Similar to Charlemagne’s re-establishment of the feudal monarch, the invention of gunpowder for warfare brought another great change and transformation to Europe. Some call this change The Military Revolution, because gunpowder forced military advancements in not only weaponry, but also tactics and even the formation of standing armies and navies; something feudal monarchs had not been able to form. Before the modern state emerged, nobles were the lords of their own lands with the overall right to rule, tax, and form armies from their own people for service to the highest bidder. ggff Unlike the invention of the English longbow during the Middle Ages, which only slightly changed the art of warfare, gunpowder transformed and revolutionized the feudal monarchies of old Western Europe into sovereign states. The formation of standing armies ready to go to war at the King’s request eventually helped to eliminate the noble’s purpose in warfare and later in government. Gunpowder allowed these newly formed sovereign states to establish permanent mercenary militaries, eliminate the power of the old sword nobles, and revolutionized the art of warfare. Charlemagne is also the name of a column in The Economist on European affairs. ... Feudalism comes from the Late Latin word feudum, itself borrowed from a Germanic root *fehu, a commonly used term in the Middle Ages which means fief, or land held under certain obligations by feodati. ... A monarch is a type of ruler or head of state, whose titles and ascent are often inherited, not earned, and who represents a larger monarchical system which has established rules and customs regarding succession, duties, and powers. ... Gunpowder or black powder is a substance which burns very rapidly and is used as a propellant in firearms, specifically either black powder or smokeless powder. ... For other uses of War, see War (disambiguation). ... Look up rule in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A tax is a compulsory charge or other levy imposed on an individual or a legal entity by a state or a functional equivalent of a state (e. ... The English longbow, also called the Welsh longbow, was a powerful type of bow about 2. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... For other uses of War, see War (disambiguation). ... Gunpowder or black powder is a substance which burns very rapidly and is used as a propellant in firearms, specifically either black powder or smokeless powder. ... World map showing location of Europe When considered a continent, Europe is the worlds second-smallest continent in terms of area, with an area of 10,600,000 km² (4,140,625 square miles), making it larger than Australia only. ... Sovereignty is the exclusive right to exercise supreme authority over a geographic region, group of people or oneself. ... A state is an organized political community occupying a definite territory, having an organized government, and possessing internal and external sovereignty. ... A monarch is a type of ruler or head of state, whose titles and ascent are often inherited, not earned, and who represents a larger monarchical system which has established rules and customs regarding succession, duties, and powers. ... Noble is the guitarist of British Sea Power. ... For other uses of War, see War (disambiguation). ... A mercenary is a soldier who fights, or engages in warfare primarily for private gain, usually with little regard for ideological, national or political considerations. ... Swiss longsword, 15th or 16th century A sword (from Old English sweord; akin to Old High German swerd lit. ...

Background

Gunpowder was developed in China, certainly by the 11th century and perhaps considerably earlier. It was quickly turned to military uses, in devices such as rockets, primitive flamethrowers and grenades launched from catapults. The rulers of the Sung dynasty made regular use of cannon from the twelfth century onwards, first of bamboo and then of bronze. The technology reached Europe, and cannon firing arrows were used at the battle of Crecy in 1346, although at this time the decisive arms remained archers and cavalry. Gunpowder or black powder is a substance which burns very rapidly and is used as a propellant in firearms, specifically either black powder or smokeless powder. ... A Redstone rocket, part of the Mercury program A rocket is a vehicle, missile or aircraft which obtains thrust by the reaction to the ejection of fast moving exhaust gas from within a rocket engine. ... German troops use a flamethrower on the Eastern Front during the Second World War A flamethrower is a mechanical device designed to throw flames or, more correctly, project an ignited stream of liquid. ... A hand grenade is a hand-held bomb, made to be thrown by a soldier. ... Replica catapult at Château des Baux, France Catapults are siege engines using an arm to hurl a projectile a great distance. ... Alternative meaning: Song Dynasty (420-479) The Song dynasty (Chinese: 宋朝) was a ruling dynasty in China from 960-1279. ... Diversity Around 91 genera and 1,000 species Subtribes Arthrostylidiinae Arundinariinae Bambusinae Chusqueinae Guaduinae Melocanninae Nastinae Racemobambodinae Shibataeinae See the full Taxonomy of the Bambuseae. ... Bronze figurine, found at Öland Bronze is the traditional name for a broad range of alloys of copper. ... Archers in Competition Archery is the practice of using a bow to shoot arrows. ... Italian cavalry officers practice their horsemanship in 1904 outside Rome. ...

