The knowledge of gunpowder weapons were introduced to Javanese kingdom when Kublai Khan'sChinese army under the leadership of Ike Mese sought to invade Java in 1293. History of Yuan mentioned that the Mongol used cannons against Daha forces. Majapahit under MahapatihGajah Mada utilized gunpowder technology obtained from Yuan dynasty for use in naval fleet. One of the earliest reference to cannon and artillerymen in Java is from the year 1346. Javanese breech-loading swivel gun, the cetbang, was originally known as bedil, a word that denotes any gunpowder-based weapon. Pole gun was recorded as being used by Java in 1413. However the knowledge of making "true" firearms came much later than the usage of swivel guns, after the middle of 15th century. It was brought by the Islamic nations of West Asia, most probably the Arabs. The precise year of introduction is unknown, but it may be safely concluded to be no earlier than 1460. This resulted in the development of Java arquebus, which was also called a bedil. Portuguese influence to local weaponry, particularly after the capture of Malacca, resulted in a new type of hybrid tradition matchlock firearm, the istinggar. Portuguese and Spanish invaders were unpleasantly surprised and even outgunned on occasion. Duarte Barbosa recorded abundance of gunpowder-based weapons in Java ca. 1510. The Javanese were deemed as expert gun caster and good artillerymen. The weapon found there including one-pounder cannons, long muskets, spingarde, schioppi, Greek fire, guns, and other fire-works. When Malacca fell to the Portuguese in 1511 A.D., breech-loading swivel gun and muzzle-loading swivel gun were found and captured by the Portuguese. In the battle, the Malays were using cannons, matchlock guns, and "firing tubes". By early 16th century, the Javanese already locally-producing large guns, some of them still survived until the present day and dubbed as "sacred cannon" or "holy cannon". These cannons varied between 180-260-pounders, weighing anywhere between 3–8 tons, length of them between 3–6 m. Saltpeter harvesting was recorded by Dutch and German travelers as being common in even the smallest villages and was collected from the decomposition process of large dung hills specifically piled for the purpose. The Dutch punishment for possession of non-permitted gunpowder appears to have been amputation. Ownership and manufacture of gunpowder was later prohibited by the colonial Dutch occupiers. According to colonel McKenzie quoted in Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles', The History of Java, the purest sulfur was supplied from a crater from a mountain near the straits of Bali. For firearms using flintlock mechanism, the inhabitants of Nusantara archipelago is reliant on Western powers, as no local smith could produce such complex component. These flintlock firearms are completely different weapon and were known by another name, senapan or senapang, from Dutch word snappaan. The gun-making areas of Nusantara could make these senapan, the barrel and the wooden part is made locally, but the mechanism is imported from the European colonist.
