When the navies of Europe first started using guns on board ship, there was a dizzying array from which they could select. Sakers, minions, fowlers,falconets, and cannon, demi-cannon, culverins are just a few. There was also a range of shot that was used. Star, langridge, case, grape, round are some examples. From this early beginning, the navies eventually standardized the types of cannon and shot carried by the ships. From the multitude available, all became classified by the weight of the shot they could fire. Thus, any gun that fired a 3-lb. ball became a three pounder, 32-lb. balls became 32 pounders, etc. The wide range of shot available was also simplified. The most commonly used shot were ball, grape, and chain.

In the infancy of cannon-making, the larger guns were made with strips of metal, usually brass or bronze, laid around a core and bound by hoops. As gun foundries developed, they began to pour the molten metal around a spindle, laid in the midle of the mold. Then, in the early 1700's, the next step in gun founding was made. Johann Maritz, a Swiss gun founder, developed a method to cast the cannon as a solid piece and then cut the bore out. This method not only improved the inherent strength of the pieces, but also reduced the overall weight of the cannons.

As noted above, the early cannons were normally made of brass or bronze because the iron of the early days was not of the best quality. Also, iron was prone to pitting if not properly swabbed out between shots. Brass and bronze did not succumb to this defect. However, they were more expensive to use, being almost twice the cost of iron.

In addition to the cannons, the ships carried swivel guns. These small artillery pieces were mounted on the railings of the decks and even in the upper yards of the larger warships. Intended as anti-personnel weapons, swivel guns could fire either a solid shot, weighing between 1/2 lb up to 2 lbs, or an equivalent weight in grape shot. The deadly fire of these weapons were quite effective in warding off boarders and decimating the crews, especially those on the quarterdeck, of the enemy.

The type of shot used by the ships depended on what the intended target was to be. Round shot, the most common used, was a ball of iron (in the earliest days, stone). Primarily intended to penetrate the hulls of the enemy ships, the wood splinters they created would often be more deadly to the crew than almost anything else. Grape shot consisted of smaller balls held in a bag (like a shotgun shell), which would disintegrate upon firing. This was an anti-personnel load. The third primary type of ammunition was chain shot. This shot would consist of two balls connected by a chain. It was designed to destroy the rigging and sails of the opponent.