The arquebus (sometimes spelled harquebus, harkbus[1] or hackbut; from Dutch haakbus, meaning "hook gun"[2]) is an early muzzle-loaded firearm used in the 15th to 17th centuries. Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname The muzzle of a Firearm is the end of the barrel from which the Projectile will exit A firearm is a Tool that projects either single or multiple Projectiles at high velocity through a controlled explosion As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar In distinction from its predecessor, the hand cannon, it has a matchlock. The hand cannon ( Arabic: midfa; Chinese: 手[[wikt 銃|銃]] as it was called was the first handheld portable The Matchlock was the first mechanism or "lock" invented to uncomplicate the firing of a hand-held firearm Like its successor, the musket, it is a smoothbore firearm, but it is lighter and easier to carry. A musket is a muzzle -loaded Smoothbore Long gun, which is intended to be fired from the shoulder Smoothbore refers to a Firearm or Cannon which does not have a rifled barrel. It is a forerunner of the rifle and other longarm firearms. A rifle is a Firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves ("rifling" cut into the barrel walls
Heavy arquebuses mounted on wagons were called arquebus à croc. These carried a ball of about 3. 5 ounces. [3]
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Effectiveness
As low-velocity firearms, they were used against enemies that were often partially or fully protected by steel-plate armour. Plate armour is personal Armour made from large Metal plates worn on the Chest and sometimes the entire Body. Plate armour was standard in European combat from about 1400 until the middle of the 17th century. This was essentially the era of the arquebus. Good suits of plate would usually stop an arquebus ball at long range. It was a common practice to "proof" (test) armour by firing a pistol or arquebus at a new breastplate. The small dent would be circled by engraving, to call attention to it. However, at close range, it was possible to pierce even the armor of knights and other heavy cavalry. This led to changes in plate design like three-quarter plate and finally the retirement of plate armor altogether.
Mechanism
The arquebus was fired by a matchlock mechanism and had a larger bore than its predecessors. The Matchlock was the first mechanism or "lock" invented to uncomplicate the firing of a hand-held firearm From the middle of 16th century, newer wheellock mechanisms were used instead of older matchlocks. Wheellock, wheel-lock or wheel lock, is a mechanism for firing a Firearm. The flared muzzle of some examples made it easier to load the weapon. The name 'hook gun' is often claimed to be based on the bent shape of the arquebus' butt. It might also be that some of the original arquebuses had a metal hook near the muzzle that may have been used for bracing against a solid object to absorb recoil. This article is about backward Momentum produced in firearms when fired Since all the arquebuses were handmade by various gunsmiths, there is no typical specimen. A gunsmith is a person who repairs modifies designs or builds Firearms to factory or customer specifications using Hand tools and Machine shop tools (such
History
Arquebusiers played an important role in Cristóvão da Gama's battles against the superior numbers of his Muslim opponents in Ethiopia during the 1540s, the Italian Wars and later in the Moroccan victory over the Songhai Empire at the Battle of Tondibi in 1590. A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page Morocco (المغرب "al-Maghrib" officially the Kingdom of Morocco (المملكة المغربية is a country located in North Africa The Songhai Empire, also known as the Songhay Empire was a pre-colonial African state of west Africa. The Battle of Tondibi was the decisive confrontation in Morocco 's sixteenth-century invasion of the Songhai Empire.
Arquebusiers were very effective against cavalry and even other infantry particularly when placed with pikemen in the pike and shot formation, which revolutionised the Spanish military. Pike and shot is a historical method of infantry combat and also refers to an era of European warfare generally considered to cover the period from the Italian Wars (fought An example of where this formation was used and succeeded is the decisive Battle of Cerignola, one of the first battles to utilise this formation, and also considered to be the first battle won by gunpowder small arms. The Battle of Cerignola was fought on April 21 1503, between Spanish and French armies in Cerignola, next Bari, Southern
By the later 16th century, muskets slowly began to replace the arquebus across Europe. A musket is a muzzle -loaded Smoothbore Long gun, which is intended to be fired from the shoulder
Similar arquebuses were standard weapon of the "Divine Engine Division" 神机营 of the Chinese Ming army in the late 14th century. In campaigns to drive Mongols out of China a strategy combining cavalry and arquebuses was common practice. In 1387, Chinese army developed a three-line method near the Burma border to destroy elephant formations of rebels.
