History of Fireworks

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 20:09:00 +0000

History of Fireworks

The history of fireworks dates back to nearly two thousand years. A cook in China is generally supposed to have discovered fireworks accidentally when he mixed three ingredients that were commonly used in the kitchen in those days, namely sulphur, charcoal and potassium nitrate (salt peter). When these three ingredients were dried and lighted, the mixture was found to ignite. When this mixture was packed into a closed bamboo tube and lit, it built up an enormous pressure and exploded. The Chinese gave this the name ‘huo yao”, which literally means fire chemical. There are other theories about the origin of fireworks that suggest that it might have been of a more recent origin, dating back to a little over 1000 years, and invented by a Chinese monk who lived in the Hunan province in China. In any case, it is generally accepted that the Chinese invented fireworks more than at least one thousand years ago.

Celebrating with fireworks

Fireworks were initially used during religious ceremonies, celebrations such as birthdays, and other special occasions, as indeed they are till today. The reason for using fireworks in religious functions and celebrations seems to lie in the belief that the loud bang created by fireworks had the capacity to frighten away evil spirits.

As time passed it was but natural that someone should see the potential of this explosive substance in warfare. It is said that the Chinese themselves were aware of this soon after they discovered fireworks and used it to develop weapons such as fire arrows that had a great effect on their enemies.

Fireworks in Warfare

It is believed that fireworks were brought to the west by Marco Polo, who was a frequent visitor to China, and European crusaders in the Middle East. The potential of these chemicals for causing destruction did not escape the early scholars in the West, but it was almost another 300 years before scientists could work out the exact formula that could become lethal, and cause a sufficiently strong explosion. They discovered that a mixture of Salt Peter, Charcoal, and Sulphur in the proportion of 75%, 15% and 10% respectively produced the desired results, and graduated to employing gunpowder in warfare using these proportions, which incidentally are valid even today.

The use of gunpowder revolutionized warfare disarming most invincible defences of the day. Thus canons and guns made armours and fort walls susceptible to being broken down and penetrated.

Fireworks as an art form

Although military uses of gunpowder did revolutionize warfare, the recreational and artistic aspects of fireworks did not lose their sheen. Fireworks are as popular the world over today as a means of celebration as they were in the earlier days of their history. The Italians have played a great part in developing fireworks into a truly art form. Italians developed new applications that could provide a variety of visual delights. Some of the products that the Italians developed included aerial shells that could shoot up into the air and explode or burst into a fountain of colours at a great height. They also developed a number of fireworks that operated at the ground level. They discovered a powder that burnt more slowly and gave out sparks of different colons when contained in an open-ended tube. More elaborate forms were developed using rocket engines that made them to rotate and give off circular sparks of different colours. As the art form developed, the industry employed specialists and professionals from other fields such as masons, carpenters and painters. The Germans are also credited with having contributed to the development of fireworks. The American fireworks industry is dominated by these groups.

Fireworks also became popular in England and enjoyed royal support in many cases. The eighteenth century saw fireworks become a matter of public displays in England rather than for the private pleasure of Royalty alone. The English can be credited with popularising fireworks as huge crowds from all over Europe were attracted to fireworks displays at amusement parks in England.

China has continued to dominate the fireworks production scene in the world with its Hunan and Jiangxi provinces accounting for a major share of the world trade in fireworks. Earlier these were channelled through state owned marketing corporations that sold to the world through intermediaries in Hong Kong. With the opening up of the Chinese economy, direct trade has taken over in most cases.

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History of Fireworks