page_title: English cannon
section_title: 17th century
hierarchical_section_title: English cannon / History / 17th century
caption_attribution_description: English: An engraving showing the parts of a cannon, from the page facing page 25 of John Roberts' The Compleat Cannoniere (1652).
context_page_description: The first usage of cannon in Great Britain was possibly in 1327, when they were used in battle by the English against the Scots. Under the Tudors, the first forts featuring cannon batteries were built, while cannon were first used by the Tudor navy. Cannon were later used during the English Civil War for both siegework and extensively on the battlefield.
  Cannon were first used abroad by the English during the Hundred Years War, when primitive artillery was used at the Battle of Crécy. With the Age of Discovery and the establishment of the Thirteen Colonies, cannon saw use in British armies in North America, first against the rival colony of New France, and later during the American Revolutionary War. From the 18th century to the present day, the Royal Regiment of Artillery has formed the artillery of the British Army. The Royal Navy developed the carronade in the 18th century, although they disappeared from use in the 1850s. As with other western cannon of the period, cannon used by the British Army and the Royal Navy became longer ranged and more destructive in the 19th and 20th centuries.
context_section_description: A description of the Gunner's art is given during the English Civil War period (mid-17th century) by John Roberts, covering the modes of calculation and the ordnance pieces themselves, in his work The Compleat Cannoniere, printed London 1652 by W. Wilson and sold by George Hurlock (Thames Street). The lower tier of English ships of the line at this time were usually equipped with demi-cannon — a naval gun which fired a 32-pound solid shot. A full cannon fired a 42-pound shot (and in fact there was a so-called "royal cannon" that fired a 60-pound shot), but these were discontinued by the 18th century as they were seen as too unwieldy.
  With the establishment of the Thirteen Colonies, cannon saw use in English armies in the North American mainland, first against the rival colony of New France. However, although the French were outnumbered, their fortifications and artillery were superior to English cannon. When 34 ships from the English colony of Massachusetts bombarded Quebec in 1690, they were outmatched by the French batteries, which badly damaged the ships' hulls and struck off the colours of the English flagship.  The English brass field guns landed on the shore were entirely ineffective against the militiamen in the woods, and a spontaneous retreat left five cannon abandoned on the shore.  French victory showed that to take Quebec, the cannon of "Old England would have to be brought in".
caption: The parts of a cannon described, John Roberts, The Compleat Cannoniere, London 1652.
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