1 00:00:00,030 --> 00:00:02,280 chuckle role in history an invention 2 00:00:02,280 --> 00:00:04,230 which has been praised and denounced 3 00:00:04,230 --> 00:00:06,330 served hero and villain alike and 4 00:00:06,330 --> 00:00:09,349 carries with it moral responsibility to 5 00:00:09,349 --> 00:00:11,730 understand the gun is to better 6 00:00:11,730 --> 00:00:13,320 understand history 7 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:16,530 [Music] 8 00:00:16,530 --> 00:00:19,290 it began a thousand years ago a 9 00:00:19,290 --> 00:00:21,660 mysterious alchemist makes three 10 00:00:21,660 --> 00:00:24,180 ordinary ingredients to make a substance 11 00:00:24,180 --> 00:00:26,099 that burst into fire at the touch of a 12 00:00:26,099 --> 00:00:29,660 flame it came to be known as gunpowder 13 00:00:29,660 --> 00:00:31,730 [Music] 14 00:00:31,730 --> 00:00:35,010 just a toy to some but warlords and 15 00:00:35,010 --> 00:00:37,290 Kings realize this miraculous mixture 16 00:00:37,290 --> 00:00:40,379 had the power to crush castle walls to 17 00:00:40,379 --> 00:00:43,640 pierce the armor of knights and battle 18 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:46,199 struggles among nations would never be 19 00:00:46,199 --> 00:00:48,410 the same 20 00:00:48,630 --> 00:01:09,349 [Music] 21 00:01:22,530 --> 00:01:25,879 [Music] 22 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:46,850 from the blast of a cannon shell the 23 00:01:46,850 --> 00:01:49,460 sharp crack of a soldier's rifle each 24 00:01:49,460 --> 00:01:52,009 time a gun is fired we can add one more 25 00:01:52,009 --> 00:01:55,610 line to an ever-growing Chronicle the 26 00:01:55,610 --> 00:01:57,770 spectacular violence that a gun produces 27 00:01:57,770 --> 00:02:00,619 commands our attention not only for the 28 00:02:00,619 --> 00:02:02,960 danger it presents but for the story it 29 00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:07,880 tell the gun says listen to me because I 30 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:14,330 changed history the tail is as distant 31 00:02:14,330 --> 00:02:17,420 in time as it is in place it begins with 32 00:02:17,420 --> 00:02:19,519 an unknown alchemists the first to 33 00:02:19,519 --> 00:02:21,590 prepare a concoction we know now as 34 00:02:21,590 --> 00:02:25,670 gunpowder somewhere in China sometime 35 00:02:25,670 --> 00:02:29,330 around the Year 1000 someone discovered 36 00:02:29,330 --> 00:02:32,900 the properties of sulfur saltpeter and 37 00:02:32,900 --> 00:02:35,660 charcoal which when mixed together in 38 00:02:35,660 --> 00:02:37,970 the proper amounts burned very rapidly 39 00:02:37,970 --> 00:02:40,900 or even explode 40 00:02:43,830 --> 00:02:48,210 it was magic it was unexplainable it was 41 00:02:48,210 --> 00:02:51,460 beyond belief and the person who had the 42 00:02:51,460 --> 00:02:55,180 power over the powder definitely had an 43 00:02:55,180 --> 00:02:58,450 advantage from China knowledge of the 44 00:02:58,450 --> 00:03:00,100 mysterious powder was most likely 45 00:03:00,100 --> 00:03:02,170 carried to the west through writings of 46 00:03:02,170 --> 00:03:04,930 Arab scholars the earliest record of its 47 00:03:04,930 --> 00:03:06,940 appearance in Europe comes in England in 48 00:03:06,940 --> 00:03:09,190 the middle of the 13th century when a 49 00:03:09,190 --> 00:03:10,930 Catholic monk first wrote down the 50 00:03:10,930 --> 00:03:14,620 formula in a latin manuscript take seven 51 00:03:14,620 --> 00:03:17,200 pots of saltpeter five of young 52 00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:20,770 hazelwood choco and five of sulfur and 53 00:03:20,770 --> 00:03:23,380 thus you can make thunder and lightning 54 00:03:23,380 --> 00:03:27,640 if you know the means Roger Bacon 1250 55 00:03:27,640 --> 00:03:31,090 ad there's an interesting story about 56 00:03:31,090 --> 00:03:34,930 Roger Bacon he had to hide discovery in 57 00:03:34,930 --> 00:03:36,610 the formula for gunpowder in an anagram 58 00:03:36,610 --> 00:03:39,750 and the reason for that is he had to 59 00:03:39,750 --> 00:03:42,190 avoid looking like he was practicing 60 00:03:42,190 --> 00:03:44,650 magic the black art which was being 61 00:03:44,650 --> 00:03:46,720 persecuted by the church at the time to 62 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:48,280 him it was science but to others that 63 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:50,050 were more ignorant obviously this is 64 00:03:50,050 --> 00:03:54,370 magic but there is another monk whose 65 00:03:54,370 --> 00:03:56,290 name is often given as the true inventor 66 00:03:56,290 --> 00:03:57,580 of gunpowder 67 00:03:57,580 --> 00:04:00,820 he was Berthold Schwarz whose statue can 68 00:04:00,820 --> 00:04:02,530 still be seen today in Freiburg Germany 69 00:04:02,530 --> 00:04:06,690 where he is said to have been born in 70 00:04:06,690 --> 00:04:09,520 reality Schwarz is only a myth created 71 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:12,040 out of our need to attach a name to each 72 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:15,040 of man's great inventions the Schwarz 73 00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:16,930 legend apparently first appeared in a 74 00:04:16,930 --> 00:04:18,820 text more important for its factual 75 00:04:18,820 --> 00:04:21,190 information something called the 76 00:04:21,190 --> 00:04:24,880 firework book the firework book is a 77 00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:27,490 collection of recipes about gunpowder I 78 00:04:27,490 --> 00:04:30,400 think of it as the joy of cooking with 79 00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:32,170 gunpowder rather than food as the 80 00:04:32,170 --> 00:04:35,620 subject it was first written in Germany 81 00:04:35,620 --> 00:04:38,440 around 1400 at a time when books were 82 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:40,720 hand copied and handed down from master 83 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:43,330 to apprentice as this one was for more 84 00:04:43,330 --> 00:04:45,760 than a hundred years these crude 85 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:47,890 illustrations come from one manuscript 86 00:04:47,890 --> 00:04:49,980 in Britain's Royal Armouries collection 87 00:04:49,980 --> 00:04:53,140 only 47 copies of the book survived 88 00:04:53,140 --> 00:04:54,150 today 89 00:04:54,150 --> 00:04:57,240 I've seen a number of copies of the book 90 00:04:57,240 --> 00:04:58,770 of fireworks and some of them actually 91 00:04:58,770 --> 00:05:01,770 smell of sulfur or gunpowder indicating 92 00:05:01,770 --> 00:05:03,300 that they were actually stored and used 93 00:05:03,300 --> 00:05:05,460 in the workshops where these things were 94 00:05:05,460 --> 00:05:10,620 compounded in the Orient the Chinese 95 00:05:10,620 --> 00:05:12,600 used their gunpowder largely for 96 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:15,240 fireworks but it was only in the West 97 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:17,370 that the true long-term development of 98 00:05:17,370 --> 00:05:18,540 guns took root 99 00:05:18,540 --> 00:05:21,120 the earliest picture of a gun appeared 100 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:23,220 in a British manuscript by Walter of 101 00:05:23,220 --> 00:05:27,240 Milla mate written in 1326 very strange 102 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:30,000 to the modern eye this gun was armed 103 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:34,650 with a giant arrow the earliest guns 104 00:05:34,650 --> 00:05:38,010 were extremely crude after all gunpowder 105 00:05:38,010 --> 00:05:40,770 was a new technology and no one knew 106 00:05:40,770 --> 00:05:42,979 what a gun was supposed to look like 107 00:05:42,979 --> 00:05:46,050 cannon the largest guns were costly as 108 00:05:46,050 --> 00:05:48,150 they were first made using the same 109 00:05:48,150 --> 00:05:50,370 expensive techniques used to cast church 110 00:05:50,370 --> 00:05:54,510 bells but it was the nature of gunpowder 111 00:05:54,510 --> 00:05:56,550 itself that played the biggest role in 112 00:05:56,550 --> 00:05:59,810 the evolution of these weapons 113 00:05:59,930 --> 00:06:02,810 in Europe a key factor in keeping early 114 00:06:02,810 --> 00:06:05,720 guns