The invention did not change Chinese society. The
Chinese used gunpowder only for celebration as well as for military purposes. They
invented flame throwing fire lances and exploding war rockets at an early date. The
Chinese never had a true gun. The method of making war did not change. As early as
the twelfth century huo yao,or "fire drug," was used in China for pleasurable
activities.
Gunpowder reached Europe in the thirteenth century,
where it inspired the cannon. At the same time, birth of pyrotechnics
occurred, probably by the fifteenth century. They were used in pageants and celebrations
throughout Europe. Fireworks as such probably arrived in the 14th century, brought back
from the East by Crusaders, and they rapidly became a form of international entertainment.
The first record of fireworks in England comes from the description
of the wedding of Henry VII in 1486. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I
fireworks became very popular. Queen Elizabeth created a "Fire Master of
England". James II knighted his firemaster.
Three basic gunpowder tools that still provide most
of the effects we see today were soon developed. First powder was
contained in a closed case. When the case is lit with a fuse a sudden
burning creates gas which explodes the container. This process created the
firecracker, the larger "salute," or bursting shells of an in aerial
displays.
Through packing powder into a tube
closed at only one end, hot gases, flame, and sparks rushed out the other.
This became a fountain of fire or squib. In fifteenth century in Florence
and Siena, large plaster figures which spewed fire from their eyes and mouths were
designed in this way. If the tube was reversed, expanding gas moved it
forward, creating a rocket.
Eventually a projectile was rammed down on top
of the powder in a closed end pipe. This became a gun or mortar the primary tool for
launching aerial fireworks today.
Once handmade throughout Europe and the United
States most fireworks are now imported from China.
In their beginnings fireworks were used as
theatrical effects during pageants involving dragons, giants, and enchanted islands.
Italians, first developed fireworks in Europe . Their favorite pyrotechnics were
elaborate facades called temples or machines which stood behind for the pyrotechnic
fountains, rockets, and Roman candles. These were popular for saints days and
religious celebrations. The eighteenth century is known as the golden age of
classical fireworks. In the early 1700s the Ruggieri brothers, moved from Bologna to
France to work at the court of Louis XV. Great performances were created at
Versailles. It was in Paris, that Thomas Jefferson first saw displays
created by the Ruggieris. It was also in the 18th century that fireworks were accompanied
by music. Handel is famous for his Royal Fireworks Music. Unfortunately the
firework display for which he composed the music was a disaster.
Fireworks came to the United States as
early as 1608. Capt. John Smith "fired a few rockets" in that year to
impress the natives at the Jamestown colony. During the Revolution John Adams,
wrote a letter to his wife, which predicted that the signing of the Declaration of
Independence would be always celebrated with "bonfires and illuminations from this
time forward forevermore." He was referring to the illumination of buildings and
public squares with candles in windows and on walls. But fireworks soon did
become a Fourth of July institution. Skyrockets were used in the celebrations at
Newport in 1781, and Boston had its first Independence Day fireworks display in
1805.
The modern science of pyrotechnics was established
by the 1700s. Shells, then known as balloons, burst making patterns of
fire, sparks, and darting "fisgigs." The caduceus was a rocket which went
into the sky leaving a spiral trail. Ground displays included fountains,
suns, and trees of flame. Rockets were created that leaped in and out of the
water in forms such as: dolphins and wheels that changed through as many
as fifteen patterns. An early text provides directions for making
"silver and gold raine". This was accomplished by filling thousands
of goose quills with powder and putting them into the head of a rocket.
Early classical fireworks lacked color.
Granulated charcoal left a trail of orange sparks. Iron filings would glow
white. Chemicals like amber would color flames with pastels. There were
no deep colors and colors on the whole were few in number.
Skyrockets were the most popular aspects of early
shows. Rockets hold their own fuel when they are launched into the
sky. When the fuel is exhausted, the rocket's "garniture" explodes.
This sets off reports, a spray of stars or serpents. But skyrockets are not often
used today. They must be lighter than shells shot from a gun, and they can not be
shot accurately. They also need long wooden shafts to keep on course, and these can
be dangerous when they fall.
Modern rich colors were invented the 1830s.
Ruggieri descendants first made stars using potassium chlorate.
This chemical makes the metal salts glow with distinctive colors. Copper
make blue, strontium red, barium green. Other colors are also
possible. Refined metals to would also help to brighten effects. This practice
started with magnesium which was used first in the 1860s. By 1900
powdered aluminum was used to create a cheap brightness. English pyrotechnician
Alan St. Hill Brock wrote: "Its advent opened a new era of the art."
