The Gunpowder Age
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The Gunpowder Age
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Author : Tonio Andrade
language : en
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Release Date : 2017-08-29
The Gunpowder Age written by Tonio Andrade and has been published by Princeton University Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2017-08-29 with History categories.
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.
How Transformative Innovations Shaped The Rise Of Nations
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Author : Gerard Tellis
language : en
Publisher: Anthem Press
Release Date : 2018-05-30
How Transformative Innovations Shaped The Rise Of Nations written by Gerard Tellis and has been published by Anthem Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2018-05-30 with Business & Economics categories.
Over the last 2,000 years, critical innovations have transformed small regions into global powers. But these powers have faded when they did not embrace the next big innovation. Gerard J. Tellis and Stav Rosenzweig argue that openness to new ideas and people, empowerment of individuals and competition are key drivers in the development and adoption of transformative innovations. These innovations, in turn, fuel economic growth, national dominance and global leadership. In How Transformative Innovations Shaped the Rise of Nations, Tellis and Rosenzweig examine the transformative qualities of concrete in Rome; swift equine warfare in Mongolia; critical navigational innovations in the golden ages of Chinese, Venetian, Portuguese and Dutch empires; the patent system and steam engine in Britain; and mass production in the United States of America.
The Last Embassy
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Author : Tonio Andrade
language : en
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Release Date : 2025-06-17
The Last Embassy written by Tonio Andrade and has been published by Princeton University Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2025-06-17 with History categories.
"In the typical narrative of modern Sino-European relations, George Macartney's disastrous 1793 mission to China plays a central role. His failure to open China to trade and diplomatic relations with Britain sets the stage for a long and bitter clash of cultures that led to the Opium Wars of the nineteenth century and perhaps even to the mistrust that still pervades relations today. In this book, Tonio Andrade draws on a wealth of neglected archival material to tell a very different story: that of the last European delegation that was ever received in the traditional Chinese court, the Dutch mission of 1794-95"--
Gunpowder
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Author : Charles River
language : en
Publisher: Independently Published
Release Date : 2021-05-07
Gunpowder written by Charles River and has been published by Independently Published this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2021-05-07 with categories.
*Includes pictures *Includes a bibliography for further reading "What gunpowder did for war, the printing press has done for the mind." - Wendell Phillips The crucial importance of education in China, a prized virtue instilled in the population among all classes by beloved teacher and philosopher Confucius in the 6th century BCE, generated an unprecedented and long-lived golden age of literature and art. It also gave rise to a cornucopia of transformative innovations and groundbreaking technology, particularly following the dawn of the Common Era. In addition to the wheelbarrow, the seismograph, the waterwheel, deep drilling, suspension bridges, and ship rudders, among countless other life-changing contraptions, the Chinese developed what were later dubbed the "Four Great Inventions of China." One of those was none other than gunpowder, which was developed no later than the 9th century and was being used for military purposes by the 11th century. Its use slowly spread through South Asia and the Middle East before making it to Europe in the late 13th century. For a time it was a mere curiosity, but its destructive power and military potential would be realized quickly. The first record of a cannon in Europe comes from a manuscript written in 1326, which has an illustration showing an armored man with what looks like a slow match lighting a vase-shaped object. This crude cannon was called a pot de fer in French and vasi in Italian. While medieval engineers developed new types of cannons and explosives capable of destroying walls and castles, others were making the first handguns possible. European sources first mentioned the widespread use of handgonnes, as they were often called, in the late 14th century, precisely the time when gunpowder became cheaper. These were short metal barrels stuck on the end of wooden hafts that could be tucked under the arm, the powder being lit through a touchhole with the free hand. While they were not terribly accurate and had a shorter range and slower rate of fire than longbows or crossbows, they had the advantage of being better able to punch through armor than longbows and crossbows, and they were simple to make and use. By the late 15th century, handgonners had become a major part of the leading armies, and weapons that relied on gunpowder would remain a staple of warfare throughout the 19th century, paying deadly homage to one of history's most important inventions. Gunpowder: The History and Legacy of the Explosive that Modernized Warfare examines the origins of the chemical explosive, and its long, winding history across the world. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about gunpowder like never before.
