Historically important mechanical system. This was the snapping lock on the muskets, of Bohemian or South German origin, sold to the Portuguese Crown late in the 15th cent., and which were refined by artisans at the arsenal at Goa (India), mainly by replacement of the button by a hanging trigger fitted into a mortise in the stock. This was the matchlock that was introduced to and which became the standard system in practically all of Southeast Asia, Japan, Korea, and much of China (where it competed with the internal lever-actuated lock which was favored in Mughal India as well).
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