Who Invented Gunpowder

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The invention of gunpowder
Have you ever wondered how gunpowder was invented? Or how gunpowder has been a huge turning point in warfare for everyone? Gunpowder has a very interesting history, many uses, and most importantly has changed warfare drastically.

Gunpowder was first invented in ancient China. The Chinese accidentally invented gunpowder while trying to make an elixir for immortality. Unknown by the Chinese at the time, this accident would make major history. The Chinese mixed charcoal, sulfur, and saltpeter to create gunpowder. After this accident, the Chinese used gunpowder to launch fireworks and other non-lethal objects. This accidental invention helped the Chinese because before the invention they just tried to outsmart the enemy, but with the new invention they could do much more. The first gunpowder mixture ended up being more flammable than explosive, but they would later make multiple mixtures.

The Chinese were the first to weaponize gunpowder with small packages of gunpowder that were attached to arrows. These arrows would be lit with a fuse and when they would hit the destination, it would light everything on fire. The arrows are the first use of gunpowder in war, this showed how effective …show more content…

by a Portuguese ship. Then the Portuguese got interested in this explosive powder. The Portuguese invented the cannon, made rifles, and made better innovations to their rifles than the Chinese or the Europeans. Then hundreds of years later the Europeans made trades with China for their more advanced and effective gunpowder. In the 14th century gunpowder also spread to Japan, Islam, and Europe. They all improved the powder for more lethal or military use and was a big reason that they won battles in the future. In Japan they secretly started to produce saltpeter and eventually, gunpowder. The silk road was actually a big part of the spreading of gunpowder and helped it travel to most

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