, political, and historical changes that set European states on a distinctive path of development, military rivalry, and war. This resulted in astonishingly rapid growth in Europe's military sector, and produced an insurmountable lead in gunpowder technology. The consequences determined which states established colonial empires or ran the slave trade, and even which economies were the first to industrialize. Debunking traditional arguments, Why Did Europe Conquer the World? reveals the startling reasons behind Europe's historic global supremacy.
Download or read book Guns and Men in Medieval Europe 1200 1500 written by Kelly DeVries and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2024-10-28 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These articles are devoted to the two main aspects of medieval warfare: men and technology. Men fought, led, and ultimately killed in war, while the technology that they used facilitated these tasks. The first group of essays highlights human strengths in the fighting of medieval wars, with a focus on events of the 14th and 15th centuries, specifically the Anglo-French wars and wars against the Turks. A second group addresses the technological side of warfare, in particular the advent and proliferation of early gunpowder weapons which evolved rapidly during the late Middle Ages, although never replacing the role of men. The articles study various facets of this evolution, from the increased use and effectiveness of guns in battles, sieges, and naval warfare, to changes in their science and metallurgy, surgical treatment of wounds caused by them, and governmental centralization of the technology.
