Age of Gunpowder Empires 1450-1800

This essay explores the advent of gunpowder weapons and how the use of these weapons changed the balance of power in warfare, transforming global history by leading to a period of dominance by Western European powers. The essay compares European, Russian, Islamic, Chinese, and Japanese uses of gunpowder weapons and explores how these powers fit guns into their political, military, and cultural systems. William H. McNeill is Robert A. Millikan Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Chicago.