The first arquebuses were introduced in Japan in 1543 by Portuguese traders (Fernão Mendes Pinto), who landed by accident on Tanegashima, an island south of Kyūshū in the region controlled by the Shimazu clan. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Fernão Mendes Pinto (fɨɾˈnɐ̃ũ ˈmẽdɨʃ ˈpĩtu Old Portuguese: Fernam Mendez Pinto) (1509? &ndash 1583 was a Portuguese Explorer Tanegashima ( Japanese: 種子島 is an Island lying to the south of Kyūshū, south Japan, and is part of the Kagoshima Prefecture or Kyushu is the third-largest Island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. The were the Daimyō of the Satsuma han, which spread over Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga provinces in Japan. By 1550, copies of the Portuguese arquebus were being produced in large quantities, and they were often seen on the battlefields all over Japan. In the Battle of Nagashino in 1575, Lord Oda Nobunaga placed three lines of ashigaru armed with these weapons behind wooden palisades and prepared for the cavalry charge of his opponent. The took place in 1575 at Nagashino Castle in the Mikawa province of Japan. ( June 23, 1534 &ndash June 21, 1582) was a major Daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history The Japanese ashigaru (足軽 were conscripted foot-soldiers of medieval Japan Cavalry charge redirects here For the football tactic see Cavalry charge (football. The three-line method allowed two lines to reload while the other would fire. Such tactics allowed a balance of mass firepower to compensate for poor accuracy with a reasonable rate of fire. The use of arquebuses and other firearms was halted in Japan during and until the end of the Tokugawa shogunate by decree of the shogun. The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the, and the, was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the Shoguns of is a military rank and historical title in Japan. The Japanese word for "general" it is made up of two Kanji words sho, meaning "commander" It is one of the most effective examples of disarmament and voluntary renunciation of technology. Disarmament refers to the act of reducing limiting or abolishing Weapons.
Arquebus vs archery
In terms of accuracy, the arquebus was extremely inferior to any kind of bow. However, the arquebus had a faster rate of fire than the most powerful crossbow, had a shorter learning curve than a longbow, and was more powerful than either. A crossbow is a Weapon consisting of a bow mounted on a stock that shoots projectiles often called bolts To see other senses of this word see Longbow (disambiguation. An arquebusier could carry more ammunition and powder than a crossbowman or longbowman could with bolts or arrows. The weapon also had the added advantage of scaring enemies (and spooking horses) with the noise. Perhaps most importantly, producing an effective arquebusier required a lot less training than producing an effective bowman. During a siege it was also easier to fire an arquebus out of loopholes than it was a bow and arrow. The term embrasure, in Military architecture, refers to the opening in a Crenellation or Battlement between the two raised solid portions or Merlons
On the downside, fired ammunition could not be picked up and reused like bolts and arrows. This is a useful way to reduce cost of practice ammunition or resupply yourself if you control the battlefield after a battle. The arquebus was more sensitive to humid weather. Gunpowder also ages much faster than a bolt or an arrow—particularly if improperly stored. Also, the resources needed to make gunpowder were less universally available than the resources needed to make bolts and arrows. A bullet must fit a barrel much more exactly than an arrow or bolt must fit a bow so the arquebus required more standardization and made it harder to resupply by looting bodies of fallen soldiers. It was also significantly more dangerous to its user. The arquebusier carries a lot of gunpowder on his person and has a lit match in one hand. The same goes for the soldiers next to him. Amid the confusion, stress and fumbling of a battle arquebusiers are potentially a danger to themselves. Early arquebuses tended to have a drastic recoil, they took a long time to load unless using the 'continuous fire' strategy, where one line would shoot and reload while the next line shot. When wet the guns were near useless; they also tended to overheat. During repeated firing, guns could become clogged and explode causing pieces of metal and wood to break off, which could be dangerous to the gunner and even those around him. Furthermore, the amount of smoke produced by blackpowder weapons was considerable, making it hard to see the enemy after a few salvoes. Prior to the wheellock the need for a lit match made stealth and concealment nigh impossible, particularly at night. Even with successful concealment the smoke emitted by a single arquebus shot would make it pretty obvious where a shot came from - at least in daylight. Bows and crossbows can shoot over obstacles by firing with high-arcing ballistic trajectories in order to reach the enemy when he has some frontal but no overhead cover (such as when your own troops are in melee with the enemy) — albeit with much less accuracy. An arquebus cannot do this.
References
- ^ Ultralingua 4. 49
- ^ Etymology of Arquebus.
- ^ This article incorporates content from the 1728 Cyclopaedia, a publication in the public domain. Cyclopaedia or A Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences ( folio, 2 vols The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone [1]
See also
External links
A gun is a particular Weapon that propels Projectiles The projectile is generally fired through a hollow tube known as the gun's barrel. A musket is a muzzle -loaded Smoothbore Long gun, which is intended to be fired from the shoulder A weapon is a Tool used either in Hunting, or attack or defence in Combat for the purpose of subduing enemy personnel or to destroy enemy weapons The musketoon is a shorter barrelled version of the Musket, and served in the roles of a Shotgun or Carbine.Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic