Editing Matchlock

{{Short description|Firearm mechanism}}
[[Image:PS8004046.jpg|thumb|Early German [[musket]] with [[serpentine lock]].]]
A '''matchlock''' or '''firelock'''<ref>The definition of firelock changes over times, in later era it could refer to [[flintlock]] and [[wheellock]]. According to Merriam-Webster, a firelock is "a gun's lock employing a [[slow match]] to ignite the powder charge", first recorded in 1544. See Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). [[mwod:firelock|Firelock]]. In ''Merriam-Webster.com dictionary''. Retrieved October 13, 2022.</ref> is a historical type of [[firearm]] wherein the [[gunpowder]] is ignited by a burning piece of flammable cord or twine that is in contact with the gunpowder through a mechanism that the musketeer activates by pulling a lever or [[Trigger (firearms)|trigger]] with their finger. This firing mechanism was an improvement over the [[hand cannon]], which lacked a trigger and required the musketeer or an assistant to apply a match directly to the gunpowder by hand. The matchlock mechanism allowed the musketeer to apply the match himself without losing his concentration.

==Description==
[[Image:Muszkieterzy.JPG|thumb|left|Engraving of musketeers from the [[Thirty Years' War]]]]
[[File:Edo period rifles.jpg|thumb|left|Various Japanese (samurai) [[Edo period|Edo-period]] matchlocks (''tanegashima'')]]
[[File:Korean Matchlock Musket.jpg|thumb|left|'' Jochong'' (조총/鳥銃), the [[Korean matchlock musket]]]]

The classic matchlock gun held a burning [[slow match]] in a clamp at the end of a small curved lever known as the ''serpentine''. Upon the pull of a lever (or in later models a trigger) protruding from the bottom of the gun and connected to the serpentine, the clamp dropped down, lowering the smoldering match into the [[flash pan]] and igniting the priming powder. The flash from the primer traveled through the [[touch hole]], igniting the main charge of propellant in the [[gun barrel]]. On the release of the lever or trigger, the spring-loaded serpentine would move in reverse to clear the pan. For obvious safety reasons, the match would be removed before reloading of the gun. Both ends of the match were usually kept alight in case one end should be accidentally extinguished.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/technology/matchlock Article on Britannica.com explaining the matchlock system]</ref>

Earlier types had only an S-shaped serpentine pinned to the stock either behind or in front of the flash pan (the so-called "serpentine lock"), one end of which was manipulated to bring the match into the pan.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dNqzjfWABSAC&pg=PA88|title=Guns for the Sultan|first=Gábor|last=Ágoston|page=88|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2005|isbn=978-0-521-84313-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://homepages.tig.com.au/~dispater/handgonnes.htm|title=Handgonnes and Matchlocks|access-date=2008-12-05}}</ref>

A later addition to the gun was the [[Rifling|rifled]] barrel. This made the gun much more accurate at longer distances but did have drawbacks, the main one being that it took much longer to reload because the bullet had to be pounded down into the barrel.<ref name="Weir 2005 71–74">{{cite book|last=Weir|first=William|title=50 Weapons That Changed Warfare|year=2005|publisher=Career Press|location=Franklin Lakes, NJ|isbn=978-1-56414-756-1|pages=71–74}}</ref>

A type of matchlock was developed called the [[snap matchlock]],<ref>{{cite book|author=Richard J. Garrett|title=The Defences of Macau: Forts, Ships and Weapons over 450 years|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=24Wxr5vL1YcC&pg=PA176|year=2010|publisher=Hong Kong University Press|isbn=978-988-8028-49-8|page=176}}</ref> in which the serpentine was brought to firing position by a weak spring,<ref>{{cite book|last=Blair|first=Claude|title=European & American Arms, C. 1100-1850|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NUnYAAAAMAAJ|year=1962|publisher=B. T. Batsford|isbn=9789130014750 }}</ref> and activated by pressing a button, pulling a trigger, or even pulling a short string passing into the mechanism. As the match was often extinguished after its collision with the flash pan, this type was not used by soldiers but was often used in fine target weapons where the precision of the shot was more important than the repetition.

