Origin Of Firearms  

Introduction

We human beings have developed and still are developing many deadly military weapons. Firearms are one of the earliest deadly military weapons in human history. Modern wars such as the American revolution and cold war were fought with firearms. But who invented the firearms? In this blog I will share with you a brief history of firearms. 

Gunpowder

Before the firearms came into existence the gunpowder was discovered first. More than 1,000 years ago the gunpowder was discovered in China. Whether the gunpowder in an accidental discovery or carefully designed, there are different opinions on that.  Some say the gunpowder was carefully studied by the Alchemists while others believe it was an accidental discovery. Alchemists in China stumbled upon explosive properties of guns which are a combination of potassium, nitrate, sulphur and charcoal. Together these materials burn rapidly and explode with propellant. A Chinese Buddhist Alchemist wrote “Some have heated together the saltpeter and carbon of charcoal with honey, smoke and flames result, so that their hands and faces have been burnt, and even the whole house burnt down.”

An Early Usage of Gunpowder

Initially the gunpowder was used for fireworks but quickly it made its way in military weapons. Cannon and grenades were the among the earliest weapons incorporated with gunpowder, followed by primitive handled firearms. These primitive handled firearms consisted of a hollow bamboo tubes packed with gunpowder and small projectiles. This device had limited range and was most likely used in hand-to-hand combat. 

China to Europe 

As much as China wanted to keep the gunpowder a secret, by the 13th century through silk road and traders such as Marco Polo the firearms made its way from Asia to Europe. The firearms further developed in many form such as matchlock, wheel lock and flintlock firearm. In the early 15th century when the colonist came in America, firearms were already in use and developed significantly over the time.

An Early Version Of Modern Day Guns

Some of the earliest version of modern day guns were the German made shot guns, riffles, Colt.45 pistol which was also called the revolver. The most significant firearm during the cold war was Soviet military's Ak-47 which was a rapid fire machine.