The force or energy generated by gunpowder; the destructive power of guns and firearms collectively.
From 'gun' plus 'power,' a compound created to describe the literal and figurative power that firearms provide. Emerged in English military and political discourse in the 17th-18th centuries.
Historians have argued that the invention of gunpowder and the development of gunpower fundamentally shifted world history—it allowed European powers with superior firearms to conquer and colonize regions, even when outnumbered, reshaping the entire global power structure.
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