pre-1800s cannons

this is a Chinese hand cannon used during the Mongolian yuan dynasty
The hand cannon was a simple weapon, effectively consisting of a barrel with some sort of handle, though it came in many different shapes and sizes. Although surviving examples are all completely constructed of metal, evidence suggests that many were attached to some kind of stock, usually wooden. Other examples show a simple metal extension from the barrel acting as the handle. In fact, not all hand cannons used metal at all in their construction, as some Chinese illustrations demonstrate bamboo tubes being used instead.


Manufacturer: Mongolians

diagram of a cannon

http://royalartillery1815.co.uk/uploads/images/cannon_diagram.jpg

welcome

to John Russ' cannon blog

history of cannons

A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellants to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees, depending on their intended use on the battlefield. they first appeared about 1230 B.C. in china and are still in use today.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannon