Cannons.

A cannon is defined as any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other explosive-based propellants to launch a projectile. They can be found in history as useful weapons many countries used during wars.

Cannons are generally prepared by placing gunpowder into the primer tube. The amount of powder would be adjusted depending on the distance of the target, the size of the cannon and the type of projectile being used.

A friction primer is used to ignite the gunpowder and is a hollow tube that fits into the vent hole. It has an opening that allows a serrated wire to be inserted inside. The wire has a loop on it where a piece of rope is attached and when it is time to fire, the rope on the friction primer is pulled. Then the serrated wire creates enough heat to ignite the gunpowder in the primer tube and ultimately create an explosion that would expel the projectile.

For furthur information on how a cannon works, check it out:
http://www.nps.gov/archive/fosu/2_History/how_cannon_works.pdf