[High Praise! to Sultan Knish]
Anyone who really hankers after a world without guns would do well to try the 12th Century which was not a nicer place for lack of guns. The same firepower that makes it possible for one homicidal maniac to kill a dozen unarmed people also makes it that much harder to recreate a world where a single family can rule over millions and one man in armor can terrify hundreds of peasants.
Putting miniature cannons in the hands of every peasant made the American Revolution possible. The ideals of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution would have meant very little without an army of ordinary men armed with weapons that made them a match for the superior organization and numbers of a world power.
Would Thomas Jefferson, the abiding figurehead of the Democratic Party, who famously wrote, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants”, really have shuddered at the idea of peasants with assault rifles, or would he have grinned at the playing field being leveled?
In The Road to Arnhem, his memoir of the Market Garden operation, Donald R. Burgett helped liberate a small Dutch town that had originally been captured by a lost German paratrooper. Because no one in the town was allowed to have a firearm the entire village was taken by a single soldier with a rifle.
Sorry damncat, I am not buying into that one little bit. They had long bows , cross bows, knives, swords, the time equivalent of 2×4 with spikes thru it. Is it too late in time for maces and mob attack.? And then was the ever present poison.
I am about as anti-gun control as anyone I know but in this case there are just too many ways the many can **** up the one
Yes but…who is going to be the first one to pick up a knife, sword, or a bow when confronted with a guy armed with a Mauser?
The difficulty with the argument in the OP, is that armour was rare and expensive for two reasons: The first being the raw manpower and energy needed to form large pieces of sheet steel with any uniformity. The second being skilled tradesmen in a virtual or actual guild system desperately protecting their skills.
Both of these issues are overcome in the modern age. With sheet steel of better quality and uniformity than was used even during the height of plate armour crafting in the late 15th Century being mass produced and shipped anywhere. The second being a surge in professional and amateur research into Medieval armouring techniques that have garage shops all over the world, with a high concentration in North America, putting out Medieval style armour on a regular basis. It’s still “expensive” to have someone do it for you, but it’s fairly cheap to learn to do it yourself. A stump and a few hammers will do in a pinch.
It’s true, that the loss of armour on the battlefield was in mostly due to the proliferation of firearms, and they even had re-enactors and tournament societies through the Renaissance and beyond that still fought in armour for the hell of it. (If it weren’t obvious by now, there’s still people that do today. http://www.usaknights.org is worth a look.) The resurrection of sword, spear, and armour wouldn’t automatically mean a resurrection of Feudalistic concentration of power, our other tools are just too powerful.
Depends on whether Tommy Jeff was in power at the time, or in opposition.
Cheers
Going to the Mall would be a downer if a Mongol horseman could sweep down on you and chopped off your head any time he liked.
YOU WINGNUTS JUST LOVE YOUE SHOOT EM UP STORIES!!!!!DON’T YOU REALIZE THAT WAR AND DEATH IS JUST AN INABILITY TO COMMUNICATE CALMLY AND RESOLVE DIFFERENCES WITH PEACFUL NONVIOLENT AGREEMENTS AND COMPROMISES???ALL THOSE PEOPLE DID NOT HAVE TO DIE IN THOSE NASTY WARS IF PEOPLE WERENT SO UNWILLING TO NEGOTIATE AND RESOLVE DIFFERENCES!!!JEEZE JUST STOP WITH ALL THIS MACHO MY GUN IS BIGGER I WIN YOU LOSE SO YAY ME NONSENSE!!!GROW UP ALREADY!!!
Well, Janeane, it’s clear you wouldn’t have been a member of the 3% minority that fought and won YOUR freedom.
But, I’ll let you off the hook, because as a pretender, you do a really great job!
Ussjimmycarter in disguise – that’s what I’m thinkin’.