Prior to the industrial revolution, how did rulers have the industrial capacity to arm all their forces?

by Ecomism

I’m thinking especially after the introduction of gunpowder. Something like the Napoleonic wars must have had more than a million armed men fighting at one time. Where did the guns come from?

Were there quasi-factories set up? If not, was each gun created by a craftsman? That seems very inconsistent. Obviously though this question is general enough that it can apply to any era, it’s something that’s always bothered me.

DanKensington

More can always be said on this matter, especially since the linked answer only covers one country and is a general overview, so a closer look at the matter will be quite welcome.

While we wait for that, u/PartyMoses has a general view on how England did it, also touching a bit on France.