Had it not been for 9th century China, firearms wouldn’t be what they are today. In an effort to convert ordinary metals to gold, Chinese alchemists accidently stumbled upon the recipe for gunpowder. The abilities of the new substance were soon discovered when set ablaze. Given a spark, gunpowder exploded violently with a massive force just waiting to be harnessed. By pouring and igniting the solution in a narrow, sturdy tube, the Chinese were the first to use firearms as a means to launch projectiles.

 The oldest and simplest type of firearm was the hand cannon.  Implementing no complex firing mechanism, the hand cannon was as basic as one could get. Gunpowder was poured into the open end of a rigid tube; the projectile was placed in afterwards. At the time, the time of projectile used didn’t matter; a bevy of items were used, ranging from simple pebbles to crafted metal shells. To set off the gunpowder, a wick leading to the stockpile was ignited. After a painful couple seconds, the cannon finally fired. Being the first type of firearm, the hand cannon did not come without its shortcomings. The time it took to load a shot made the user vulnerable to the much quicker melee-ers. Even when the lucky shot is fired, the large recoil prevents any accuracy. To further compound the problem, the violent hand cannon scorched the hands of its users; some of the accidents even proved to be fatal. By the 1520’s, hand cannons began to see their last light as matchlock firearms succeeded their momentum.