small was the price of gunpowder it 115 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:08,000 was so costly it could not be used in 116 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:10,669 large quantities the high price was 117 00:06:10,669 --> 00:06:12,620 caused by Europe's extreme shortage of 118 00:06:12,620 --> 00:06:15,139 saltpeter gunpowder's most critical 119 00:06:15,139 --> 00:06:18,770 ingredient saltpeter is a simple 120 00:06:18,770 --> 00:06:21,259 nitrogen compound but it comes from a 121 00:06:21,259 --> 00:06:23,690 rather repellent source decomposed 122 00:06:23,690 --> 00:06:27,830 animal droppings originally it was very 123 00:06:27,830 --> 00:06:30,110 expensive because it had to be imported 124 00:06:30,110 --> 00:06:32,060 to Europe from China where it can be 125 00:06:32,060 --> 00:06:34,970 mined from natural deposits but the lack 126 00:06:34,970 --> 00:06:37,280 of such resources forced Europeans to 127 00:06:37,280 --> 00:06:39,979 learn to make it from scratch by boiling 128 00:06:39,979 --> 00:06:43,940 down their own barnyard waste it must 129 00:06:43,940 --> 00:06:46,039 have been horribly smelly it must have 130 00:06:46,039 --> 00:06:48,530 been terribly dirty but the result was 131 00:06:48,530 --> 00:06:51,199 absolutely necessary if you are going to 132 00:06:51,199 --> 00:06:52,910 make gunpowder at any kind of reasonable 133 00:06:52,910 --> 00:06:58,099 price by making it themselves 134 00:06:58,099 --> 00:07:00,229 European solved the saltpeter shortage 135 00:07:00,229 --> 00:07:03,979 but then there were other problems early 136 00:07:03,979 --> 00:07:06,889 gunpowder wasn't exactly explosive it 137 00:07:06,889 --> 00:07:10,760 burned with a fizz more than a bang its 138 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:12,680 ingredients also tended to separate 139 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:15,110 during shipment and if it got damp it 140 00:07:15,110 --> 00:07:18,139 wouldn't light at all so the early texts 141 00:07:18,139 --> 00:07:19,970 taught powder makers a technique that we 142 00:07:19,970 --> 00:07:24,470 now call Corning Corning starts off in a 143 00:07:24,470 --> 00:07:27,080 funny way I found this picture in a 144 00:07:27,080 --> 00:07:29,449 Swiss manuscript of the 1440s which 145 00:07:29,449 --> 00:07:31,550 shows how gunpowder was formed into 146 00:07:31,550 --> 00:07:35,930 lumps or cakes by hand and left to dry 147 00:07:35,930 --> 00:07:39,830 in the Sun you could then break this 148 00:07:39,830 --> 00:07:42,860 apart on the eve of battle when you 149 00:07:42,860 --> 00:07:46,570 needed the Gunpowder in your gun 150 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:49,919 while early gunpowder was fine as dust 151 00:07:49,919 --> 00:07:52,319 Corning formed it into slightly larger 152 00:07:52,319 --> 00:07:54,690 grains or corns as the British would say 153 00:07:54,690 --> 00:07:57,330 the process not only solved the dampness 154 00:07:57,330 --> 00:07:59,520 and separation problems but as the 155 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:01,830 technique advanced it also happened to 156 00:08:01,830 --> 00:08:06,080 make gunpowder amazingly more powerful a 157 00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:08,759 gun counter testing device based on a 158 00:08:08,759 --> 00:08:11,340 19th century design demonstrates how 159 00:08:11,340 --> 00:08:14,460 much more powerful early style gunpowder 160 00:08:14,460 --> 00:08:18,650 burns slowly along the 8-foot track 161 00:08:25,230 --> 00:08:28,230 so slow is the burn that it takes 50 162 00:08:28,230 --> 00:08:31,110 seconds from beginning to end but what a 163 00:08:31,110 --> 00:08:35,280 difference a little Corning makes in 164 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:38,190 just four seconds the corn gunpowder is 165 00:08:38,190 --> 00:08:41,789 up in smoke once a gunpowder has been 166 00:08:41,789 --> 00:08:45,210 through a wet stage it will always burn 167 00:08:45,210 --> 00:08:46,080 differently 168 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:50,550 it's a remarkable property the powder 169 00:08:50,550 --> 00:08:52,470 makers of Europe had no idea that 170 00:08:52,470 --> 00:08:54,060 Corning would change the nature of 171 00:08:54,060 --> 00:08:57,360 gunpowder so dramatically their primary 172 00:08:57,360 --> 00:09:00,180 goal was to improve its shelf life they 173 00:09:00,180 --> 00:09:02,250 hardly realized the impact their work 174 00:09:02,250 --> 00:09:06,320 would have on the shape of guns to come 175 00:09:06,530 --> 00:09:09,330 the new powder burns so much faster than 176 00:09:09,330 --> 00:09:12,060 the old with so much more power that the 177 00:09:12,060 --> 00:09:14,100 big cannons of the time simply couldn't 178 00:09:14,100 --> 00:09:15,440 handle it 179 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:18,050 it just blew the gun to pieces so 180 00:09:18,050 --> 00:09:21,660 although they improve the powder there 181 00:09:21,660 --> 00:09:23,400 wasn't much they could do with it until 182 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:26,910 it improved the guns but smaller guns 183 00:09:26,910 --> 00:09:29,490 had few of these problems as with any 184 00:09:29,490 --> 00:09:31,650 physical device when scaled to small 185 00:09:31,650 --> 00:09:33,690 sizes the strength is greater when 186 00:09:33,690 --> 00:09:36,690 compared to its weight so handheld guns 187 00:09:36,690 --> 00:09:38,820 were ideally suited to take advantage of 188 00:09:38,820 --> 00:09:42,630 the new powerful powder gun makers found 189 00:09:42,630 --> 00:09:44,760 that longer barrels produced superior 190 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:47,400 acceleration so that bullets fired from 191 00:09:47,400 --> 00:09:49,350 these guns flew through the air at a 192 00:09:49,350 --> 00:09:51,440 thousand miles per hour 193 00:09:51,440 --> 00:09:53,959 such weapons began to appear in the mid 194 00:09:53,959 --> 00:09:58,250 15th century the first supersonic 195 00:09:58,250 --> 00:10:01,670 devices ever created by man leather on 196 00:10:01,670 --> 00:10:04,000 the groundwork for revolution in warfare 197 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:08,410 fuelled by weapons of fire 198 00:10:08,550 --> 00:10:11,120 [Music] 199 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:14,269 [Applause] 200 00:10:16,820 --> 00:10:19,370 [Music] 201 00:10:19,370 --> 00:10:22,190 in the year 1412 at the height of the 202 00:10:22,190 --> 00:10:24,050 Hundred Years War between England and 203 00:10:24,050 --> 00:10:26,480 France the French city of borscht was 204 00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:30,230 under siege one chronicler described a 205 00:10:30,230 --> 00:10:32,630 terrible weapon that blasted apart the 206 00:10:32,630 --> 00:10:37,880 city walls a cannon called grreat bigger 207 00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:38,960 than the others 208 00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:42,290 stones of enormous sweat and when it 209 00:10:42,290 --> 00:10:44,480 went off the thunderous noise could be 210 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:48,200 heard for miles away as if you doin 211 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:49,790 noise made me furious 212 00:10:49,790 --> 00:10:54,380 of help siege cannon were developed 213 00:10:54,380 --> 00:10:57,850 earlier than any other kind of gun and 214 00:10:57,850 --> 00:11:01,220 they served the purpose of battering 215 00:11:01,220 --> 00:11:04,430 walls down and reducing the time that it 216 00:11:04,430 --> 00:11:09,560 took to take a fortified site before 217 00:11:09,560 --> 00:11:12,320 cannon siege warfare was lengthy and 218 00:11:12,320 --> 00:11:15,170 difficult invading forces set up joint 219 00:11:15,170 --> 00:11:17,180 siege towers to confront the defenders 220 00:11:17,180 --> 00:11:19,760 and battering rams were used to breach 221 00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:22,640 the entrances a siege could take months 222 00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:25,670 even years 223 00:11:25,670 --> 00:11:28,130 the first canons dating from the early 224 00:11:28,130 --> 00:11:31,730 1300s shot fire arrows made to ignite 225 00:11:31,730 --> 00:11:33,740 the flammable rooftops