Early Hand Cannons and Matchlock Guns

Timeline

1. 1371–1375Nanjing and Jiangnan arms workshops · JiangnanIn the early Ming, large numbers of Yuan firearms were captured during the wars of unification, and firearm workshops were set up in the capital and local guards to copy bronze cannons and hand cannons, gradually incorporated into the standing arsenals of the capital camps and frontier garrisons, providing firepower support for northern border defense.
2. 1376–1378Beiping and frontier garrisons along the Great Wall · North ChinaDuring the late Hongwu northern campaigns and northern frontier defense, hand cannons and handguns began to be issued to the Prince of Yan's establishment and border guards along the frontier, used for city defense and cavalry coordination, marking the spread of firearms from the capital arsenals to the combat front.
3. 1378–1380Iberian Peninsula and the Middle East · West AsiaAround the same period, early hand cannons and matchlock gun records appeared in Europe and within the Ottoman sphere of influence, mostly evolved from eastern gunpowder technology transmitted westward; forms were still crude but already used in sieges and naval battles, constituting the western endpoint of the global spread of 14th-century firearms.