Still, about our Western referees, the era of "modern Europe", which began roughly with the Protestant Reformation, constitutes a major thrust of the issue of interest to us. During the period of major religious reforms, we have seen that in the past, the Catholic Church had on occasion tried to stifle the development of arms. The latter was part of a context in which Man now saw the physical and chemical dimensions of the world around him, and this, without necessarily having to wear the blinders of religion. Thus, other inventions would emerge under the genius of individuals, people who could submit their ideas and projects to soldiers who are less and less resistant to innovations.
The first major innovation of the time that comes to mind is at sea. In the context of the rise of colonial empires, Europeans developed warships that could travel vast distances. For example, galleys propelled by oars could always maneuver better than those simply guided by the wind. Moreover, the Europeans designed new galley models that could be used as firing platforms for guns. Thus, these naval platforms first allowed the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and later the English and French to establish colonial empires around the world.
Let us add that over time, the galleys included several bridges, so more than one platform to install guns on. The English were particularly innovative in this respect. These liners became important symbols of military and colonial power, as well as a deterrent when tensions rose between rival powers.
On land, the period was marked by the development and mass distribution (not to be confused with standardization) of the musket in the infantry, particularly towards the first half of the 17th century with the introduction of the bayonet. This one provided the infantryman with both an offensive and a defensive weapon, once the musket was unloaded. The bayonet left its mark on the imagination in many ways and was a "psychological weapon" whose importance can be measured at least until the First World War when modern weapons such as the machine gun seriously questioned its usefulness.
Initially, the bayonet was not without defects. The first bayonet of the "plug" type was inserted into the barrel of the musket, making it impossible to fire. Later, the adoption of the "socket" bayonet released the barrel from the musket while facilitating the insertion and removal of this knife. The combination of the musket and the socket bayonet provides the soldier with both a "missile" and a "shock" type weapon for close combat. As a result, the spade, another famous weapon from the Reformation period mentioned above, fell into disuse.
Still, with a view to the evolution of the musket, the Prussians made a notable improvement, namely the introduction of the iron rod to push the ball and powder deep into the barrel, thus improving the effectiveness of the shot (the chances of the shot leaving) and its rate. Also, the risk of the stick-breaking was significantly reduced, as the sticks previously used were made of wood. And a little like in the Middle Ages, innovative weaponry achievements straddled the environments of the hunter and the military. For example, until the turn of the 20th century, most of the improvements in firearms applied to the world of hunters and not to the world of soldiers. Depending on the place and time, hunters used wheel rifles while the military used lock wick rifles. The hunters then equipped themselves with rifles, while the military still had muskets, among other things.
Nevertheless, the evolution of artillery was slow, partly because of a relative absence of governments that were even remotely organized and able to concentrate logistical resources to develop the art of metallurgy.
As for the fortifications, the medieval period marked the imagination, but the one that followed saw in France, under the skillful direction of Vauban, a real revolution. Noting that the artillery was able to spray a line of wall fortifications, why then could we not add more than one? This was Vauban's reflection, a reflection he put into practice with this series of fortification lines simply called the Vauban system. This clever combination of approaches and parallels strengthened the defensive system and the addition of specially placed guns at strategic locations provided a response capability. As a result, siege warfare was no longer just about stones or concrete, but it was also becoming mathematical and geometric.