Tracing the history and development of gun-making in Birmingham, England--for many years a center of the world's firearms industry--this book covers innovations in design and manufacture of both military and sporting arms from 1660 through 1960. The city is perhaps best known for mass-producing some of the most battle-tested weapons in history, including the Brown Bess musket, the Webley revolver and the Lee-Enfield rifle. Yet Birmingham's gun-makers have carried on a centuries-long tradition of crafting high quality hand-made sporting guns.
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF 2018 BY THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE AND SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE By a prize-winning young historian, an authoritative work that reframes the Industrial Revolution, the expansion of British empire, and emergence of industrial capitalism by presenting them as inextricable from the gun trade "A fascinating and important glimpse into how violence fueled the industrial revolution, Priya Satia's book stuns with deep scholarship and sparkling prose."--Siddhartha Mukherjee, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Emperor of All Maladies We have long understood the Industrial Revolution as a triumphant story of innovation and technology. Empire of Guns, a rich and ambitious new book by award-winning historian Priya Satia, upends this conventional wisdom by placing war and Britain's prosperous gun trade at the heart of the Industrial Revolution and the state's imperial expansion. Satia brings to life this bustling industrial society with the story of a scandal: Samuel Galton of Birmingham, one of Britain's most prominent gunmakers, has been condemned by his fellow Quakers, who argue that his profession violates the society's pacifist principles. In his fervent self-defense, Galton argues that the state's heavy reliance on industry for all of its war needs means that every member of the British industrial economy is implicated in Britain's near-constant state of war. Empire of Guns uses the story of Galton and the gun trade, from Birmingham to the outermost edges of the British empire, to illuminate the nation's emergence as a global superpower, the roots of the state's role in economic development, and the origins of our era's debates about gun control and the "military-industrial complex" -- that thorny partnership of government, the economy, and the military. Through Satia's eyes, we acquire a radically new understanding of this critical historical moment and all that followed from it. Sweeping in its scope and entirely original in its approach, Empire of Guns is a masterful new work of history -- a rigorous historical argument with a human story at its heart.
In the nineteenth century there were thousands of British gunmakers plying their trade the length and breadth of the land building all qualities of gun and rifle. Gunmakers have dwindled to a very small number today but the nature of the trade has changed from volume production to exclusive best guns only. British gunmakers have embraced the new technology on offer and by using a combination of CNC machining and new steels allied to traditional gunmaking skills, they are building superb quality guns and rifles to the highest standards. Unlike their competitors, British guns are not entirely built by machine and there is a large element of hand craftsmanship in every example built. Not content to rest on their historical laurels, they have introduced new designs and brought their creations right up to date for twenty-first century requirements. Guns and rifles are all built to the exact specifications of the customer and no two are alike. Each gun is individually made yet designed to embrace modern requirements such as high pheasants, steel shot and so on. This book shows the great variety of guns and rifles on offer entirely built in Great Britain today and how British gunmakers still continue to lead the world in best quality guns and rifles.
This book focuses on the use of small arms in violence and attempts by the state to govern the use and acquisition of these weapons. It is likely that hundreds of thousands of people are killed every year as a result of armed violence – in contexts ranging from war zones to domestic violence. This edited volume examines why these deaths occur, the role of guns and other weapons, and how governance can be used to reduce and prevent those deaths. Drawing on a variety of disciplines, ranging from anthropology through economics to peace and security studies, the book’s main concern throughout is that of human security – the causes and means of prevention of armed violence. The first part of the book concerns warfare, the second armed violence and crime, and the last governance of arms and their (mis)-use. The concluding chapter builds on the contributors’ key findings and suggests priorities for future research, with the aim of forming a coherent narrative which examines what we know, why armed violence occurs, and what can be done to reduce it. This book will be of much interest to students of small arms, security studies, global governance, peace and conflict studies, and IR.
Across government bodies, from local to federal, legislative responses to mass gun violence in the new millennium have varied greatly. Lack of communication or collaboration between government officials forestalls the implementation of practiced strategy. In an effort to encourage widespread solutions, this collection of resources outlines the state of gun legislation in the 21st century and provides strategies that have been implemented across the U.S. Combining a wide range of perspectives, this book is divided into three parts that each tackle a unique but essential facet of gun legislation in the U.S. The first section features essays from field experts that detail the facts and culture of modern gun ownership. The second section features critical essays that outline the challenges and solutions surrounding guns and public safety. This section also includes, in their entirety, relevant documents from the U.S. Justice Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Lastly, the third section provides multiple forecasts for the future of gun culture and politics. With the goal of connecting government workers of all ranks, this volume extensively details the many new gun safety regulations that have been enacted across the United States.
