Cannons, castles, and capitalism: The invention of gunpowder and the rise of the west∗

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Abstract
The emergence of institutions which effectively defined and enforced ownership rights was a key prerequisite to the development of the modern capitalist economy. The nation‐state played a major role in supplying this institutional framework for economic growth. Explaining why nation‐states emerged when they did is relevant to explaining the early modern transition to sustained economic growth. Various economic historians have claimed that the Gunpowder Revolution of the fifteenth century was a crucial event which helped trigger these developments. The present paper examines this argument critically. When the relevant military and technological history of the middle ages is closely examined, the claims for the importance of the “gunpowder trigger” can be shown to be seriously flawed.

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