Hi everyone,
I'm trying to get some info about South-East Asia prior to European contact and I had something bugging me.
Reading a history colonial textbook of the mid-XXth century, I saw mention of Vietnamese smelting cannons. But from what I understand, smelting cannons was actually a major deal and they didn't have capability before the 1660's with Joan de la Cruz.
I understand they had some form of artillery but more like wooden canons. Is there something I missed? Is the textbook wrong (which is frankly a possibility)?
On another note, I was reading that the reason Europeans were able to insert themselves so fast in the trade is because they were superior soldiers, something that does seem to come up very regularly across sources. I have seen it postulated it was because SE Asia/India was relatively peaceful compared to Europe. Could anybody confirm?
Thanks a lot for your answers!
I'm trying to get some info about South-East Asia prior to European contact and I had something bugging me.
Reading a history colonial textbook of the mid-XXth century, I saw mention of Vietnamese smelting cannons. But from what I understand, smelting cannons was actually a major deal and they didn't have capability before the 1660's with Joan de la Cruz.
I understand they had some form of artillery but more like wooden canons. Is there something I missed? Is the textbook wrong (which is frankly a possibility)?
On another note, I was reading that the reason Europeans were able to insert themselves so fast in the trade is because they were superior soldiers, something that does seem to come up very regularly across sources. I have seen it postulated it was because SE Asia/India was relatively peaceful compared to Europe. Could anybody confirm?
Thanks a lot for your answers!