The Gunpowder Age
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Author : Tonio Andrade
language : en
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Release Date : 2016-01-12
The Gunpowder Age written by Tonio Andrade and has been published by Princeton University Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2016-01-12 with History categories.
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.
Weapons And Warfare In Renaissance Europe
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Author : Bert S. Hall
language : en
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Release Date : 2002-01-01
Weapons And Warfare In Renaissance Europe written by Bert S. Hall and has been published by Johns Hopkins University Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2002-01-01 with Technology & Engineering categories.
Winner of the Wallace K. Ferguson Prize from the Canadian Historical Association Weapons and Warfare in Renaissance Europe explores the history of gunpowder in Europe from the thirteenth century, when it was first imported from China, to the sixteenth century, as firearms became central to the conduct of war. Bridging the fields of military history and the history of technology—and challenging past assumptions about Europe's "gunpowder revolution"—Hall discovers a complex and fascinating story. Military inventors faced a host of challenges, he finds, from Europe's lack of naturally occurring saltpeter—one of gunpowder's major components—to the limitations of smooth-bore firearms. Manufacturing cheap, reliable gunpowder proved a difficult feat, as did making firearms that had reasonably predictable performance characteristics. Hall details the efforts of armorers across Europe as they experimented with a variety of gunpowder recipes and gunsmithing techniques, and he examines the integration of new weapons into the existing structure of European warfare.
Gunpowder Empire
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Author : Harry Turtledove
language : en
Publisher: Hachette UK
Release Date : 2013-02-25
Gunpowder Empire written by Harry Turtledove and has been published by Hachette UK this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2013-02-25 with Fiction categories.
Jeremy Solter is a teenager growing up in the late 21st century. During the school year, his family lives in Southern California - but during the summer the whole family lives and works in the city of Polisso, on the frontier of the Roman Empire. Nor the Roman Empire that fell centuries ago, but a Roman Empire that never fell. For we now have the technology to move between timelines, and to exploit the untapped resources of those timelines that are hospitable to human life. So we send traders and business people - but as whole family groups, in order to keep the secret of Crosstime Traffic to ourselves. But when Jeremy's parents duck back home for emergency medical treatment, the gateways stop working. So do all the communication links. Jeremy and his sister are on their own, Polisso is suddenly under siege, and there's only so much you can do when cannonballs are crashing through your roof . . .
Firearms
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Author : Kenneth Warren Chase
language : en
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Release Date : 2003-07-07
Firearms written by Kenneth Warren Chase and has been published by Cambridge University Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2003-07-07 with History categories.
This book is a history of firearms across the world from the 1100s up to the 1700s, from the time of their invention in China to the time when European firearms had become clearly superior. It asks why it was the Europeans who perfected firearms when it was the Chinese who had invented them, but it answers this question by looking at how firearms were used throughout the world.
Guns For The Sultan
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Author : Gábor Ágoston
language : en
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Release Date : 2005-03-24
Guns For The Sultan written by Gábor Ágoston and has been published by Cambridge University Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2005-03-24 with History categories.
Gabor Agoston's book contributes to an emerging strand of military history, that examines organised violence as a challenge to early modern states, their societies and economies. His is the first to examine the weapons technology and armaments industries of the Ottoman Empire, the only Islamic empire that threatened Europe on its own territory in the age of the Gunpowder Revolution. Based on extensive research in the Turkish archives, the book affords much insight regarding the early success and subsequent failure of an Islamic empire against European adversaries. It demonstrates Ottoman flexibility and the existence of an early modern arms market and information exchange across the cultural divide, as well as Ottoman self-sufficiency in weapons and arms production well into the eighteenth century. Challenging the sweeping statements of Eurocentric and Orientalist scholarship, the book disputes the notion of Islamic conservatism, the Ottomans' supposed technological inferiority and the alleged insufficiencies in production capacity. This is a provocative, intelligent and penetrating analysis, which successfully contends traditional perceptions of Ottoman and Islamic history.