It is not known exactly when gunpowder was invented. It is known for a fact that the Chinese made rockets and fireworks long before gunpowder was used in Europe , which occured at about the beginning of the thirteenth century. It is generally believed that gunpowder brought to an end the ‘Age of Chivalry’, since anyone with a firearm could bring down a mounted knight. In fact, it did not develop efficient firearms until the sixteenth century. This gunpowder is used mainly in siege cannon when it was first introduced. Later it was used in engineering work and in mining , but it was found that it was extremely dangerous. Modern explosives have now replaced gunpowder , but its still used for making fireworks, just as the Chinese did.
