Are firearms responsible for 800-year drop in violence?

[Perd Hapley]

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/414083/firearms-kings-and-emergence-peaceful-life-charles-c-w-cooke


Sorry for the drive-by posting. Here's the article beneath the article:

http://www.adamsmith.org/blog/liberty-justice/make-britain-safer-bring-back-handguns/


I've never seen crime stats spanning 8 centuries. I thought you folks might like to see them, too.

[vaskidmark]

First there is the leveling of the playing field between the physically strong and physically weak.  "God made man and Sam Colt made men equal" and all that.

Very basically - Yes.

Made social changes possible - moving off the farm/out of the village regardless of how the lord of the shire felt about it.

Contributed to the possibility of a middle class that was not composed of guild members and merchants.

Suddenly there were no more firearms and stuff went to hell in the proverbial handbasket.

Want to bet social stability (one indicator of which is folks not getting killed all over the place) would return if firearms made a comeback?

Even American criminals express a desire not to have to confront someone with a firearm.

stay safe.

[MechAg94]

I am thinking that it wasn't just a crime/self defense issue, but you also saw more power sharing from kings/dictators to more and more of the population. 

And of course, the gun was a weapon that could be wielded effectively with little training compared to swords and other weapons.