For firepower to achieve its full strategic potential, two further improvements were needed. First the construction and design of the barrel was refined, leading to greater propulsion and, crucially, reducing the number of these "bombards" which blew up in operation. This step forward was helped by the experience of Europe's bell manufacturers, who were at the time perfecting the art of casting church bells for change ringing. The alloys used for both, gunmetal and bellmetal, are very nearly the same. The second vital factor was to increase the weapon's mobility. Early cannon were useful for defending fixed positions, such as castles or forts, but were less useful in the field or as weapons of attack in a siege. A strategy is a long term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. ... The bells of St Savas A bell is a simple sound-making device. ... A church bell is a bell which is rung in a (especially Christian) church either to signify the time of the hour or the time for worshippers to go to church, perhaps to attend a wedding, funeral or other service. ... Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuned bells in a series of mathematical patterns called changes, without attempting to ring a conventional tune. ... Gunmetal is a kind of bronze, an alloy of copper, tin, and zinc, originally used chiefly for making guns. ... This article describes the fortified buildings. ... Fortifications (Latin fortis, strong, and facere, to make) are military constructions designed for defensive warfare. ... For the Boston area punk band see Siege (band). ...

By the fifteenth century, moveable cast-iron cannon were being built and played a significant part in, for example, the Siege of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in 1453 and in some later battles of The Hundred Years War between the Plantagenets and the Capetians. Such large guns were very effective in speeding up sieges of stone fortifications, which would otherwise take weeks or months, if the attacker could afford to keep an army in the field for that time. Even so, the new weapons required enormous man power to operate, and were often only capable of a few shots per day. Cast iron usually refers to grey cast iron, but can mean any of a group of iron-based alloys containing more than 2% carbon (alloys with less carbon are carbon steel by definition). ... A small cast-iron cannon on a carriage A cannon is any large tubular firearm designed to fire a heavy projectile over a considerable distance. ... The 1453 Siege of Constantinople (painted 1499) The Fall of Constantinople was the conquest of that Greek city by the Ottoman Empire under the command of Sultan Mehmed II, on Tuesday, May 29, 1453. ... The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power Imperial motto Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (Ottoman Turkish for the Eternal State) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital Bursa (1335 - 1365), Edirne (1365-1453), İstanbul (Constantinople) (1453-1922) Imperial anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Sovereigns Padishah of the Osmanli Dynasty Population ca... This article is in need of attention. ... Angevin is the name applied to two distinct medieval dynasties which originated as counts (from 1360, dukes) of the western French province of Anjou (of which angevin is the adjectival form), but later came to rule far greater areas including England, Hungary and Poland (see Angevin Empire). ... The direct Capetian Dynasty followed the Carolingian rulers of France from 987 to 1328. ... A siege is a prolonged military blockade and assault of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by force or attrition. ...

Also by the late fifteenth century, the Spaniards revolutionized the infantry foot soldier by developing personal firearms, the musket. The military revolution was under way. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Some firearms A firearm is a kinetic energy mechanical device that fires either single or multiple projectiles propelled at high velocity by the gases produced by action of the rapid confined burning of a propellant. ... muskets and bayonets aboard the frigate Grand Turk A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth-bore long gun. ...

