The Gunpowder Revolution
The Gunpowder Revolution
The introduction of gunpowder to warfare represented the beginning of the large-scale exploitation of chemical energy by human societies. The introduction of firearms to land warfare affected all three mobile arms but the infantry most of all, because it radically shifted the relative power of distance and shock weapons in a historically unprecedented manner. In two centuries, gunpowder altered the battlefield beyond recognition as new troop types, tactics, and organisation hierarchies were introduced. The introduction of firearms was the most profound and far-reaching discontinuity in technological development because military hardware and organisation on land and sea were transformed, and the consequences stretched beyond the narrowly military sphere to the economic and financial foundations of the state.
Keywords: gunpowder, warfare, chemical energy, human society, firearms, infantry, battlefield, technological development, military hardware
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