Gunpowder is one of the most important inventions in the military field. Gunpowder was first invented in China to be used as fireworks. During the 15th to 17th centuries, Europeans began to manufacture gunpowder with larger grains. Even though gunpowder was invented hundreds of years ago, it is still used today in a variety of artillery in the military such as bombs, cannons, or guns. These weapons required very little training but a lot more destruction. Over the years, gunpowder has been slowly replaced by smokeless gunpowder which has allowed fully automatic arms and barrels of artillery. If gunpowder never existed, there would probably be more wars because the materials would be cheaper. Wars would still be fought mostly through hand to hand combat and bows and arrows. WW1 and WW2 would’ve never happened. Cities would still be protected by large walls. European countries wouldn’t have been able to dominate most of the world. The Indians living in the Americas at the time would have likely still suffered from deadly diseases like smallpox. There would still be innovation in military technology like more powerful crossbows and stronger metals used in armor. European ships wouldn’t be able to take over other ships as effectively, they would’ve just continued doing what they did previously: crashing into enemy ships and shooting arrows. It’s possible the United States wouldn’t have a democracy government and a king or queen would have ruled instead.