Side-by-Side Self-Priming Pellet-Lock Shotgun 1810 - 1860

This is a Side-by-Side Self-Priming Pellet-Lock Shotgun, created by Joseph Egg, an English gunsmith, in the late 18th or early 19th century. It embodies a crucial moment when advancements in firearm technology intersected with the expansion of European empires and their colonial ambitions. The shotgun represents not just technological innovation but also the shifting power dynamics of the era. It’s a tool of conquest, reflecting the violence inherent in colonialism and the subjugation of indigenous populations. How did technological advancements like this one impact the relationship between colonizers and the colonized? We can also consider the economics intertwined with the production of such weapons. What resources were extracted and what labor was exploited to produce them? The gun represents a complex web of social, economic, and political factors that shaped the world we inhabit today. It is a reminder that objects can carry within them a profound history of human experience, inequality, and struggle.