Long Range Weapons

A detailed Summary of Long Range Weapons

No one knows exactly who invented gunpowder or how it was invented. What we do know is that it was invented during the later part of the Ming Dynasty. At first it was just used for rudimentary fire works. Later it became used lightly as a weapon of war. They weren't very advanced and didn't really do a lot except scare people and flash a whole lot. These early uses however were just the precursor of the use of this explosive invention.

Gunpowder is a weapon and has had a similar effect on history, and those who have came into contact with it as many other weapons have. Take for example the bow and arrow. This weapon was first used in Africa by nomadic tribes. For the first time people could kill or wound a person from a considerable distance. This weapon, however, like gunpowder, was not used as a weapon first but instead as a hunting tool. It was only later developed for militaristic purposes.

Before the bow and arrow the farthest you could be away from somebody was simply how far you could through a stick. Inevitably however, someone could throw farther than you.

This weapon added a new dimension to warfare. Now all you needed was higher land and you could win simply because you could shoot farther. The ancient Egyptians

As with the bow and arrow advancements took place with gunpowder. Musket became longer, bullets more aerodynamic, and eventually a slight twist was put on the inside of the barrel. All of these things made the musket more accurate. They also made a hand held version of the musket that became known as the gun.

There were a few problems however. For starters these cannon, and muskets as they became known, were very inaccurate, and cannon balls rarely exploded when you wanted them to and sometimes just became extremely heavy rolling boulders that happened to take off a leg or two. Also the muskets took a great deal of time to reload.

were the first to truly utilize this technology. They would mount their archers on chariots and they could shoot farther and more accurate. They would also be sure to occupy the higher land.

When the bow and arrow was relatively new it helped take over many countries, territories, and other pieces of real estate. As it became more widely used it helped develop the art of war and played pivotal in shaping many battles. Let's also not forget this on the home front. Now traps didn't need to be laid in order to trap meat, and you didn't need t sneak up on your pray, you only had to get within 20-50 ft. Of your pray and boom, you had an feast for dinner. One more thing it did was make one more weapon for assassins to use. More than one political, or military leader was 'fired' because of this weapon.

Cannons were eventually replaced with artillery. Not only does artillery take out much of the kickback

Some common words found in the essay are:
Chinese Japanese, Ming Dynasty, Hitler Stalin, , bow arrow, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther, gunpowder weapon, weapon gunpowder, shoot farther,

Approximate Word count = 1041
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History