Glossary · Term · weapon
Maxim gun
The Maxim gun was the first fully automatic machine gun, invented by Hiram Maxim in the 1880s. It gave European colonial forces overwhelming firepower over African armies. British forces used it in the conquest of the Sokoto Caliphate, where defenders had no answer to its fire.
Mentioned in 2 profiles
See also
Cite this entry
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Maxim gun. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/maxim-gun
- MLA
- “Maxim gun.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/maxim-gun. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Maxim gun.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/maxim-gun.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Maxim gun’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/maxim-gun (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