Longbowman (Age of Empires III)

The Longbowman is a ranged infantry unit unique to the British in Age of Empires III.

Overview
Archaic, yet effective warriors; British Longbowmen possess powerful long range attack and fast rate of fire. However this makes these skilled archers more expensive. They have a range of 22 (26 with Yeomen HC shipment), giving them the second longest range of any infantry in the game (only the Aztec Arrow Knight has a longer range at 30).

As they are an archaic unit like the Crossbowmen and Pikemen, they cannot be upgraded beyond Veteran level unless the Yeomen Home City card is sent. The card unlocks the Guard and Imperial levels for this unit.

Basically longer ranged alternatives to rifle-wielding Skirmishers, Longbowmen are effective against enemy infantry units such as the Musketeers and Melee Infantry, but lose to melee cavalry and artillery units. Properly guarded by Redcoat Musketeers, the bowmen can inflict major damage on enemy troops from afar.

History
"Used from the Neolithic Age up to middle of the seventeenth century, the bow fell out of use as early firearms and crossbows eclipsed them. Even though a good longbowman could fire an arrow every five seconds and volleys of arrows darkened the sky, eventually the savings in speed and time to manufacture firearms and train soldiers in their use outweighed the superior range and rate of fire of longbows. Add to this that rulers wanted to be on the cutting edge of warfare technologies so their armies would seem relevant and fashionable, and the longbow's days were numbered. The Welsh longbow, which the English longbow is based on, was a yew staff of about six feet with a string of plant fibers or silk. It could take between two and four years to make a proper longbow, and a lifetime of practice to train a longbowman."