Why Muskets Replaced Longbows (It’s Not Why You Think)

By the end of the 16th century, the longbow had been replaced by the musket as the main missile weapon of the English infantryman. One common theory for why this process took place is that it took much less time to teach recruits how to use the musket compared to the years of preparation that the longbow required. However, in this video, I will explain why that theory is actually incorrect, and I will propose better explanations for why the longbow was replaced. Credit to bowvsmusket.com for having found a lot of the documentation! In fact, this video could be seen as an elaboration of his own blog post on the “training” argument. 0:00 Introduction 1:28 Clarifying Remarks 2:29 Why Training Was Not the Cause of Replacement 3:17 Reason 1 - Emphasis on Training for Firearms 4:49 Reason 2 - No Mention of Training in Contemporary Sources 5:42 Reason 3 - Why Not Crossbows? 6:21 Reason 4 - Nature of the Debate 7:26 Reason 5 - Difference in Replacement Rate 8:37 Three Better Explanations 8:51 Explanation 1 - Penetrative Power 9:43 Explanation 2 - Increase in Frequency of Sieges 10:43 Explanation 3 - A Decline in the Quality of English Archery 11:19 Evaluation of Explanations 11:59 Conclusion Primary sources: Barret, Robert. The theorike and practike of moderne vvarres, London, 1598. Barwick, Humphrey. A breefe discourse, concerning the force and effect of all manuall weapons of fire, London, 1594. Digges, Thomas. An Arithmetical Military Treatise Named Straticos, 1579. Kellie, Thomas. Pallas Armata, or Militarie Instructions for the Learned. Heires of Andro Hart, 1627. Monluc, Blaise de. The commentaries of Messire Blaize de Montluc. Originally published 1592; translated by Charles Cotton, London, 1674 Rich, Barnabe. A right exelent and pleasaunt dialogue, betwene Mercury and an English souldier. London, 1574 Smythe, John. Certain discourses, vvritten by Sir Iohn Smythe, Knight: concerning the formes and effects of diuers sorts of weapons. London, 1590 Williams, Roger. A briefe discourse of vvarre. VVritten by Sir Roger VVilliams Knight; vvith his opinion concerning some parts of the martiall discipline. London, 1590. Secondary sources: Boynton, Lindsay. The Elizabethan Militia, 1558–1838. Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1967. Eltis, David. The Military Revolution in Sixteenth-Century Europe. I.B. Tauris, 1995. Hall, Bert. Weapons and Warfare in Renaissance Europe: Gunpowder, Technology, and Tactics. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997. Phillips, G. (1999). Longbow and Hackbutt: Weapons Technology and Technology Transfer in Early Modern England. Technology and Culture, 40(3), 576–593 Strickland, M., & Hardy, R. The Great Warbow: From Hastings to the Mary Rose. Haynes Publishing, 2011. Williams, Alans. The Knight and the Blast Furnace: A History of the Metallurgy of Armour in the Middle Ages & the Early Modern Period. Brill Academic Publishing: 2003.