Japanese arquebus of the Edo era (teppō)

Example of an arquebus

The arquebus (sometimes spelled harquebus, harkbus^[1] or hackbut; from Dutch haakbus, meaning "hook gun"^[2]) was a primitive firearm used in the 15th to 17th centuries. Like its successor, the musket, it was a smoothbore firearm, although somewhat smaller than its predecessors, which made it easier to carry. It was a forerunner of the rifle and other longarm firearms. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 318 pixelsFull resolution (2452 × 974 pixel, file size: 534 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Other versions Cropped from Image:Tempo-p1000697. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 318 pixelsFull resolution (2452 × 974 pixel, file size: 534 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Other versions Cropped from Image:Tempo-p1000697. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1260x570, 178 KB) Clip, rotate, contrast and color correction of Image:Arquebus. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1260x570, 178 KB) Clip, rotate, contrast and color correction of Image:Arquebus. ... A Glock 22 hand-held firearm with internal laser sight and mounted flashlight, surrounded by hollowpoint ammunition. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... Muskets and bayonets aboard the frigate Grand Turk. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Heavy arquebuses mounted on wagons were called arquebus à croc. These carried a ball of about 3.5 ounces.^[3]

Effectiveness

A collection of arquebuses from the Topkapi palace, Istanbul.

As low-velocity firearms, they were used against enemies that were often partially or fully protected by steel-plate armour. Plate armour was the high standard in European combat from about 1400 until the middle of the 17th century. This was essentially the era of the arquebus. Good suits of plate would usually stop an arquebus ball at long range. It was a common practice to "proof" (test) armour by firing a pistol or arquebus at a new breastplate. The small dent would be circled by engraving, to call attention to it. However, at close range, it was possible to pierce even the armor of knights and other heavy cavalry. This led to changes in plate design like three-quarter plate and finally the retirement of plate armor altogether. frrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1536 × 2048 pixel, file size: 693 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1536 × 2048 pixel, file size: 693 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Topkapı Palace (Topkapı Sarayı in Turkish, literally the Cannongate Palace - named after a nearby gate), located in Istanbul (Constantinople), was the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire from 1465 to 1853. ... Istanbul (Turkish: , Greek: , historically Byzantium and later Constantinople; see other names) is Turkeys most populous city, and its cultural and financial center. ... Gothic armour Plate armour is personal armour made from large metal plates, worn on the chest and sometimes the entire body. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...

Mechanism

The arquebus was fired by a matchlock mechanism and had a larger bore than its predecessors. From the middle of 16th century, newer wheellock mechanisms were used instead of older matchlocks. The flared muzzle of some examples made it easier to load the weapon. The name 'hook gun' is often claimed to be based on the bent shape of the arquebus' butt. It might also be that some of the original arquebuses had a metal hook near the muzzle that may have been used for bracing against a solid object to absorb recoil. Since all the arquebuses were handmade by various gunsmiths, there is no typical specimen. The Matchlock was the first firearm to have a trigger mechanism for firing. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... Wheellock, Wheel-Lock or Wheel lock, is a mechanism for firing a firearm. ... An early naval cannon design, allowing the gun to roll backwards a small distance when firing The recoil when firing a gun is the backward momentum of a gun, which is equal to the forward momentum of the bullet or shell, due to conservation of momentum. ... A gunsmith is a person who designs, builds, repairs or modifies firearms to blueprint and customer specifications, using hand tools and machine tools such as grinders and lathes. ...

History

Spanish arquebusier, Malaga

Arquebusiers played an important role in Cristóvão da Gama's battles against the superior numbers of his Muslim opponents in Ethiopia during the 1540s, and later in the Moroccan victory over the Songhai Empire at the Battle of Tondibi in 1590. Image File history File links Arquebuzer_in_Malaga. ... Image File history File links Arquebuzer_in_Malaga. ... Málaga, a port town in the province of Málaga in Andalusia, Southern Spain Malaga, a fortified wine originating in Málaga. ... Cristovão da Gama (c. ... There is also a collection of Hadith called Sahih Muslim A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Persian: Mosalman or Mosalmon Urdu: مسلمان, Turkish: Müslüman, Albanian: Mysliman, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of the religion of Islam. ... 1541 Hernando de Soto is the first European to see the Mississippi River. ... The Songhai Empire, (ca. ... The Battle of Tondibi was the decisive confrontation in Moroccos sixteenth-century invasion of the Songhai Empire. ... Bold text{| align=right cellpadding=3 id=toc style=margin-left: 15px; |- | align=center colspan=2 | Years: 1587 1588 1589 - 1590 - 1591 1592 1593 |-vdsf gno[gldw[pvkijxaiamknn csogfhbvdowkhbfkqhjkhrjkhwgfhbjkpnkfokfgok3pkpk9pjhkt9erktyujkip9kijker9thhrkg9hkitr9gtkih9t0ykltk[u0jo0iey9uhyit90ertyhige9rity9riyh9ujirtyuhjnh-4e9tyigh9thiuy0h8tyh34tu8uy8u8u8u8rtu5y8ru8thu0tru0ut0rhutuh0trhu0hseogtrhr8uyhju8t89er9te9r8fy8shit ass dick bitch fuck | align=center colspan=2 | Decades: 1560s 1570s 1580s - 1590s - 1600s 1610s 1620s |- | align=center | Centuries...

