From: "jim.craig", [EMAIL PROTECTED] Just been watching a programme on ancient inventions on Discovery and noted the bit about the development of guns and gunpowder. Seems that the onset of these harbingers of death was not universally popular at the time since it made just about every other method of warfare then available instantly obsolete. The Japanese nobility were particularly ticked off about this having spent a couple of centuries keeping all kind of weapons out of the hands of their lower classes (and incidentally thereby promoting the development of many interesting kinds of unarmed combat - unintended consequences again!) while at the same time becoming very proficient in the arts of swordsmanship, mounted archery et al. The top brass decided to ban guns. Not just prohibit their use by the peasantry you understand but disinvent (uninvent?) the whole shebang of them. They made it illegal to buy, sell,import, export, own or operate any kind of gun whatsoever by anybody, period. They cut off relations with the Western barbarians who were promoting these things (conveniently forgetting that it was probably the Chinese who started the whole thing) and sat back to enjoy their feudal supremacy. Unfortunately for them, some time later, a squadron of American warships with bloody BIG guns arrived to persuade them of the error of their ways and they became enthusiastic converts to gun ownership and use ,much to the discomfort of the Russian fleet at Port Arthur, the US fleet at Pearl Harbour and the British garrison at Singapore. Now, who was it that said that those who know nothing of history are compelled to repeat it? Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ____________________________________________________________ T O P I C A -- Learn More. Surf Less. Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Topics You Choose. http://www.topica.com/partner/tag01
