Between the years of 1500 to 1800, a ‘Military Revolution’ was a term commonly used to define the transformation of warfare. There was a big transformation when it came to how a military was structured in regards to their weaponry, meaning how the weapons being used for war were advancing towards the use of weaponry that required gunpowder such as firearms. During the 1500s to 1800s, when wars broke out depending on how much power one state had, determined what their next move would be during warfare. Therefore, with gunpowder being a useful yet pricey product, the elite states were able to use it to their advantage to expand their nation. With gunpowder in the grasps of the hands of the dominating areas such as Europe, they were able to have a broader range of making decisions about war, thus making Human Agency one main concept of gunpowder. Human Agency can be used to explain the impact gunpowder had on history and how nations were able to conquer others because of how heavily gunpowder influenced war due to Humans including that product with their weaponry.
To begin, Human Agency connects to gunpowder because it gave the Europeans the privilege of having multiple options when it came to taking action during a war. This meant that Europeans had an advantage over minority lands because of having this advanced weaponry all as the result of gunpowder. The Europeans were able to conquer people and their homelands due to having the supply of gunpowder for their firearms such as the medieval gun. The gunpowder allowed the use of firearms which in return gave the dominating nations a sense of authority and power when it came to having their wants and needs to be fulfilled. The Thirty Years War is a clear demonstration of a historical event where Europeans used gunpowder for their personal gain. Originally, this war broke out between the Catholics and Protestants, but as the war continued, it transitioned into a full-blown war with the majority of the great powers one being Europe, having some type of involvement within it. Some common weaponry that was utilized in this war were cast-iron guns. The product of gunpowder gave the majority powers an upper hand because now they have firearms at their disposal, which gives them more military power. While smaller powers were still fighting with daggers, swords, and crossbows, the larger powers are taking control by firearms that harm people with more accuracy and speed. Created By: April Moualem |