World History: Gunpowder Technology Essay

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In the context of world history, the introduction of any weapon has always resulted in major socio-political shifts, as it presents a tremendous influence on the pattern of international communication and civil relationship. At the beginning of the 13th century, the commencement of gunpowder use eventually led to such transformation as overcoming feudalism, shifting the leading dynasties, and establishing new patterns of foreign affairs (You 660). Thus, initially introduced in China, gunpowder technology incited an armed civil conflict, which resulted in the ruling of the Ming Dynasty, the leader of the so-called “gunpowder” empire (You 647). However, one century later, the technology appeared to be relevant across the continent.

Its adoption in Europe marked a significant milestone in terms of state development, as the use of gunpowder technology catalyzed the emergence of centralized states and the abolition of feudalism. When it comes to the Islamic world, one of the most powerful empires at the time, the Ottomans, was unwilling to settle for the revolutionized artillery. Yet, the adoption of gunpowder helped the empire control major trade routes and aggressively promote conversion to Islam in South-East Europe (You 648). The introduction of gunpowder in Africa resulted in a major shift in the bodies of centralized power, as although lacking quantitative predominance, such nations as Somali succeeded in holding the ruling (You 650). In Japan, the use of gunpowder contributed to enforcing its dominance over the Korean army, as their ongoing military conflict was brought to an end with the help of new technology. Hence, having considered the aforementioned facts, it may be concluded that the wide adoption of gunpowder caused crucial modifications in terms of centralized governance, change of leaders, and new approaches to diplomacy.

Work Cited

You, Zhanhong. “Gunpowder.” Thirty Great Inventions of China, edited by Jueming Hua and Lisheng Feng, Springer, 2020, pp. 647-662.

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