When I read about early firearms (17th, 18th, even early 19th century), they don’t seem that useful or game changing. They had poor accuracy, limited range and could only be fired a few times a minute at most. It almost seems like bow and arrow would be superior, especially the kind devastating armies like the Mongols used.

Yet when gunpowder armies met traditional armies, the result was usually slaughter. So how much better were early firearms than traditional weapons such as bows, swords or spears?