of besieged 226 00:11:33,740 --> 00:11:37,580 cities even a century later pictures in 227 00:11:37,580 --> 00:11:39,920 the famous firework book showed battle 228 00:11:39,920 --> 00:11:41,930 scenes with defenders using hooks to 229 00:11:41,930 --> 00:11:45,830 snare the burning arrows but by this 230 00:11:45,830 --> 00:11:47,780 time they were more likely to be fired 231 00:11:47,780 --> 00:11:50,900 by small crossbows while a cannon was 232 00:11:50,900 --> 00:11:52,970 used to hurl stone shot against the once 233 00:11:52,970 --> 00:11:57,230 impregnable castle walls while breaching 234 00:11:57,230 --> 00:11:58,820 the castle wall with the cannon was 235 00:11:58,820 --> 00:12:01,670 simply a question of patience you 236 00:12:01,670 --> 00:12:03,830 decided whereabouts on the wall you were 237 00:12:03,830 --> 00:12:08,870 going to shoot and you shot at it until 238 00:12:08,870 --> 00:12:11,240 eventually the wall collapsed there was 239 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:14,630 no scientific approach it was just brute 240 00:12:14,630 --> 00:12:15,740 force and ignorance 241 00:12:15,740 --> 00:12:17,720 bang bang bang away at the same spot 242 00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:20,930 until something gave way but the threat 243 00:12:20,930 --> 00:12:23,450 posed by cannons was slow to develop at 244 00:12:23,450 --> 00:12:26,300 first these big guns and gunpowder were 245 00:12:26,300 --> 00:12:28,730 so expensive that cannon remained small 246 00:12:28,730 --> 00:12:31,880 and few in number even later artillery 247 00:12:31,880 --> 00:12:34,220 was often far more useful for its bark 248 00:12:34,220 --> 00:12:38,210 than its bite nothing this loud nothing 249 00:12:38,210 --> 00:12:41,600 this smelly nothing this flashy hope you 250 00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:44,180 build had ever appeared on the European 251 00:12:44,180 --> 00:12:46,340 battlefield before and there are 252 00:12:46,340 --> 00:12:48,620 numerous examples where armies or 253 00:12:48,620 --> 00:12:51,860 Garrison's simply gave up the moment 254 00:12:51,860 --> 00:12:54,110 cannon were brought in and used only 255 00:12:54,110 --> 00:12:59,120 with only a few shots in the 1400s as 256 00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:01,340 the cost of gunpowder dropped the size 257 00:13:01,340 --> 00:13:04,580 of cannon grew the first big guns had 258 00:13:04,580 --> 00:13:07,400 been cast from solid bronze that was too 259 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:10,520 costly for medieval military budgets but 260 00:13:10,520 --> 00:13:13,430 soon cheaper methods were developed 261 00:13:13,430 --> 00:13:18,140 first of all we had cast weapons then 262 00:13:18,140 --> 00:13:21,140 some bright fellow said well if we make 263 00:13:21,140 --> 00:13:23,510 barrels for putting wine and beer in out 264 00:13:23,510 --> 00:13:25,970 of staves and oops round it can we make 265 00:13:25,970 --> 00:13:27,710 a gun barrels a minor thing called a 266 00:13:27,710 --> 00:13:29,660 barrel that's why it became called a 267 00:13:29,660 --> 00:13:32,810 barrel but they made the gun body out of 268 00:13:32,810 --> 00:13:38,380 strips of metal bound with iron hoops 269 00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:41,990 and so is the 15th century dawn the age 270 00:13:41,990 --> 00:13:45,350 of massive siege cannons began Wain as 271 00:13:45,350 --> 00:13:47,540 much as several tons they launched 272 00:13:47,540 --> 00:13:49,280 immense stone balls against their 273 00:13:49,280 --> 00:13:52,760 vulnerable targets the biggest of all 274 00:13:52,760 --> 00:13:55,550 was the bum heart punch tire the largest 275 00:13:55,550 --> 00:13:58,400 caliber Stone guns surviving today the 276 00:13:58,400 --> 00:14:00,380 diameter of its bore is more than 31 277 00:14:00,380 --> 00:14:03,220 inches and the stone is shot weighed 278 00:14:03,220 --> 00:14:07,610 1533 pounds cannons weren't very 279 00:14:07,610 --> 00:14:10,700 efficient but big masonry walls made 280 00:14:10,700 --> 00:14:13,580 very good targets they were firing very 281 00:14:13,580 --> 00:14:16,490 large stone balls the rate of fire was 282 00:14:16,490 --> 00:14:19,070 extremely slow but none of that made 283 00:14:19,070 --> 00:14:21,440 much difference the cannon was a better 284 00:14:21,440 --> 00:14:23,560 wall basher than the mechanical 285 00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:28,340 catapults that preceded it by the late 286 00:14:28,340 --> 00:14:30,890 15th century military designers used 287 00:14:30,890 --> 00:14:33,350 iron or lead cannonballs allowing them 288 00:14:33,350 --> 00:14:35,420 to reduce the size of artillery without 289 00:14:35,420 --> 00:14:38,510 reducing its punch to avoid damage from 290 00:14:38,510 --> 00:14:41,240 the more powerful corn gunpowder cannon 291 00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:43,730 were again cast in solid pieces usually 292 00:14:43,730 --> 00:14:47,180 a bronze european craftsmen were still 293 00:14:47,180 --> 00:14:49,180 just learning the art of casting iron 294 00:14:49,180 --> 00:14:51,440 leaving the stronger metals use in 295 00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:56,210 cannon to the future once more to the 296 00:14:56,210 --> 00:15:01,730 breach dear friends once more few people 297 00:15:01,730 --> 00:15:03,740 realize it but it was a cannon that 298 00:15:03,740 --> 00:15:06,050 opened the breech inspiring one of 299 00:15:06,050 --> 00:15:08,840 Shakespeare's most famous lines the 300 00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:10,670 stirring speech is given by England's 301 00:15:10,670 --> 00:15:12,770 King Henry the fifth during the Hundred 302 00:15:12,770 --> 00:15:14,900 Years War at the siege of Harfleur in 303 00:15:14,900 --> 00:15:19,730 France the real event took place in 1415 304 00:15:19,730 --> 00:15:22,370 and Henry's 12 big cannon made it 305 00:15:22,370 --> 00:15:24,290 possible for him to take the fortified 306 00:15:24,290 --> 00:15:27,860 city in only five weeks a generation 307 00:15:27,860 --> 00:15:30,200 earlier King Edward the third needed a 308 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:33,600 year to subdue the city of Calais 309 00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:36,660 on the battlefield though cannon had yet 310 00:15:36,660 --> 00:15:39,210 to prove themselves the siege of a 311 00:15:39,210 --> 00:15:41,220 castle provided big guns with large 312 00:15:41,220 --> 00:15:44,310 stationary targets but early cannon were 313 00:15:44,310 --> 00:15:46,590 so unwieldy they were hardly effective 314 00:15:46,590 --> 00:15:51,450 against troops it was no easy feat to 315 00:15:51,450 --> 00:15:55,650 bring these monster guns into play on 316 00:15:55,650 --> 00:15:58,500 any target that the commander might 317 00:15:58,500 --> 00:16:01,500 choose remember the state of the roads 318 00:16:01,500 --> 00:16:03,810 at that time most of them were little 319 00:16:03,810 --> 00:16:06,900 more than horse paths when it rained the 320 00:16:06,900 --> 00:16:13,740 wagons would sink up to their axles the 321 00:16:13,740 --> 00:16:15,960 use of guns and open-field warfare can 322 00:16:15,960 --> 00:16:17,880 be traced to the Belgian city of Bruges 323 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:20,910 where every year citizens celebrate the 324 00:16:20,910 --> 00:16:22,700 procession of the holy blood 325 00:16:22,700 --> 00:16:25,500 the procession marks an event after the 326 00:16:25,500 --> 00:16:28,710 Second Crusade in 1150 when the Count of 327 00:16:28,710 --> 00:16:31,130 Flanders returned with a holy relic a 328 00:16:31,130 --> 00:16:33,720 crystal and bottle said to contain the 329 00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:40,200 blood of Christ in medieval times the 330 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:42,180 procession was celebrated with an excess 331 00:16:42,180 --> 00:16:45,390 of eating and drinking a tradition 332 00:16:45,390 --> 00:16:47,070 enjoyed by the city's soldiers in the 333 00:16:47,070 --> 00:16:50,340 Year 1382 the night before they were to 334 00:16:50,340 --> 00:16:52,230 meet rebellious forces from the city of 335 00:16:52,230 --> 00:16:56,880 Ghent it is known as the Battle of baver 336 00:16:56,880 --> 00:16:59,310 hoods