Feudal monarchy to sovereign state

No longer were kings almost forced to hire highly skilled swordsman to do their fighting if they wanted to win in battle. A standing army of infantrymen with muskets slowly eliminated the privately owned and operated armies of the nobles. Nobles then entered their king’s service as paid and permanent military leaders and commanders in service to the king fighting for only one country. Rather than relying on their old traditional role as vassals giving military service to the crown and then returning home when the battles were finished, these new nobles served for one state and its king with careers as military leaders. Now that nobles served in the kings permanent military, they ultimately lost their power to tax the people in their respective provinces. Taxation became the right of the sovereign state, the king, who also then became the only one allowed and also wealthy enough to wage war.

Warfare was a necessary part of a king’s rule in order to gain more lands and increase the size of his nation; therefore, taxation increased in order to fund the king’s newly formed standing army and military campaigns. Another reason for the nobles’ loss of military power may have also been that the new weaponry from the invention of gunpowder was extremely expensive. If the nobility were unable to purchase such weaponry and instead used their obsolete and outdated materials for warfare, the crown would not hire them to fight; modern artillery then became a monopoly of the crown. One of the first major conflicts where all major countries involved used foot soldiers with muskets and cavalry was the Thirty Years War. Historically, artillery refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war. ... Italian cavalry officers practice their horsemanship in 1904 outside Rome. ... The victory of Gustavus Adolphus at the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) The Thirty Years War was a conflict fought between the years 1618 and 1648, principally in the central European territory of the Holy Roman Empire, but also involving most of the major continental powers. ...

Military strategy and tactics had to be changed immensely because of the direct effect gunpowder had on the battle field. During the Thirty Years War, it took time for the military leaders to realize that the art of warfare had changed dramatically in just a couple hundred years and older medieval tactics were obsolete when fighting with muskets. As history has shown us many times, even when new military weapons have been built, it always takes longer than it should to find and implement new tactics and strategies in order to use the new weaponry effectively. Napoleon Bonaparte was one man who would later show Europe and the world how to implement his artillery, cavalry, and infantry on the battlefield in an effective manner. This is not to say that no other leader before Napoleon used gunpowder weaponry effectively. Both King Philip and Queen Elizabeth were prime examples of how they used gunpowder to their advantage in warfare, but Napoleon implemented new tactics and strategies, further making modern artillery more effective. Since firing a musket could be done by less skilled soldiers, when compared to the old sword nobles, many lower class and peasantry served in the military as infantrymen. Standing armies then became extremely large, with the ability to travel farther away from their central commander, the king. A strategy is a long term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal, as differentiated from tactics or immediate actions with resources at hand. ... Tactics is the collective name for methods of winning a small-scale conflict, performing an optimization, etc. ... Bonaparte as general Napoleon Bonaparte ( 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a general of the French Revolution and was the ruler of France as First Consul (Premier Consul) of the French Republic from November 11, 1799 to May 18, 1804, then as Emperor of the French (Empereur des Français... See also the town of Battle, East Sussex, England Generally, a battle is an instance of combat between two or more parties wherein each group will seek to defeat the others. ... Metacomet (died August 12, 1676), also known as King Philip or Metacom, was a war chief or sachem of the Wampanoag Indians and their leader in King Philips War. ... Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603 ) was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. ...

Lasting impact

As these newly formed sovereign states gained experience in warfare and in government, leaders began to realize that new tactics were essential on the battlefield. The feudal monarchies of the Middle Ages were very rapidly eliminated by the effects of gunpowder on warfare and government. This new invention can be credited with aiding in the formation of the European countries as we see them today. As countries began to become larger by the lands gained from victorious military campaigns, governments became increasingly centralized and more powerful over the people in their lands. People tried to associate themselves with countries who believed in the same religion, but the newly formed sovereign states many-of-times saw a divide country on the issue of religion as a weakness in the nation itself. Many times, these highly centralized sovereign states were less interested in the safety and success of the people living in their lands and more concerned with military victories and living lavishly. This military Revolution not only completely changed warfare, but also led to the development of sovereign states financially capable of making their influence felt world wide.

See also

• Army
• Marine
• Military history
• Military science
• Zouave
• Treaty of Westphalia