Gunpowder In The Middle Ages

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“We owe to the Middle Ages the two worst inventions of humanity - romantic love and gunpowder” a quote said by Andre Maurois regarding the time period. The Middle Ages was the one of the first civilizations. In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages, also called the Medieval period began in about the fifth and lasted through most of the 15th century. Many people call the era the Medieval period instead; Middle Ages. “People use the phrase “Middle Ages” to describe Europe between the fall of Rome in 476 CE and the beginning of the Renaissance in the 14th century” (History.com). “The Dark Ages were actually a time of great discovery and invention. The Middle Ages also saw major advances in technologies that already existed, and the adoption of …show more content…
Gunpowder was supposed to be a potion for unlimited life and ended up being a potion for death and that is still used today. Ancient Chinese alchemists were trying to find a potion for immortality and they ended up making gunpowder. When the Chinese found out that it exploded they used it for fireworks. After a few hundred years they started using it in war. They first used it at the beginning of a war to try to scare people off before they fought them. The Chinese finally realized that if you explode gunpowder near people they might die so they started using it in war as a kind of explosive (Ross). Mary Bellis, in her article, “Gunpowder History: Alchemists were the major force behind the early invention of gunpowder,” explains that, “During the eighth century Tang dynasty, sulphur and saltpeter were first combined with charcoal to create an explosive called huoyao or gunpowder” . A substance that did not encourage eternal life, however, gunpowder was to treat skin diseases and as a fumigant to kill insects before its advantage as a weapon was made clear” (Bellis). Gunpowder consists of potassium nitrate, common charcoal, and sulfur. The potassium nitrate first came from decayed animal manure, and later it came from mines in India. The common charcoal is made from wood that has been cooked so all the gases are removed. When these ingredients are mixed they make gunpowder. The
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