An inherent weakness of the matchlock was the necessity of keeping the match constantly lit. This was chiefly a problem in wet weather, when damp match cord was difficult to light and to keep burning. Another drawback was the burning match itself. At night, the match would glow in the darkness, possibly revealing the carrier's position. The distinctive smell of burning match-cord was also a giveaway of a musketeer's position. It was also quite dangerous when soldiers were carelessly handling large quantities of gunpowder (for example, while refilling their [[powder horn]]s) with lit matches present. This was one reason why soldiers in charge of transporting and guarding ammunition were amongst the first to be issued self-igniting guns like the [[wheellock]] and [[snaphance]].

The matchlock was also uneconomical to keep ready for long periods of time, as keeping both ends of a match lit every night for a year required a mile of match.<ref>Dale Taylor (1997), ''The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in Colonial America'', {{ISBN|0-89879-772-1}}, p. 159.</ref>
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==History==
{{further|History of gunpowder|Timeline of the gunpowder age}}
[[File:Strings for night firing.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Japanese peasant foot soldiers (''[[ashigaru]]'') firing ''[[Tanegashima (Japanese matchlock)|tanegashima]]'' (matchlocks)]]

The earliest form of matchlock in Europe appeared by 1411 and in the Ottoman Empire by 1425.<ref name="Needham">{{Citation |last=Needham |first=Joseph |author-link=Joseph Needham |title=Science & Civilisation in China |year=1986 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |volume=V:7: ''The Gunpowder Epic'' |isbn=0-521-30358-3|page=443}}</ref> This early arquebus was a hand cannon with a serpentine lever to hold matches.{{sfn|Needham|1986|p=425}} However this early arquebus did not have the matchlock mechanism traditionally associated with the weapon. The exact dating of the matchlock addition is disputed. The first references to the use of what may have been matchlock arquebuses (''tüfek'') by the [[Janissary]] corps of the [[Military of the Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Army]] date them from 1394 to 1465.<ref name="Needham"/>  However it is unclear whether these were arquebuses or small cannons as late as 1444, but according to Gábor Ágoston the fact that they were listed separately from cannons in mid-15th century inventories suggest they were handheld firearms, though he admits this is disputable.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ágoston |first1=Gábor |title=Military Transformation in the Ottoman Empire and Russia, 1500–1800 |journal=Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History |date=2011 |volume=12 |issue=2 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254954728 |pages=281–319 [294] |doi=10.1353/kri.2011.0018|s2cid=19755686 |quote=Initially the Janissaries were equipped with bows, crossbows, and javelins. In the first half of the 15th century, they began to use matchlock arquebuses, although the first references to the Ottomans’ use of tüfek or hand firearms of the arquebus type (1394, 1402, 1421, 1430, 1440, 1442) are disputable.}}</ref> [[Godfrey Goodwin (scholar)|Godfrey Goodwin]] dates the first use of the matchlock arquebus by the Janissaries to no earlier than 1465.<ref>Godfrey Goodwin: ''The Janissaries'', saqu Books, 2006, p. 129 {{ISBN|978-0-86356-740-7}}</ref> The idea of a serpentine later appeared in an [[Austria]]n manuscript dated to the mid-15th century. The first dated illustration of a matchlock mechanism dates to 1475, and by the 16th century they were universally used. During this time the latest tactic in using the matchlock was to line up and send off a volley of musket balls at the enemy. This volley would be much more effective than single soldiers trying to hit individual targets.<ref name="Weir 2005 71–74"/>

[[File:Drehling GNM W1984 ca 1580.jpg|thumb|Eight-shot matchlock revolver (Germany {{Circa|1580}})]]