At first Hand-firing was dangerous. The fuses burn
quickly, leave the shooter only a little time to get away before the explosion
. Shells can blow up before going high enough into the air. This is called a
"low break". Shells being prepared for loading have killed shooters when
they exploded ignited by sparks from other launches.
Rain has always been a problem. When it was about to
rain on the Fourth of July in 1876 upon a massive display planned for
Fairmont Park in Philadelphia to celebrate the nation's centennial shooters were forced to
start the show all at once:
"The whole range of fireworks, including temples, gigantic portraits of Washington,
mounds, volcanoes, stars, patriotic mottoes, pyramids, and other structures, all on
a scale never before seen in America, must be discharged at once or never discharged
at all." The show was still a success.
The re-enactment of battles in fireworks on
both land and sea was very popular in the 19th century. Fireworks with no scenery
whatever were also popular. Wooden and bamboo frames covered with pyrotechnic
and were called "Set Pieces". These included lances that
painted pictures in fire. The Brock family of England were famous for their
set pieces. In the 1880s important persons such as the king of the Maoris or
the Shah of Persia were treated to their own portraits eighty feet high in colored
fire. Once when a Brock piece did not fire properly a portrait of Queen
Victoria winked lewdly at the crowd!
English pyrotechnician Henry J. Pain
created historical scenes while in the United States. Pain built amphitheater
at Manhattan Beach, in Brooklyn in the area of Coney Island where the audience
could watch actors run in togas while a Mount Vesuvius erupted. In 1883,
a year after the British fleet had shelled Alexandria, Pain's audiences could
see the battle re-enacted in fireworks along with the drama created by 350
actors.
"Fired cannon, pop, and firecrackers all day.
In the evening had five skyrockets," wrote fifteen-year-old Robert
Goddard, of one fourth of July. Fireworks are not just for amusement but can
become inspiration- Goddard eventually became an important rocket scientist.
There have always been critics of fireworks.
In 1731 a Rhode Island law banned "the unnecessary firing of Guns, Pistols, squibs,
and other Fireworks." Today many agencies control the fireworks industry in the
United States: the Consumer Product Safety Commission; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms; the U.S. Department of Transportation; combine with the offices of countless
state and local regulators.
There have been fireworks accidents which have
created debate. In 1902 William Randolph Hearst, congressman from New York
City arranged a display at Madison Square to celebrate his election. A mortar tipped
over; and ten thousand shells blew up. Seventeen people were killed, one hundred
were injured and doors and windows were blown out.
As fireworks grew more popular in the 19th century
more and more people were injured. By the 1880s, the press was
criticizing "firecracker and torpedo patriotism." Restrictions were
soon imposed. The first city ban on private fireworks was passed in
Cleveland in 1908. In the Depression, Michigan lead the restriction of
fireworks. As soon as the 1950s, twenty-eight states had banned all consumer
fireworks. Fourteen other states also restricted firework use. Children
could still order fireworks by mail though, until legislation was passed in 1954.
In 1966 cherry bombs and ashcans, or M-80s, were
outlawed by federal law. In the 1970s the Consumer Product Safety Commission wanted
to ban all firecrackers. Chinese-Americans, who use firecrackers in religious and
cultural celebrations, protested and the commission gave in.
A compromise was reached which limited firecrackers to a finger-stinging fifty
milligrams of flash powder. The typical cherry bomb would contain about
thirty times as much.
Now Aerial shells are most popular in firework
shows. Shows have become faster and shorter. A forty-five-minute
display is now packed into twenty minutes. Shows that combined shells
with set pieces such as Niagara Falls, a tank battle, a chariot race were popular
until the 1960s. Set pieces are not as common because people must be placed further
from the displays due to safety regulations. The set piece of the flaming American
flag is now not as popular as it once was.
Modern innovations include shaped shells which make
hearts, peace symbols, and even "happy faces" all in the sky. The
"lampare," which is a gas bomb, explodes with a strange boom and becomes
a black and red fireball is popular. The development of Electric -firing has
made timing fireworks to music possible. Computers are being used to control firing.
One of the most important fireworks innovators is The Disney organization.
Disney may be the worlds leading consumer of fireworks. Compressed air
launching ignition via electronic chips is being used to create more precise
shows.
