Western Civilization I / Unit 14 WC1 1304 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Gunpowder: Pike, Musket, Cannon, and the End of the Castle
Captions available
The idea
Gunpowder, Chinese in origin, reached Europe by the fourteenth century. Early guns were inaccurate but lethal and easy to learn: a peasant could kill a knight. By the late fifteenth century pike squares with muskets stopped cavalry and cannon ended the castle.
In practice
Constantinople in fourteen fifty-three as the famous case.
Where people slip
Many historians reject the phrase gunpowder revolution, the anchor says.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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