felt and it is one of the very 337 00:16:59,310 --> 00:17:01,350 first in which guns made a difference on 338 00:17:01,350 --> 00:17:04,439 the battlefield the soldiers of Ghent 339 00:17:04,439 --> 00:17:07,319 were outnumbered five-to-one when the 340 00:17:07,319 --> 00:17:10,079 battle came to its climax they fired 341 00:17:10,079 --> 00:17:13,380 what appears to have been a volley into 342 00:17:13,380 --> 00:17:16,199 the forces of the city of Bruges to 343 00:17:16,199 --> 00:17:19,650 immediately turn tail and ramp of course 344 00:17:19,650 --> 00:17:21,619 it may be that they were hungover 345 00:17:21,619 --> 00:17:23,939 because they've been celebrating tonight 346 00:17:23,939 --> 00:17:26,430 before 347 00:17:26,430 --> 00:17:28,680 but a new and different threat was about 348 00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:31,230 to appear on the battlefield small 349 00:17:31,230 --> 00:17:33,750 cannons each light enough to be held and 350 00:17:33,750 --> 00:17:39,240 aimed by an individual gunner it was the 351 00:17:39,240 --> 00:17:42,090 birth of the handgun a weapon that would 352 00:17:42,090 --> 00:17:44,130 change the nature of what it meant to be 353 00:17:44,130 --> 00:17:47,940 a soldier forever 354 00:17:47,940 --> 00:17:54,640 [Music] 355 00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:57,700 boy entered to be a soldier at the age 356 00:17:57,700 --> 00:18:00,780 of 18 years in the year of our Lord 357 00:18:00,780 --> 00:18:03,299 15:48 358 00:18:03,299 --> 00:18:06,400 at the time of Queen Elizabeth the first 359 00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:08,620 Humphrey barwick a self-proclaimed 360 00:18:08,620 --> 00:18:11,500 gentleman soldier and captain sat down 361 00:18:11,500 --> 00:18:13,600 to write out his thoughts about war and 362 00:18:13,600 --> 00:18:19,240 guns muskets are weapons of great force 363 00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:23,530 ina this day most feared for few or no 364 00:18:23,530 --> 00:18:26,049 armors will or can defend the force 365 00:18:26,049 --> 00:18:33,100 thereof Barwick was a soldier of the gun 366 00:18:33,100 --> 00:18:35,530 in an age when the knight in armor was 367 00:18:35,530 --> 00:18:38,440 still a romantic ideal but troops 368 00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:40,570 supplied with shoulder arms were finally 369 00:18:40,570 --> 00:18:42,850 becoming strategic elements of European 370 00:18:42,850 --> 00:18:45,910 armies two centuries after hand guns had 371 00:18:45,910 --> 00:18:49,419 arrived looking at the earliest of these 372 00:18:49,419 --> 00:18:51,730 weapons like the Huq and books up you 373 00:18:51,730 --> 00:18:54,720 can understand why it took so long the 374 00:18:54,720 --> 00:18:58,299 early guns do look ridiculous to us but 375 00:18:58,299 --> 00:19:00,040 they were the state of the art during 376 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:03,640 the time the hackenbush is essentially a 377 00:19:03,640 --> 00:19:06,669 pipe with one end closed off and a hook 378 00:19:06,669 --> 00:19:10,900 at the other end to help stabilize very 379 00:19:10,900 --> 00:19:14,620 primitive the Hakan books ax or hook gun 380 00:19:14,620 --> 00:19:16,630 began to appear along with other types 381 00:19:16,630 --> 00:19:19,480 of hand cannons in the 1300s right 382 00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:22,600 alongside their larger cousins paintings 383 00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:24,280 and drawings of the time show these 384 00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:26,650 awkward weapons and use but they hardly 385 00:19:26,650 --> 00:19:29,880 had much impact in the way war was waged 386 00:19:29,880 --> 00:19:32,230 incredibly a few of these guns have 387 00:19:32,230 --> 00:19:35,410 survived until today this one dates from 388 00:19:35,410 --> 00:19:38,830 about 1440 and is as primitive as they 389 00:19:38,830 --> 00:19:41,080 come no trigger 390 00:19:41,080 --> 00:19:43,660 no hammer no stock just a rudimentary 391 00:19:43,660 --> 00:19:46,690 tiller typically this weapon was fired 392 00:19:46,690 --> 00:19:51,160 by two men forged more than five and a 393 00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:53,830 half centuries ago this gun is so simple 394 00:19:53,830 --> 00:19:55,990 the experts feel it still should work 395 00:19:55,990 --> 00:19:59,290 but there remains some doubt after all 396 00:19:59,290 --> 00:20:01,960 it hasn't been fired in more than 300 397 00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:04,320 years 398 00:20:07,729 --> 00:20:12,830 as the handgun evolved so did its name 399 00:20:12,830 --> 00:20:15,659 from the German Hakan books uh the 400 00:20:15,659 --> 00:20:18,840 French turned it into aqua booze and the 401 00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:22,259 English became hark huevos the weapon of 402 00:20:22,259 --> 00:20:25,769 humphrey Barwick the heart koi booth was 403 00:20:25,769 --> 00:20:28,769 the first weapon that I did use it is 404 00:20:28,769 --> 00:20:31,019 our weapon most offensive that as yet 405 00:20:31,019 --> 00:20:33,869 air was invented and in the hands of a 406 00:20:33,869 --> 00:20:36,509 skillful soldier most terrible and 407 00:20:36,509 --> 00:20:42,779 deadly the heart way boosts of Humphrey 408 00:20:42,779 --> 00:20:44,519 Barwick was part of an arsenal that 409 00:20:44,519 --> 00:20:46,919 included the slightly larger musket a 410 00:20:46,919 --> 00:20:49,649 name eventually used for all guns of 411 00:20:49,649 --> 00:20:53,759 this time to ignite the weapon a soldier 412 00:20:53,759 --> 00:20:56,279 carried his match a rope soaked with 413 00:20:56,279 --> 00:20:58,859 saltpeter so it would smolder reliably 414 00:20:58,859 --> 00:21:03,899 without going out with the refinement of 415 00:21:03,899 --> 00:21:06,119 corned gunpowder the handguns Barrel 416 00:21:06,119 --> 00:21:08,669 became long and narrow it's crude 417 00:21:08,669 --> 00:21:10,649 mounting pole became a true shoulder 418 00:21:10,649 --> 00:21:13,830 stock and finally included a simple 419 00:21:13,830 --> 00:21:16,429 mechanical firing device called a lock 420 00:21:16,429 --> 00:21:19,259 thus the three essential ingredients of 421 00:21:19,259 --> 00:21:22,799 every shoulder arm even today lock stock 422 00:21:22,799 --> 00:21:28,769 and barrel appearing around 1450 these 423 00:21:28,769 --> 00:21:30,899 first mechanically firing guns were 424 00:21:30,899 --> 00:21:33,029 known as match locks and they were a 425 00:21:33,029 --> 00:21:34,820 tremendous breakthrough in their day 426 00:21:34,820 --> 00:21:37,799 many older handguns had to be held with 427 00:21:37,799 --> 00:21:40,830 one hand and ignited with the other but 428 00:21:40,830 --> 00:21:42,359 the match lock allowed troops to use 429 00:21:42,359 --> 00:21:46,849 both hands to level and aim the weapons 430 00:21:47,919 --> 00:21:49,879 preparation and loading was still 431 00:21:49,879 --> 00:21:52,399 cumbersome though bullets went in from 432 00:21:52,399 --> 00:21:54,559 the front and a priming pan had to be 433 00:21:54,559 --> 00:21:56,149 filled to ignite the charge in the 434 00:21:56,149 --> 00:21:58,549 barrel a misfire would mean the 435 00:21:58,549 --> 00:22:00,559 proverbial flash in the pan 436 00:22:00,559 --> 00:22:02,960 but the max lock was usually reliable 437 00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:05,870 and when it came time to fire all it 438 00:22:05,870 --> 00:22:12,559 needed was a pull on the trigger match 439 00:22:12,559 --> 00:22:15,019 locks became widespread by the late 15th 440 00:22:15,019 --> 00:22:18,019 century but a hundred years later when 441 00:22:18,019 --> 00:22:19,700 Humphrey Barwick was using one in 442 00:22:19,700 --> 00:22:22,210 England a controversy raged 443 00:22:22,210 --> 00:22:24,529 traditionalists favored England's deadly 444 00:22:24,529 --> 00:22:26,960 longbow they looked on guns with 445 00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:29,779 contempt and a proud Humphrey Barwick 446 00:22:29,779 --> 00:22:33,470 answered back the archers in times past 447 00:22:33,470 --> 00:22:36,710 where the best shot that were not yet in 448 00:22:36,710 --> 00:22:40,039 these days where weapons a fire of the 449 00:22:40,039 --> 00:22:43,669 drug they used no yours