By the later 16th century, muskets slowly began to replace the arquebus across Europe. A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth-bore long gun. ...

The first arquebuses were introduced in Japan in 1543 by Portuguese traders (Fernão Mendes Pinto), who landed by accident on Tanegashima, an island south of Kyūshū in the region controlled by the Shimazu clan. By 1550, copies of the Portuguese arquebus were being produced in large quantities, and they were often seen on the battlefields all over Japan. By 1553, there were more guns per capita in Japan than in any other country^[4]. In the Battle of Nagashino in 1575, Lord Oda Nobunaga placed three lines of ashigaru armed with these weapons behind wooden palisades and prepared for the cavalry charge of his opponent. The three-line method allowed two lines to reload while the other would fire. Such tactics allowed a balance of mass firepower to compensate for poor accuracy with a reasonable rate of fire. In 1600, the Japanese guns were the best of the world^[4]. However, the use of arquebuses and other firearms was halted in Japan during and until the end of the Tokugawa shogunate by decree of the shogun. It is one of the most effective examples of disarmament and voluntary renunciation of technology. // Events February 21 - Battle of Wayna Daga - A combined army of Ethiopian and Portuguese troops defeat the armies of Adal led by Ahmed Gragn. ... Fernão Mendes Pinto Fernão Mendes Pinto (pron. ... Yoshinobu Launch Complex (© JAXA) in Tanegashima Tanegashima (Japanese: 種子島) is an island lying to the south of Kyushu, south Japan, and is part of the Kagoshima Prefecture. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Grave of Satsuma clan at Mount Koya. ... Events February 7 - Julius III becomes Pope. ... Combatants Takeda forces combined Oda-Tokugawa forces Commanders Takeda Katsuyori, Anayama Nobukimi, Takeda Nobukado, Takeda Nobutoyo Oda Nobunaga, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Okudaira Sadamasa Strength 15,000 38,000 Casualties 10,000 dead, incl. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The Japanese ashigaru (足軽) were conscripted foot-soldiers of medieval Japan. ... Palisades is also a general term for steep cliffs next to a river. ... Battle of WoÅ‚odarka Polish infantry charging enemy positions during the Polish Defensive War A charge is a maneuver in battle in which soldiers advance towards their enemy at their best speed to engage in close combat. ... The Tokugawa shogunate or Tokugawa bakufu (徳川幕府) (also known as the Edo bakufu) was a feudal military dictatorship of Japan established in 1603 by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family until 1868. ... Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate Shōgun )   is supreme general of the samurai,a military rank and historical title in Japan. ... Disarmament means the act of reducing or depriving arms i. ...

Arquebus vs archery

In terms of accuracy, the arquebus was extremely inferior to archery. However, the arquebus had a faster rate of fire than the most powerful crossbow, had a shorter learning curve than a longbow, and was more powerful than either. An arquebusier could carry more ammunition and powder than a crossbowman or longbowman could with bolts or arrows. The weapon also had the added advantage of scaring enemies (and spooking horses) with the noise. Perhaps most importantly, producing an effective arquebusier required a lot less training than producing an effective bowman. This article is about the weapon. ... Lemonwood, purpleheart and hickory longbow, 45 lbf draw force. ...

On the down side, practice ammunition could not be reused like bolts and arrows and the arquebus was more sensitive to humid weather. Gunpowder also ages much faster than a bolt or an arrow—particularly if improperly stored. Also, the resources needed to make gunpowder were less universally available than the resources needed to make bolts and arrows. It was also significantly more dangerous to its user. The arquebusier carries a lot of gunpowder on his person and has a lit match in one hand. The same goes for the soldiers next to him. Amid the confusion, stress, and fumbling of a battle and arquebusiers are potentially a danger to themselves. Furthermore, the amount of smoke produced by blackpowder weapons was considerable, making it hard to see the enemy after a few salvoes. Prior to the wheel lock the need for a lit match made stealth and concealment nigh impossible, particularly at night. Bows and crossbows can shoot over obstacles by firing with high-arcing ballistic trajectories in order to reach the enemy when he has some frontal but no overhead cover (such as when your own troops are in melee with the enemy)—albeit with much less accuracy—an arquebus cannot do this.

References

Table of Trigonometry, 1728 Cyclopaedia Cyclopaedia, or, A Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences (folio, 2 vols. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... Jared Mason Diamond (b. ...

External links

• Arquebus mechanism
• Handgonnes and Matchlocks - History of firearms to 1500