Japanese arquebus of the Edo era (teppo)

The Arquebus (sometimes spelled harquebus or hackbut) 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 Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 732 KB) fr: tempo (arquebuses de fabrication japonaise) de lère Edo. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 732 KB) fr: tempo (arquebuses de fabrication japonaise) de lère Edo. ... An assortment of modern handheld firearms using fixed ammunition, including military assault rifles, a sporting shotgun (fourth from bottom), and a tactical shotgun (third from bottom). ... (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. ... A rifle is a firearm that uses a spiral groove cut into the barrel to spin a projectile (usually a bullet), thus improving accuracy and range of the projectile. ...

Heavy arquebuses mounted on wagons were called arquebus à croc. These carried a ball of about three half ounces.^[1]

Arquebuses against plate armour

Mounted arquebussier, 1646.

It is important to understand that these low velocity firearms were used against enemies that were usually protected by steel-plate armour, either partially, or frequently in full suits of military armour. Plate armour was the norm in European combat from about 1400 until the middle of the 1600s. (disputed — see talk page) This was essentially the era of the arquebus. Good suits of plate would usually stop an arquebus ball. It was a common practice to "proof" armour by firing a pistol or arquebus at a new breastplate. The small dent would be the "proof", and would be circled by engraving, to call attention to it. Gothic armour Plate armour is personal armour made from large metal plates, worn on the chest and sometimes the entire body. ...

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 made it easier to load the weapon and the arquebusier braced the gun's barrel into a pole with a forked end when firing. The name ('hook gun') is often claimed to be based on the bent shape of the arquebus's 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 hand-made 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 repairs and modifies firearms to blueprint and customer specifications, using hand tools and machines such as grinders,and mills. ...

The arquebus came into greater prominence during the Battle of Pavia in 1525. The defeat of French knights by the heavy fire of Spanish arquebusiers inspired other people to adopt the weapon. Arquebusiers also 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. Combatants France Spain, Holy Roman Empire Commanders François I, Louis de la Trémoille Fernando de Avalos Strength 17,000 infantry 6,500 cavalry 53 guns 19,000 infantry 4,000 cavalry 17 guns Casualties 12,000 dead or wounded 500 dead or wounded In 1525 during the Battle... Events January 21 - The Swiss Anabaptist Movement was born when Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and about a dozen others baptized each other in the home of Manzs mother on Neustadt-Gasse, Zürich, breaking a thousand-year tradition of church-state union. ... Tercio was a term used by the Spanish army to describe a mixed infantry formation of about 3,000 pikemen and musketeers, sometimes referred to by other nations as a Spanish Square. ... Cristovão da Gama (c. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Events and Trends 1541 Hernando de Soto is the first European to see the Mississippi River. ... The Songhai Empire, c. ... The Battle of Tondibi was the decisive confrontation in Moroccos sixteenth-century invasion of the Songhai Empire. ... Events March 14 - Battle of Ivry - Henry IV of France again defeats the forces of the Catholic League under the Duc de Mayenne. ...

By the later 16th century, muskets began to slowly replace the arquebus across Europe. (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. ... World map showing Europe Europe is one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiographic one, leading to various perspectives about Europes borders. ...

Reproduction arquebuses in the 1985 film Ran.

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 Kyushu in the region controlled by the Shimazu clan. By 1550, copies of the Portuguese arquebus were being produced in large quanties, and they were often seen on the battlefields all over Japan. 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. 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. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x698, 118 KB) Summary Saburos arquebusers engage Jiros cavalry at the Battle of Hachiman Field in Akira Kurosawas Ran. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x698, 118 KB) Summary Saburos arquebusers engage Jiros cavalry at the Battle of Hachiman Field in Akira Kurosawas Ran. ... Ran (Japanese: , chaos) is a 1985 film written and directed by Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. ... // 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. ... Kyushu region, Japan Kyushu (九州 kyÅ«shÅ«) is the third largest island of Japan and most southerly and westerly of the four main islands. ... Grave of Satsuma clan at Mount Koya. ... Events February 7 - Julius III becomes Pope. ... 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. ... In Japanese history, a shogun (将軍 shōgun) was the practical ruler of Japan for most of the time from 1192 to the Meiji Era beginning in 1868. ... Combatants forces of Takeda Katsuyori forces of Oda Nobunaga 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. ... Oda Nobunaga Oda Nobunaga (織田 ä¿¡é•· , June 23, 1534 - June 21, 1582) was a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. ... The Japanese Ashigaru (足軽) were foot-soldiers of medieval Japan. ... Palisades is also a general term for steep cliffs next to a river. ... Charge at WoÅ‚odarka A charge is a maneuver in battle in which soldiers rush towards their enemy to engage in close combat. ...

In terms of accuracy, the arquebus was extremely inferior to archery. However, the arquebus had a faster rate of fire than a crossbow. Another advantage was that the arquebus had a shorter learning curve than a longbow. It was a powerful and intimidating weapon, and it was easy to train with.

References

1. ^{^} This article incorporates content from the 1728 Cyclopaedia, a publication in the public domain. [1]

Cyclopaedia; or an 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. ...

External link

• Page about arquebus mechanism