17th Century Puzzle

[bluelake]

Philip,

Thank you very much for the information. It is quite helpful. Do you have any pictures or drawings of the type the Russians would have used in the 1650s in the Primorye region?

As mentioned in the OP, the Koreans had some type of friction firelock gun at least as early as the 1630s. As with what you mentioned about Japan and China, Korea stuck with the matchlocks (until the end of the 19th century); it would be interesting to know why they didn't pursue the new technology further. I am guessing part of it might be because much of the 17th century, aside from interruptions by Ming and Ching, was relatively peaceful for Korea (in comparison to the end of the 16th century), so there was little impetus for major advancement of weapons.

Still, the technology was evidently used to improve their matchlocks. A Korean author, Song Haeng (1760-1839) wrote about the Dutch shipwreck in Korea (1653), in which one of the survivors, Hendrick Hamel, kept a journal. An earlier Dutch shipwreck survivor, Jan Janse Weltevree, had been working and living in Korea for a couple decades by that time and provided translation between the Koreans and Hamel's group. Here is what Song wrote (http://www.hendrick-hamel.henny-save...anstudies2.htm):

Amongst the survivors of the shipwreck there were some artillery experts. On board their ship there were around 30 cannons. These were on wheels, so they were easily maneuverable. When a shot was fired, the cannon rolled a distance to the back. Thus, the power of the recoil was taken and prevented the barrel from splitting open. Their muskets also showed an ingenious design. When fired, the powder is ignited by a spark made by hitting a piece of flint against an iron point. This takes place by means of a spring mechanism, which can be latched and unlatched .

According to Hamel's diary, the Koreans salvaged quite a bit from his ship and Song Haeng said that all weaponry salvaged was sent to Seoul. Later, according to Hamel, he and his men were made king's guard and were issued matchlocks, black powder and lead. Between Weltevree and any of Hamel's group who were knowledgeable about gunsmithing, improvements to Korean matchlocks could easily be made. As it was recorded in the Annals of Joseon Kings, something along those lines surely happened. The records of 1657 show, "Dutch sailors drifted into Joseon. They brought with them new matchlock manufacturing methods" and in 1658 was recorded, "For the first time, it was possible for Joseon to make good matchlocks. This was proven by the fact that Ching requested 100 matchlocks". That was in the 1650s, as were the battles with the Russians, so they had firelock mechanisms from three sources (including the one obtained in 1631).

The information is greatly appreciated.