Robert Elgood theorizes the armies of the Italian states used the [[arquebus]] in the 15th century, but this may be a type of [[hand cannon]], not matchlocks with trigger mechanism. He agreed that the matchlock first appeared in Western Europe during the 1470s in Germany.<ref>{{cite book|last=Elgood|first=Robert|title=Firearms of the Islamic World: In the Tared Rajab Museum, Kuwait|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=epaMx7jSZjIC&pg=PA41|year=1995|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=978-1-85043-963-9|page=41}}</ref> Improved versions of the Ottoman arquebus were transported to [[India]] by [[Babur]] in 1526.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dale |first=Stephen F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tLxsDwAAQBAJ&q=Matchlock |title=Babur |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2018 |isbn=9781108470070 |pages=100}}</ref>

The matchlock was claimed to have been introduced to China by the [[Portugal|Portuguese]]. The Chinese obtained the matchlock arquebus technology from the Portuguese in the 16th century and matchlock firearms were used by the Chinese into the 19th century.<ref>{{cite book|last=Garrett|first=Richard J.|title=The Defences of Macau: Forts, Ships and Weapons over 450 years|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=24Wxr5vL1YcC&pg=PA4|year=2010|publisher=Hong Kong University Press|isbn=978-988-8028-49-8|page=4}}</ref> The [[Firearm ownership law in China#History|Chinese used the term "bird-gun" to refer to muskets]] and Turkish muskets may have reached China before Portuguese ones.<ref name="Chase2003">{{cite book|author=Kenneth Warren Chase|title=Firearms: A Global History to 1700|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=esnWJkYRCJ4C&pg=PA144|date=2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-82274-9|page=144}}</ref>
[[File:Arquebus with a rain cover 1598.jpg|thumb|A Chinese Arquebus with a rain cover, c. 1598]]
In [[Japan]], the first documented introduction of the matchlock, which became known as the ''[[Tanegashima (Japanese matchlock)|tanegashima]]'', was through the [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]] in 1543.<ref>{{cite book|last=Lidin|first=Olof G.|title=Tanegashima: The Arrival of Europe in Japan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6WQnNqhDNhAC|year=2002|publisher=NIAS Press|isbn=978-87-91114-12-0}}</ref> The ''tanegashima'' seems to have been based on ''snap matchlocks'' that were produced in the armory of Goa in [[Portuguese India]], which was [[Conquest of Goa (1510)|captured by the Portuguese in 1510]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Daehnhardt |first=Rainer |title=The Bewitched Gun: The Introduction of the Firearm in the Far East by the Portuguese; Espingarda Feiticeira: A Introducao Da Arma De Fogo Pelos Portugueses No Extremo-Oriente |publisher=Texto Editora |year=1994 |pages=26}}</ref> While the Japanese were technically able to produce tempered steel (e.g. sword blades), they preferred to use work-hardened brass springs in their matchlocks. The name ''tanegashima'' came from the island where a Chinese [[Junk (ship)|junk]] (a type of ship) with Portuguese adventurers on board was driven to anchor by a storm. The lord of the Japanese island [[Tanegashima Tokitaka]] (1528–1579) purchased two matchlock rifles from the Portuguese and put a swordsmith to work copying the matchlock barrel and firing mechanism. Within a few years, the use of the ''tanegashima'' in battle forever changed the way war was fought in Japan.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://archive.org/details/givingupgun00noel|url-access= registration|title= Giving up the gun: Japan's reversion to the sword, 1543–1879 |author= Noel Perrin |publisher= David R Godine |year=1979|isbn=978-0-87923-773-8}}</ref>

Despite the appearance of more advanced ignition systems, such as that of the [[wheellock]] and the [[snaphance]], the low cost of production, simplicity, and high availability of the matchlock kept it in use in European armies. It left service around 1750.<ref name=Ferguson1027>{{cite AV media |people=Jonathan Ferguson |date=30 November 2024 |title=Cursed Muskets & Firearms Folklore: Our Halloween Special with firearms expert Jonathan Ferguson |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGgZJ112lSc |access-date=1 November 2024 |time=10:27-10:34 |publisher=Royal Armouries }}</ref> It was eventually completely replaced by the [[flintlock]] as the foot soldier's main armament.