nor mine is able 450 00:22:43,669 --> 00:22:45,950 to bear Armour sufficient to defend 451 00:22:45,950 --> 00:22:50,210 their bodies from death ironically 452 00:22:50,210 --> 00:22:52,250 enough the longbow is a ballistically 453 00:22:52,250 --> 00:22:54,740 superior weapon when compared to the 454 00:22:54,740 --> 00:22:57,710 musket it has a much longer range three 455 00:22:57,710 --> 00:23:00,889 to four times the archer can shoot at a 456 00:23:00,889 --> 00:23:03,710 much higher rate than a musket and yet 457 00:23:03,710 --> 00:23:06,080 there's one fundamental disadvantage to 458 00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:08,419 the musket that the longbow has that 459 00:23:08,419 --> 00:23:10,340 Humphrey Barwick missed and that's the 460 00:23:10,340 --> 00:23:13,519 economics for years the longbow helped 461 00:23:13,519 --> 00:23:15,259 the British to win battles against their 462 00:23:15,259 --> 00:23:18,110 enemies but guns were simply cheaper a 463 00:23:18,110 --> 00:23:20,720 skilled Archer needed a lifetime to 464 00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:23,990 train a skilled gunman needed only weeks 465 00:23:23,990 --> 00:23:27,069 [Music] 466 00:23:27,580 --> 00:23:30,429 military armor already thickened against 467 00:23:30,429 --> 00:23:32,499 the longbow was made even stronger to 468 00:23:32,499 --> 00:23:35,590 protect against bullets but muskets the 469 00:23:35,590 --> 00:23:37,480 more powerful cousins to the arc Ibis 470 00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:40,080 could pierce armor at close range 471 00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:42,610 heralding the end of early Warfare's 472 00:23:42,610 --> 00:23:45,610 most romantic symbol the mounted Knight 473 00:23:45,610 --> 00:23:50,830 a musket ball when contacted with armor 474 00:23:50,830 --> 00:23:52,960 what it'll do it will pierce the front 475 00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:55,899 plate losing a lot of his momentum after 476 00:23:55,899 --> 00:23:58,119 that it will hit the back plate and then 477 00:23:58,119 --> 00:23:59,830 bounce back toward the front and you 478 00:23:59,830 --> 00:24:01,570 will get this ball bouncing back and 479 00:24:01,570 --> 00:24:05,080 forth this literally turns into a small 480 00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:06,460 meat grinder tearing everything up 481 00:24:06,460 --> 00:24:09,940 inside another innovation would also 482 00:24:09,940 --> 00:24:12,190 spell trouble for the armored Knight it 483 00:24:12,190 --> 00:24:14,200 was called the wheel lock first 484 00:24:14,200 --> 00:24:17,649 developed around 1500 while the max lock 485 00:24:17,649 --> 00:24:19,539 needed its priming pan opened just 486 00:24:19,539 --> 00:24:21,879 before firing the wheel lock did it 487 00:24:21,879 --> 00:24:24,789 automatically and the clumsy burning 488 00:24:24,789 --> 00:24:26,859 match was eliminated completely with the 489 00:24:26,859 --> 00:24:31,739 newer weapon to operate the wheel lock 490 00:24:31,739 --> 00:24:35,739 we wind the wheel it used a 491 00:24:35,739 --> 00:24:37,509 spring-loaded wheel to make sparks 492 00:24:37,509 --> 00:24:39,940 something like a modern-day cigarette 493 00:24:39,940 --> 00:24:44,769 lighter the pan cover is closed we place 494 00:24:44,769 --> 00:24:50,700 the dog on the pan then pull the trigger 495 00:24:50,700 --> 00:24:53,590 the wheel lock beated possible to carry 496 00:24:53,590 --> 00:24:56,580 a musket pre-loaded ready to fire 497 00:24:56,580 --> 00:24:59,289 expensive and complex this weapon was 498 00:24:59,289 --> 00:25:02,019 too costly for ordinary infantrymen who 499 00:25:02,019 --> 00:25:04,809 usually had to buy their own weapons but 500 00:25:04,809 --> 00:25:06,850 it was not too expensive for a new kind 501 00:25:06,850 --> 00:25:09,519 of mounted soldier armed with wheel lock 502 00:25:09,519 --> 00:25:10,350 pistols 503 00:25:10,350 --> 00:25:13,059 how did firearms put an end to 504 00:25:13,059 --> 00:25:16,779 knighthood the wheel lock pistol is the 505 00:25:16,779 --> 00:25:19,419 critical device because it could be 506 00:25:19,419 --> 00:25:21,970 carried charged and ready to fire at a 507 00:25:21,970 --> 00:25:24,850 moment's notice with two or three of 508 00:25:24,850 --> 00:25:28,480 these a writer could approach to within 509 00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:31,580 a very close range of a mounted Knight 510 00:25:31,580 --> 00:25:34,159 and any shot that hit was likely to be 511 00:25:34,159 --> 00:25:36,499 devastating even if he missed the night 512 00:25:36,499 --> 00:25:39,169 or even if the Knights armor was more or 513 00:25:39,169 --> 00:25:41,419 less bulletproof the horse was almost 514 00:25:41,419 --> 00:25:46,369 certain to get it and if the noble 515 00:25:46,369 --> 00:25:48,169 knight could be struck down by the shot 516 00:25:48,169 --> 00:25:50,330 of a pistol or musket what would become 517 00:25:50,330 --> 00:25:53,059 of the tradition of chivalry where were 518 00:25:53,059 --> 00:25:55,610 the heroes on the field of battle the 519 00:25:55,610 --> 00:25:58,989 gun changed the meaning of such things 520 00:25:58,989 --> 00:26:01,159 Gunners at the time were an interesting 521 00:26:01,159 --> 00:26:03,259 soldier they were actually looked upon 522 00:26:03,259 --> 00:26:05,570 with a little bit of disdain because the 523 00:26:05,570 --> 00:26:07,279 musketeer was considered more like a 524 00:26:07,279 --> 00:26:10,669 murderer a thug it wasn't very noble to 525 00:26:10,669 --> 00:26:12,710 stand there and you know reach out and 526 00:26:12,710 --> 00:26:15,259 touch somebody at a long range but they 527 00:26:15,259 --> 00:26:17,869 learned very quickly that musketeer was 528 00:26:17,869 --> 00:26:22,789 quite valuable and in my duty towards 529 00:26:22,789 --> 00:26:25,669 Her Majesty's country thus I do conclude 530 00:26:25,669 --> 00:26:28,159 with my opinion touching warlike weapons 531 00:26:28,159 --> 00:26:32,749 and the use thereof in the time of 532 00:26:32,749 --> 00:26:34,669 Humphrey Barwick at the close of the 533 00:26:34,669 --> 00:26:36,980 sixteenth century the age of the knight 534 00:26:36,980 --> 00:26:41,359 was coming to an end but the gun was yet 535 00:26:41,359 --> 00:26:42,889 to become the principal weapon of 536 00:26:42,889 --> 00:26:46,369 warfare guns were still slow to load and 537 00:26:46,369 --> 00:26:48,590 so inaccurate they were often more 538 00:26:48,590 --> 00:26:50,509 disruptive than destructive to an 539 00:26:50,509 --> 00:26:53,059 attacking army the weapon that would 540 00:26:53,059 --> 00:26:55,419 change history still had far to go 541 00:26:55,419 --> 00:26:59,409 before would leave its mark 542 00:26:59,590 --> 00:27:04,700 [Music] 543 00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:08,840 in the 15th and 16th centuries a new 544 00:27:08,840 --> 00:27:11,590 light was shining on Europe in Italy 545 00:27:11,590 --> 00:27:14,179 Leonardo da Vinci exemplified what we 546 00:27:14,179 --> 00:27:17,120 now call the Renaissance man artist 547 00:27:17,120 --> 00:27:21,049 inventor philosopher Leonardo was one of 548 00:27:21,049 --> 00:27:23,030 many men who accepted commissions not 549 00:27:23,030 --> 00:27:24,679 just for works of art but for 550 00:27:24,679 --> 00:27:31,040 instruments of war another Italian 551 00:27:31,040 --> 00:27:32,690 applied his great learning to the flight 552 00:27:32,690 --> 00:27:33,799 of cannonballs 553 00:27:33,799 --> 00:27:36,710 he was mathematician nikola fontana 554 00:27:36,710 --> 00:27:40,760 Tattaglia and in 1537 he published the 555 00:27:40,760 --> 00:27:43,330 first book on a science now known as 556 00:27:43,330 --> 00:27:45,250 ballistics 557 00:27:45,250 --> 00:27:47,690 why should Gunners or these gunnery 558 00:27:47,690 --> 00:27:50,770 commanders care about books on artillery 559 00:27:50,770 --> 00:27:53,240 well four starts it minimizes the 560 00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:55,790 training costs if a gunner already knows 561 00:27:55,790 --> 00:27:57,950 the basic properties of a ballistic 562 00:27:57,950 --> 00:28:00,860 trajectory he doesn't have to spend that 563 00:28:00,860 --> 00:28:03,410 time wasting ammunition discovering it 564 00:28:03,410 --> 00:28:07,040 for himself pure science it turns out 565 