Page 111 - Vol_2_Archaeology of Manila Galleon Seaport Trade

4 A Historical Review on the Social-Cultural Impact … 79

material. The circulation of Chinese silver coins were most likely related to the
pattern of European silver coins which had !rstly been imported by Yuegang-
Manila navigation.

4.2.2 Ferangi Firearm

The gunpowder as a kind of explosive substance was !rstly invented by Chinese
people in Tang and Song dynasties, and then was transferred to western world
through silk road. A series of archaeological and historical documents on ship-
wrecks presented that ancient junks of Chinese merchants had not been equipped
with any !rearms weapon before the late Ming Dynasty.
It was European who !rstly created the breech loading cannon during 14–15th
centuries. The Portuguese and Spanish had equipped this new type of !rearm on
their fleets when they explored new world in America, Africa and Asia through
global navigation. The arming of the ship cannon had been one of the essential
features of European merchant fleets different from that of the Chinese Junks
(Fig. 4.6).
The historical documents of Ming Dynasty recorded that both the Portuguese
and Spanish together as “Ferangi”, “Farangi” or “Frankish” ("%') and their
!rearm cannons were also known as “Ferangi”, “Frankish” or “Farangi”.

Fig. 4.6 Ferangi canon and Iberian armed merchant ship of 16th century.
Left: Portuguese breech loading cannon of 1520 (Needham 2005, p. 303). Right: A large
Portuguese caravel of 1536 armed with ship cannon (Parry 1974, p. 166)