In Japan, matchlocks continued to see military use up to the mid-19th century. In China, matchlock guns were still being used by imperial army soldiers in the middle decades of the 19th century.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jowett |first1=Philip |title=Imperial Chinese Armies 1840–1911 |date=2016 |publisher=Osprey Publishing Ltd. |page=19}}</ref>

There is evidence that matchlock rifles may have been in use among some peoples in Christian [[Ethiopian Empire|Abyssinia]] in the late Middle Ages. Although modern rifles were imported into Ethiopia during the 19th century, contemporary British historians noted that, along with [[slingshot]]s, matchlock rifle weapons were used by the elderly for self-defense and by the militaries of the [[Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles#The Mesafint|Ras]].<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Abyssinia |volume= 01 |last1= Cana |first1= Frank Richardson | pages = 82&ndash;95; see page 89, first para, six lines from the end|quote= Although the army has been equipped with modern rifles, the common weapon of the people is the matchlock, and slings are still in use. }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|jstor=1798118|title=Memorandum on Abyssinia|first=The Foreign|last=Office|date=18 May 2018|journal=The Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London|volume=25|pages=215–218|doi=10.2307/1798118}}</ref>

Under [[Taiwan under Qing rule|Qing rule]], the [[Hakka people|Hakka]] on Taiwan owned matchlock muskets. Han people traded and sold matchlock muskets to the [[Taiwanese aborigines]]. During the [[Sino-French War]], the Hakka and Aboriginals used their matchlock muskets against the French in the [[Keelung Campaign]] and [[Battle of Tamsui]]. The Hakka used their matchlock muskets to resist the [[Japanese invasion of Taiwan (1895)]] and Han Taiwanese and Aboriginals conducted an insurgency against Japanese rule.

== 20th century use ==
[[File:Tibetan Soldier at Target Practise.jpg|thumb|Tibetans with matchlock rifle (1905 painting)]]

Arabian Bedouin families continued using matchlocks well into the 20th century, and matchlocks were often passed down as family heirlooms within Bedouin families. The reliability of the matchlock made it the weapon of choice for Bedouins, who sometimes chose to convert flintlocks into matchlocks.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Vincenzo Clarizia |title=Ancient Weapons of Oman. Volume 2: Firearms |date=2022 |publisher=Archaeopress Publishing Limited |isbn=9781803270333 |page=9}}</ref>

Tibetans have used matchlocks from as early as the sixteenth century until very recently.<ref name="tibetan">{{cite web |last1=La Rocca |first1=Donald J. |title=Tibetan Arms and Armor |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/tbar/hd_tbar.htm |website=www.metmuseum.org |publisher=Department of Arms and Armor, The Metropolitan Museum of Art |access-date=26 August 2018}}</ref> The early 20th century explorer [[Sven Hedin]] also encountered Tibetan tribesmen on horseback armed with matchlock rifles along the Tibetan border with [[Xinjiang]]. Tibetan nomad fighters used [[arquebus]]es for warfare during the [[Annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China]] as late as the second half of the 20th century—and Tibetan nomads reportedly still use matchlock rifles to hunt wolves and other predatory animals.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Goldstein |first1=Melvyn |title=Nomads of Western Tibet: The Survival of a Way of Life |date=1990 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0520072114}}</ref> These matchlock arquebuses typically feature a long, sharpened retractable forked stand.
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== Literary references ==
A Spanish matchlock, purchased in Holland, plays an important role in [[Walter D. Edmonds]]' [[Newbery Medal|Newbery Award]]-winning children's novel ''[[The Matchlock Gun]]''.

==See also==
* [[Arquebus]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline}}
{{Early firearms}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Early firearms]]
[[Category:Firearm actions]]
[[Category:Muskets]]