00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:08,900 would be essential to the advancement of 566 00:28:08,900 --> 00:28:11,000 guns and some of the most revered 567 00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:13,370 scientists in history would play their 568 00:28:13,370 --> 00:28:17,870 parts Galileo is of course famous for 569 00:28:17,870 --> 00:28:20,179 his basic discoveries in astronomy such 570 00:28:20,179 --> 00:28:21,890 as the use of the telescope to discover 571 00:28:21,890 --> 00:28:25,880 the moons of Jupiter but he also had to 572 00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:27,830 earn a living as a mathematician and in 573 00:28:27,830 --> 00:28:29,929 order to do so he spent a good deal of 574 00:28:29,929 --> 00:28:32,000 his life applying mathematics and 575 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:35,419 mechanics to solving fundamental 576 00:28:35,419 --> 00:28:37,350 military problems 577 00:28:37,350 --> 00:28:40,019 among Galileo's contributions was the 578 00:28:40,019 --> 00:28:42,620 military compass a handheld calculator 579 00:28:42,620 --> 00:28:45,509 renaissance-style an improvement on 580 00:28:45,509 --> 00:28:47,730 earlier instruments it allowed Gunners 581 00:28:47,730 --> 00:28:49,590 to measure the elevation of their cannon 582 00:28:49,590 --> 00:28:51,450 and figure the amount of powder they 583 00:28:51,450 --> 00:28:53,490 needed without having to do pages of 584 00:28:53,490 --> 00:28:57,600 difficult calculations advancing the 585 00:28:57,600 --> 00:29:01,380 work begun by tart alia Galileo Sir 586 00:29:01,380 --> 00:29:03,779 Isaac Newton and others created the 587 00:29:03,779 --> 00:29:05,460 scientific groundwork that would give 588 00:29:05,460 --> 00:29:06,960 commanders their first true 589 00:29:06,960 --> 00:29:08,629 understanding of the complex 590 00:29:08,629 --> 00:29:20,610 trajectories of artillery shells in the 591 00:29:20,610 --> 00:29:22,889 ranks of infantry though pure science 592 00:29:22,889 --> 00:29:24,539 would be little help for the next two 593 00:29:24,539 --> 00:29:27,360 centuries muskets would continue to be 594 00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:29,820 fired on Maus because they were so 595 00:29:29,820 --> 00:29:33,679 inaccurate few shots ever hit any target 596 00:29:33,679 --> 00:29:37,350 one scholar calculated 260 bullets for 597 00:29:37,350 --> 00:29:40,669 every man hit others more pessimistic 598 00:29:40,669 --> 00:29:43,289 estimated three to ten thousand shots 599 00:29:43,289 --> 00:29:45,179 had to be fired to produce just one 600 00:29:45,179 --> 00:29:50,100 casualty today we can understand the 601 00:29:50,100 --> 00:29:52,169 muskets performance by looking at a 602 00:29:52,169 --> 00:29:54,840 baseball pitcher and the spin he puts on 603 00:29:54,840 --> 00:29:58,710 his curveball once the ball comes out of 604 00:29:58,710 --> 00:30:02,220 the musket barrel it has a spin and this 605 00:30:02,220 --> 00:30:05,669 spin will cause the ball to curve just 606 00:30:05,669 --> 00:30:08,370 like a pitcher will cause a baseball to 607 00:30:08,370 --> 00:30:10,950 spin as in a curveball the problem is 608 00:30:10,950 --> 00:30:13,200 the spin is random and so beyond 609 00:30:13,200 --> 00:30:15,899 100-yard range it is almost impossible 610 00:30:15,899 --> 00:30:21,139 to tell where this ball will end up 611 00:30:23,470 --> 00:30:26,019 the solution to the accuracy problem 612 00:30:26,019 --> 00:30:27,879 would eventually come in the form of the 613 00:30:27,879 --> 00:30:30,490 rifle while other guns were smooth 614 00:30:30,490 --> 00:30:33,039 inside the rifles Farrell had spiral 615 00:30:33,039 --> 00:30:35,830 grooves making the bullet rotate as it's 616 00:30:35,830 --> 00:30:40,809 fired just as a football rotates in a 617 00:30:40,809 --> 00:30:44,080 forward pass like the football the spin 618 00:30:44,080 --> 00:30:49,029 makes the bullet fly straight ok the 619 00:30:49,029 --> 00:30:50,500 target that we're shooting at today 620 00:30:50,500 --> 00:30:54,580 would be small and relatively out of 621 00:30:54,580 --> 00:30:58,419 range for a musket but with a rifled gun 622 00:30:58,419 --> 00:31:01,799 such as this one it's a piece of cake 623 00:31:01,799 --> 00:31:04,600 standing more than 50 yards away the 624 00:31:04,600 --> 00:31:06,580 rifle is aimed at a target that is only 625 00:31:06,580 --> 00:31:09,370 8 inches square far smaller than the 626 00:31:09,370 --> 00:31:12,100 silhouette of an opposing soldier even 627 00:31:12,100 --> 00:31:14,409 an unskilled rifleman can make the shot 628 00:31:14,409 --> 00:31:20,649 with little chance of missing now a 629 00:31:20,649 --> 00:31:22,750 smoothbore musket is fired on the same 630 00:31:22,750 --> 00:31:25,450 range the random spin of the musket ball 631 00:31:25,450 --> 00:31:27,539 will make it fly in a curved path 632 00:31:27,539 --> 00:31:29,889 hitting the target will be mostly a 633 00:31:29,889 --> 00:31:38,049 matter of luck the rifle superiority was 634 00:31:38,049 --> 00:31:40,330 outweighed by its high cost and the slow 635 00:31:40,330 --> 00:31:43,000 loading of its tight-fitting bullet so 636 00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:44,889 with the inability of muskets to find 637 00:31:44,889 --> 00:31:47,019 their targets accurately gun makers 638 00:31:47,019 --> 00:31:49,590 looked for other ways to improve them by 639 00:31:49,590 --> 00:31:53,200 1620 anew kind of lock appeared making 640 00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:55,419 the musket easier to use in ever before 641 00:31:55,419 --> 00:31:58,120 it was based on the well-known practice 642 00:31:58,120 --> 00:32:00,220 of striking Flint against steel to start 643 00:32:00,220 --> 00:32:05,740 fires it was called the flintlock the 644 00:32:05,740 --> 00:32:09,250 way this works is you'd start off by 645 00:32:09,250 --> 00:32:13,000 pulling the cock to half cock so that it 646 00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:16,600 couldn't go off prematurely then you 647 00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:21,220 would charge the pan with primer fill 648 00:32:21,220 --> 00:32:25,230 the pan close the pan 649 00:32:26,250 --> 00:32:28,720 for the balance of the powder into the 650 00:32:28,720 --> 00:32:33,429 bore and with the powder in and the 651 00:32:33,429 --> 00:32:44,080 patch and the ball Ram at home then he 652 00:32:44,080 --> 00:32:46,809 would take pull the cock to full cock 653 00:32:46,809 --> 00:32:48,429 now it's ready to fire 654 00:32:48,429 --> 00:32:51,160 and so the flintlock became yet another 655 00:32:51,160 --> 00:32:54,220 gun to give us a colorful saying it's 656 00:32:54,220 --> 00:32:56,320 safety feature allowing the cock to be 657 00:32:56,320 --> 00:32:58,360 locked in mid position made commanders 658 00:32:58,360 --> 00:33:00,130 tell their men never to go off 659 00:33:00,130 --> 00:33:05,950 half-cocked until the much later arrival 660 00:33:05,950 --> 00:33:08,350 of practical rifles the flintlock would 661 00:33:08,350 --> 00:33:10,240 remain the pinnacle of technology and 662 00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:12,340 military shoulder arms it was 663 00:33:12,340 --> 00:33:15,100 inexpensive easy to use and faster to 664 00:33:15,100 --> 00:33:19,720 load than anything that came before the 665 00:33:19,720 --> 00:33:21,970 paper cartridge introduced by Sweden's 666 00:33:21,970 --> 00:33:24,120 King Gustavus Adolphus in the 1630s 667 00:33:24,120 --> 00:33:27,120 further simplified the loading procedure 668 00:33:27,120 --> 00:33:30,460 increasing the musket speed and in the 669 00:33:30,460 --> 00:33:32,770 quest for speed commanders created what 670 00:33:32,770 --> 00:33:34,360 has become the modern military 671 00:33:34,360 --> 00:33:38,890 philosophy formal training uniform 672 00:33:38,890 --> 00:33:42,670 clothing standardized weapons a new 673 00:33:42,670 --> 00:33:46,120 mechanical approach to war much of it to 674 00:33:46,120 --> 00:33:48,820 increase the rate of fire and a gun that 675 00:33:48,820 --> 00:33:51,840 would otherwise be a failure 676 00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:55,120 one of the reasons why this attitude of 677 00:33:55,120 --> 00:33:57,610 mechanizing infantry troops was so 678 00:33:57,610 --> 00:34:00,309 important was to optimize the