The
development of gunpowder was arguably the greatest development of the Middle Ages. The Chinese
had already developed gunpowder, but they primarily used it in fireworks and mining. Europeans
used gunpowder in warfirst through the use of bombard cannons that made the castles of that era
obsolete and greatly reduced the time needed for siege warfare. Eventually, Europeans would use
smaller gunpowder-powered weapons in order to create the first firearms. Other cultures, such as
the Ottomans and the Safavids, would gain this technology through trading in China as well as
Europe. They would use gunpowder to conquer their rivals. Massive cannons were instrumental in
the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople.
Gunpowder technology allowed for
greater armies to be put into the field. This led to a branch of study, military science, that
created an officer corps and a chain of command that still exists in nearly every army in the
world. Gunpowder was also quite expensive to make initially; this led to states creating more
efficient taxation systems, and smaller kingdoms, such as Gonzaga, disappearing, as they could
not afford the new technology. Gunpowder would also be influential in the European conquests of
the Americas and Africa. Even though the early firearms were slow and unreliable, they still
created an element of fear with their noise, smoke, and range.
The Middle
Ages are generally seen as a backward time today, though they represent a period between the
fall of Rome and the Renaissance. The kingdoms and the papacy of this period maintained order.
The Crusades represented Europeans' first foray into the Middle East. Through contact with other
Asian and Arabic cultures, Europeans were exposed to science such as pharmaceuticals and paper.
The period was a very violent time, which helps to explain why people were hungry for the
knowledge acquired during the Renaissance.
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