The first evidence of gunpowder artillery comes from England. In 1327, Walter de Milemete wrote a manuscript called “On the Duties of Kings” that had many pictures of different kinds of weapons and on the last page he included the picture below and he showed it to King Edward III. As you can see, the cannon is on a wooden stand about to fire a metal bolt. This cannon is shooting an arrow, which makes it sound like Milemete probably never got to see one of these weapons himself, but has heard descriptions of it. Gunpowder weapons were first used in battle during the Hundred Years War between France and Europe. Around this time these cannons weren’t that accurate and it was also difficult to manufacture and transport them. It wasn’t a simple weapon like a catapult which required wood and rope, materials that were available pretty much anywhere in Europe. Plus these cannons took a long time to fire and they didn’t even shoot that far. Not only that but you would need to find a workshop with experience in making similar artifacts such as church bells. Gunpowder weapons were feared by many because of how loud they were. They also had no idea how they were made or who was the first to invent gunpowder. Europeans took advantage of guns by traveling to the Americas and enslaving the Indians and taking them back home.