lethality 679 00:34:00,309 --> 00:34:04,750 of smoothbore muskets one analogy you 680 00:34:04,750 --> 00:34:06,850 can think of is that when you have a 681 00:34:06,850 --> 00:34:09,730 squadron or a company of soldiers firing 682 00:34:09,730 --> 00:34:12,210 the muskets simultaneously the effect is 683 00:34:12,210 --> 00:34:16,510 that of a giant shotgun blast with 684 00:34:16,510 --> 00:34:19,089 faster firing soldiers no longer needed 685 00:34:19,089 --> 00:34:21,270 to stand in massive block formations 686 00:34:21,270 --> 00:34:24,040 instead they spread out in linear ranks 687 00:34:24,040 --> 00:34:29,050 two or three D after the early 1700s a 688 00:34:29,050 --> 00:34:31,449 flintlock musket with a bayonet attached 689 00:34:31,449 --> 00:34:34,540 was infantries primary weapon the pikes 690 00:34:34,540 --> 00:34:37,000 spears and Lance's of antiquity had 691 00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:40,300 finally disappeared the power of guns 692 00:34:40,300 --> 00:34:43,210 became unchallenged but the role would 693 00:34:43,210 --> 00:34:46,239 soon change to challenge the power of 694 00:34:46,239 --> 00:34:48,569 kings 695 00:34:52,770 --> 00:34:55,960 in the world of the 17th century the 696 00:34:55,960 --> 00:34:58,290 power of Europe encircled the globe 697 00:34:58,290 --> 00:35:00,880 Great Britain took its place among the 698 00:35:00,880 --> 00:35:03,580 Empire builders establishing colonies 699 00:35:03,580 --> 00:35:05,980 east and west with troops and their guns 700 00:35:05,980 --> 00:35:09,820 to protect them but in North America 701 00:35:09,820 --> 00:35:12,240 those guns would cede the clouds of 702 00:35:12,240 --> 00:35:18,970 revolution what they had in America was 703 00:35:18,970 --> 00:35:21,370 a malicious system that required every 704 00:35:21,370 --> 00:35:24,280 able-bodied man to have a firearm and 705 00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:27,130 although they didn't train constantly 706 00:35:27,130 --> 00:35:28,840 with it they were more familiar with it 707 00:35:28,840 --> 00:35:30,760 say than their European counterpart and 708 00:35:30,760 --> 00:35:33,910 in fact in Europe except for a little 709 00:35:33,910 --> 00:35:35,980 bit of a tradition in England this most 710 00:35:35,980 --> 00:35:37,990 of the continent did not have militias 711 00:35:37,990 --> 00:35:39,790 because after all if you arm your 712 00:35:39,790 --> 00:35:42,640 populist Kings are facing a potential 713 00:35:42,640 --> 00:35:46,060 rebellion Britain's militia system in 714 00:35:46,060 --> 00:35:47,710 the colonies helped it protect them 715 00:35:47,710 --> 00:35:49,570 without the expense of additional troops 716 00:35:49,570 --> 00:35:52,600 but guns in America had an even older 717 00:35:52,600 --> 00:35:55,450 tradition any hearty soul living in the 718 00:35:55,450 --> 00:35:58,150 countryside needed a gun as a useful 719 00:35:58,150 --> 00:36:00,490 tool for hunting and for protection 720 00:36:00,490 --> 00:36:02,770 against animals hostile natives or 721 00:36:02,770 --> 00:36:07,120 criminals but by 1775 guns and politics 722 00:36:07,120 --> 00:36:09,100 arrived at a crossroads in the 723 00:36:09,100 --> 00:36:12,720 countryside of Massachusetts 724 00:36:13,350 --> 00:36:16,500 [Music] 725 00:36:21,450 --> 00:36:24,610 [Music] 726 00:36:25,220 --> 00:36:27,390 without guns in the hands of the 727 00:36:27,390 --> 00:36:29,460 Colonials the shot heard round the world 728 00:36:29,460 --> 00:36:32,040 might never have been fired at Lexington 729 00:36:32,040 --> 00:36:34,260 green and though it began a revolution 730 00:36:34,260 --> 00:36:36,990 that the Americans won they were easily 731 00:36:36,990 --> 00:36:41,510 beaten by the British that day in 1775 732 00:36:41,510 --> 00:36:43,710 less well known as the beating the 733 00:36:43,710 --> 00:36:46,520 Redcoats took on the road back to Boston 734 00:36:46,520 --> 00:36:48,740 when Patriots in the Massachusetts 735 00:36:48,740 --> 00:36:51,240 countryside badgered them every step of 736 00:36:51,240 --> 00:36:52,340 the way 737 00:36:52,340 --> 00:36:55,320 using the smoothbore gun so common then 738 00:36:55,320 --> 00:36:58,440 an American household during the war a 739 00:36:58,440 --> 00:37:00,360 few Americans harassed the British with 740 00:37:00,360 --> 00:37:02,760 straight-shooting rifles but it was an 741 00:37:02,760 --> 00:37:05,430 expensive weapon and not as widely owned 742 00:37:05,430 --> 00:37:09,480 as many people claimed the rifle in 743 00:37:09,480 --> 00:37:11,940 trained hands can be a very effective 744 00:37:11,940 --> 00:37:15,810 weapon but a few riflemen picking off 745 00:37:15,810 --> 00:37:18,120 officers were being able to pick off a 746 00:37:18,120 --> 00:37:20,610 few people on a battlefield is not the 747 00:37:20,610 --> 00:37:23,340 way you win a war what helped when 748 00:37:23,340 --> 00:37:25,860 American independence was using 749 00:37:25,860 --> 00:37:28,650 european-style guns with European style 750 00:37:28,650 --> 00:37:33,870 tactics with rifles yet to fulfill their 751 00:37:33,870 --> 00:37:35,970 promise the flintlock musket remained 752 00:37:35,970 --> 00:37:38,070 the primary weapon used by soldiers in 753 00:37:38,070 --> 00:37:41,670 the Revolution when rebels met redcoats 754 00:37:41,670 --> 00:37:43,920 each side pointed muskets at the other 755 00:37:43,920 --> 00:37:47,070 the Americans ultimately forced to fight 756 00:37:47,070 --> 00:37:47,640 the British 757 00:37:47,640 --> 00:37:50,760 in the British style at the Battle of 758 00:37:50,760 --> 00:37:52,830 Bunker Hill one of the revolutions most 759 00:37:52,830 --> 00:37:55,110 famous commands was shouted by American 760 00:37:55,110 --> 00:37:57,630 general Israel Putnam as the British 761 00:37:57,630 --> 00:38:01,230 approached the command don't fire until 762 00:38:01,230 --> 00:38:02,940 you see the whites of their eyes could 763 00:38:02,940 --> 00:38:04,920 have been given by anybody on any 764 00:38:04,920 --> 00:38:07,530 battlefield at that time because muskets 765 00:38:07,530 --> 00:38:09,960 were most effective under a hundred 766 00:38:09,960 --> 00:38:12,120 yards and could be devastating at 50 767 00:38:12,120 --> 00:38:14,430 yards or less so waiting until you could 768 00:38:14,430 --> 00:38:16,110 see the whites of their eyes would be a 769 00:38:16,110 --> 00:38:18,270 command that you'd hear in Europe as 770 00:38:18,270 --> 00:38:20,369 well as in America 771 00:38:20,369 --> 00:38:22,469 the Americans might've won Bunker Hill 772 00:38:22,469 --> 00:38:25,170 but as well as they fought they had to 773 00:38:25,170 --> 00:38:27,809 retreat when their gunpowder ran out in 774 00:38:27,809 --> 00:38:29,339 fact the story of the gun and the 775 00:38:29,339 --> 00:38:31,499 Revolution was more a tale of supply 776 00:38:31,499 --> 00:38:33,589 than anything else 777 00:38:33,589 --> 00:38:36,539 facing critical shortages General George 778 00:38:36,539 --> 00:38:38,519 Washington got most of his guns from 779 00:38:38,519 --> 00:38:39,150 France 780 00:38:39,150 --> 00:38:41,430 knowing the professional British Army 781 00:38:41,430 --> 00:38:43,380 could not be defeated with patriotic 782 00:38:43,380 --> 00:38:47,549 zeal Washington was also well aware of 783 00:38:47,549 --> 00:38:49,319 the scientific skill needed for 784 00:38:49,319 --> 00:38:52,229 battlefield artillery for this reason he 785 00:38:52,229 --> 00:38:54,329 chose a bookseller with little military 786 00:38:54,329 --> 00:38:56,640 experience as the commander of his big 787 00:38:56,640 --> 00:39:04,109 guns Henry Knox before the Revolutionary 788 00:39:04,109 --> 00:39:06,960 War owned a bookstore which she 789 00:39:06,960 --> 00:39:09,779 specialized in military literature as a 790 00:39:09,779 --> 00:39:13,289 good bookseller he of course wanted to 791 00:39:13,289 --> 00:39:14,910 familiarize himself with the literature 792 00:39:14,910 --> 00:39:17,880 during the siege of Boston he presented 793 00:39:17,880 --> 00:39:20,479 himself to General George Washington and 794 00:39:20,479 --> 00:39:22,890 George Washington was so impressed with 795 00:39:22,890 --> 00:39:26,509 his qualifications in both theory and 796 00:39:26,509 --> 00:39:29,279 basic military practice that he 797 00:39:29,279 --> 00:39:30,900 immediately made him the 798 00:39:30,900 --> 00:39:32,479 