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How did gunpowder change warfare in China?
Gunpowder was a Chinese invention that revolutionized warfare. The Chinese used explosives on a wide scale beginning in the tenth and eleventh centuries. The cannons, flamethrowers, and grenades that they used in battle were quickly adopted by European forces for battles on land and at sea.
Did the Chinese have siege weapons?
Mobile siege towers have been used in China since the 6th century BC. They were often called overlook carts, assault carts, or some combination of the two. The tower was pushed forward by men on the lowest storey or pulled by horses and oxen.
What was used in war before gunpowder?
The Chinese used the substance in rockets, in pyrotechnic projectors much like Roman candles, in crude cannon, and, according to some sources, in bombs thrown by mechanical artillery. This transpired long before gunpowder was known in the West, but development in China stagnated.
How did gunpowder change warfare?
Their explosive invention would become the basis for almost every weapon used in war from that point on, from fiery arrows to rifles, cannons and grenades. Gunpowder made warfare all over the world very different, affecting the way battles were fought and borders were drawn throughout the Middle Ages.
How did they make gunpowder in the 1700s?
Originally, it was made by mixing elemental sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter (potassium nitrate). When the ingredients were carefully ground together, the end result was a powder that was called “serpentine.” The ingredients tended to require remixing prior to use, so making gunpowder was very dangerous.
What was warfare like in ancient China?
Chinese warfare involved perhaps the largest and most technologically advanced armies in the ancient world. Chariots, cavalry, swords, bows and crossbows were all staple features of the battles which raged as rulers forever struggled to dominate this huge country and defend its borders against threatening neighbours.
What did the Chinese use gunpowder for?
Gunpowder was first use in warfare as an incendiary, or fire-producing, compound. Small packages of gunpowder wrapped in paper or bamboo were attached to arrows and lit with a fuse. Bombs of gunpowder mixed with scrap iron would be launched with catapults.
How did gunpowder get to Europe?
Although gunpowder was known in Europe during the High Middle Ages due to the usage of guns and explosives by the Mongols and the Chinese firearms experts employed by the Mongols as mercenaries during the Mongol conquests of Europe, it was not until the Late Middle Ages that European versions of cannons were widely …