Firearms in Africa: An Introduction.pdf - 1 views
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THAT
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not be denied, but the nature of that impact is more questionable. There has been little research on the subject and no way in which to assess assertions about the influence of guns on any particular period or area.
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firearms have had an impact on African histo
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'Guns and firearms in the Ottoman Empire', and it became apparent that firearms were of little use without appropriate tactic
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First, the impact of firearms in African warfare was not as decisive as had been expected. Perhaps the expectation itself was the product of some unhistorical ideology. The collection and lore of firearms have attracted impartial scholars and enthusiasts, but they have also attracted devotees who regard firearms as symbols of industrial or social or other prowess.
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The impact of guns is that they radically changed the strategies and tactics used by the armies in African countries.Having a gun in the olden days meant that people would respect you as guns symbolized having power and influence in the community. The arrival of guns assisted the expansion of hunting of both animals and men and made warfare more murderous
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t is impossible for those with firearms to lose battles to those without firearms, and to some it is impossible for those who have not developed or made firearms to maintain or use them properly
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A second tentative conclusion is that firearms in war had an initial success but rapidly declined in significance. This might be through the enemy acquiring equivalent weapons, or evolving tactics to cope with them, or through the original weapons deteriorating or being deprived of ammunition.
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Gunpowder was more widely made in Africa, though most observers note that the quality obtained was poor.
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African states did have standing armies, but even some of these must have found it expensive to provide musketry practice
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. From I650 to I700 one should expect Africa to receive a flood of new trade flintlocks, together with old matchlocks released by European armies.
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same problem existed in Europe from the age of the long-bow; bowmen were first drawn from hunters and foresters, and archery was then encouraged as a sport
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As for Africa, we find some references to firearms used in hunting, though this is mainly in southern Africa
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The African trade musket, while produced in greater quantities than every other type, or almost every other type, of firearm,
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e vast majority of Birmingham guns went to Africa; in I864 it cannot have been more than half, since only II9,503 oUt of 221,726 barrels produced were of 'plain iron' such as might be found in trade gun
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African muskets were priced in Birmingham at gs. in I845, 7s. 6d. in i850, ios. 6d. in I855, and 6s. gd. in i865.41 In I907 the cost of an African barrel was zs. 3d. in Birmingham, and of the whole gun 6s. gd.
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Guns shipped to South or East Africa were of higher value. In I900 exports of this unidentified gun to West Africa were 8,803, and to East Africa a mere 352, with Cape Colony taking 566, and Natal I,294. In 1905 all figures were half as high again, save for the Cape which stood at 3,989.43
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Effective use of firearms by Africans in war often depended on muskets being used primarily for hunting and crop protection. Availability of firearms may well have made agriculture possible in areas otherwise overrun with game. For these purposes, military arms would be less suitable than the African muskets