commander-in-chief of the Continental 799 00:39:32,479 --> 00:39:38,819 Army's artillery Knox's first command 800 00:39:38,819 --> 00:39:40,529 took him to the woods of New York in the 801 00:39:40,529 --> 00:39:44,839 winter of 1775 his assignment taking 802 00:39:44,839 --> 00:39:47,400 120,000 pounds of captured cannons from 803 00:39:47,400 --> 00:39:50,130 Fort Ticonderoga dragging them through 804 00:39:50,130 --> 00:39:52,410 the snow and placing them on the hills 805 00:39:52,410 --> 00:39:55,589 above Boston as a result the British 806 00:39:55,589 --> 00:39:57,509 were forced to end their occupation of 807 00:39:57,509 --> 00:40:00,839 the city Knox would apply his skill 808 00:40:00,839 --> 00:40:03,390 throughout the war taking it even to 809 00:40:03,390 --> 00:40:05,339 Yorktown where he commanded the 810 00:40:05,339 --> 00:40:07,529 artillery at the battle which forced the 811 00:40:07,529 --> 00:40:10,460 British to surrender 812 00:40:13,280 --> 00:40:15,839 but a different uprising would help 813 00:40:15,839 --> 00:40:17,880 write a further chapter in the guns role 814 00:40:17,880 --> 00:40:20,760 in battle the French Revolution led to 815 00:40:20,760 --> 00:40:23,400 the age of Napoleon a powerful enigmatic 816 00:40:23,400 --> 00:40:25,829 leader who first rose through the ranks 817 00:40:25,829 --> 00:40:27,930 on his textbook knowledge in the use of 818 00:40:27,930 --> 00:40:31,589 cannon few people are aware of the fact 819 00:40:31,589 --> 00:40:33,930 that Napoleon's early military career 820 00:40:33,930 --> 00:40:35,640 and his early military successes were 821 00:40:35,640 --> 00:40:38,640 directly dependent on his extremely 822 00:40:38,640 --> 00:40:41,390 high-level prowess as a calculus student 823 00:40:41,390 --> 00:40:45,210 he was originally an artillery officer 824 00:40:45,210 --> 00:40:48,750 and he got into that line of work so to 825 00:40:48,750 --> 00:40:50,790 speak because of his high scores in 826 00:40:50,790 --> 00:40:54,690 mathematics it was the age of reason in 827 00:40:54,690 --> 00:40:56,790 which science was applied to everything 828 00:40:56,790 --> 00:41:00,660 including the fighting of Wars there was 829 00:41:00,660 --> 00:41:02,670 one textbook Napoleon certainly knew 830 00:41:02,670 --> 00:41:05,760 inside out the new principles of gunnery 831 00:41:05,760 --> 00:41:08,160 written by British scientist Benjamin 832 00:41:08,160 --> 00:41:12,480 Robbins what Robbins did was to engage 833 00:41:12,480 --> 00:41:15,390 in the first highly accurate experiments 834 00:41:15,390 --> 00:41:17,670 to investigate the basic ballistic 835 00:41:17,670 --> 00:41:21,510 properties of a musket ball this was of 836 00:41:21,510 --> 00:41:24,599 course the ballistic pendulum it's an 837 00:41:24,599 --> 00:41:26,490 invention most people have never heard 838 00:41:26,490 --> 00:41:30,390 of built in 1742 the ballistic pendulum 839 00:41:30,390 --> 00:41:33,630 was deceptively simple a gun was fired 840 00:41:33,630 --> 00:41:35,730 at the pad and a tape recorded the 841 00:41:35,730 --> 00:41:38,339 pendulum swing which gave us the bullet 842 00:41:38,339 --> 00:41:40,230 speed something no one had ever been 843 00:41:40,230 --> 00:41:43,589 able to measure before from that Robbins 844 00:41:43,589 --> 00:41:45,750 calculated the last great unknown in 845 00:41:45,750 --> 00:41:47,990 ballistics the role of air resistance 846 00:41:47,990 --> 00:41:51,329 which he found to be 120 times greater 847 00:41:51,329 --> 00:41:53,020 than the force of gravity 848 00:41:53,020 --> 00:41:56,429 [Music] 849 00:41:57,269 --> 00:41:59,979 the work of Benjamin Robbins and those 850 00:41:59,979 --> 00:42:01,900 that went before him meet Field 851 00:42:01,900 --> 00:42:04,049 Artillery increasingly accurate an 852 00:42:04,049 --> 00:42:06,459 absolute necessity when smoke-filled 853 00:42:06,459 --> 00:42:08,680 battlefields obscured all but the first 854 00:42:08,680 --> 00:42:13,900 shot cannons were now lighter and their 855 00:42:13,900 --> 00:42:15,789 large wheeled carriages made them far 856 00:42:15,789 --> 00:42:18,190 more maneuverable the addition of a 857 00:42:18,190 --> 00:42:20,709 small elevating screw made aiming easier 858 00:42:20,709 --> 00:42:21,959 than ever before 859 00:42:21,959 --> 00:42:25,390 mu nishan diversified with shotgun like 860 00:42:25,390 --> 00:42:27,369 grapeshot used a close-range and 861 00:42:27,369 --> 00:42:30,279 primitive exploding shells at long the 862 00:42:30,279 --> 00:42:32,319 most common load however remained the 863 00:42:32,319 --> 00:42:35,349 simple iron cannonball the primary 864 00:42:35,349 --> 00:42:37,900 artillery tactic using the solid iron 865 00:42:37,900 --> 00:42:40,630 balls was to ricochet or skip them 866 00:42:40,630 --> 00:42:43,569 across the ground into a body of troops 867 00:42:43,569 --> 00:42:46,209 cavalry or infantry and even though a 868 00:42:46,209 --> 00:42:48,459 small ball doesn't seem to carry that 869 00:42:48,459 --> 00:42:51,069 much punch the fact is even at a slight 870 00:42:51,069 --> 00:42:53,170 angle it could take out six or a dozen 871 00:42:53,170 --> 00:42:55,660 men as it tore through the ranks 872 00:42:55,660 --> 00:42:58,660 inflicting horrible wounds to a body of 873 00:42:58,660 --> 00:43:00,339 troops that wasn't experienced or not 874 00:43:00,339 --> 00:43:04,079 veteran this could be very unnerving 875 00:43:04,949 --> 00:43:07,599 even more unnerving was a new kind of 876 00:43:07,599 --> 00:43:10,119 exploding shell a British invention of 877 00:43:10,119 --> 00:43:13,900 1784 lofted above a formation of troops 878 00:43:13,900 --> 00:43:17,170 it was designed to explode in midair the 879 00:43:17,170 --> 00:43:18,699 inventor was a man whose name is 880 00:43:18,699 --> 00:43:21,670 familiar to all of us today lieutenant 881 00:43:21,670 --> 00:43:26,549 Henry shrapnel shrapnel exploding shells 882 00:43:26,549 --> 00:43:29,410 were probably the most effective during 883 00:43:29,410 --> 00:43:30,910 this period much better than just 884 00:43:30,910 --> 00:43:32,559 regular exploding shells because they 885 00:43:32,559 --> 00:43:34,839 contained extra balls inside that spread 886 00:43:34,839 --> 00:43:37,150 out in a lethal pattern and could hit 887 00:43:37,150 --> 00:43:39,990 far more troops if it hit near them 888 00:43:39,990 --> 00:43:43,369 [Music] 889 00:43:43,369 --> 00:43:45,930 the shrapnel shell was just one 890 00:43:45,930 --> 00:43:47,819 development at a time when gun design 891 00:43:47,819 --> 00:43:50,970 was advancing quickly but 500 years had 892 00:43:50,970 --> 00:43:52,789 elapsed since guns were first used 893 00:43:52,789 --> 00:43:56,369 during that time progress was slow even 894 00:43:56,369 --> 00:43:58,380 smaller Puritans took decades or even 895 00:43:58,380 --> 00:44:01,559 centuries still governments and generals 896 00:44:01,559 --> 00:44:04,019 never gave up and never stopped seeking 897 00:44:04,019 --> 00:44:08,160 more gun inventors have always had the 898 00:44:08,160 --> 00:44:10,619 incentive of reward or profit even if 899 00:44:10,619 --> 00:44:12,329 it's under the guise of patriotism and 900 00:44:12,329 --> 00:44:14,670 military leaders always want the next 901 00:44:14,670 --> 00:44:16,200 best weapon to give them an edge on the 902 00:44:16,200 --> 00:44:19,380 battlefield and that goes on regardless 903 00:44:19,380 --> 00:44:20,999 of the technology and no matter how long 904 00:44:20,999 --> 00:44:23,309 it takes the search for the better gun 905 00:44:23,309 --> 00:44:27,720 never ends in the first part of the 19th 906 00:44:27,720 --> 00:44:30,690 century early gun technology was at its 907 00:44:30,690 --> 00:44:33,269 height only the future would supply a 908 00:44:33,269 --> 00:44:35,369 common soldiers weapon that would shoot 909 00:44:35,369 --> 00:44:38,880 with accuracy cannons firing shells that 910 00:44:38,880 --> 00:44:41,330 would explode on impact 911 00:44:41,330 --> 00:44:43,860 bullets fired by machine guns that would 912 00:44:43,860 --> 00:44:45,920 change the battlefield so drastically 913 00:44:45,920 --> 00:44:49,320 the era of early guns had come to an end 914 00:44:49,320 --> 00:44:52,740 the tales of their successors were yet 915 00:44:52,740 --> 00:44:53,410 to be told 916 00:44:53,410 --> 00:45:02,530 [Music] 917 00:45:08,540 --> 00:45:41,590 [Music] 918 00:45:52,930 --> 00:45:57,360 [Music]