You are correct, The first standard-issue, British-made rifle accepted by the British armed forces, the Baker Rifle was first produced in 1800 by Ezekiel Baker, a master gunsmith from Whitechapel in East London. The British Army was still issuing the Infantry Rifle in the 1830s. You can see all of the weaponry of that era at Sharpe's Weapons.
Most of the time, I consider that poor storytelling and a lack of creativity. Not having an idea and taking the easy route. Not everything has to be original and walking a new path, but too many of these programs lack ideas. The basic "where am I, and where do I want to go with it?" isn't a priority. They have months and months in-between seasons, yet they feel like they were thrown together in the field. Paint by numbers. TV Making for Dummies. And as you said, pandering to tropes. Murder mysteries are the worst, but these fantasy shows love to go the safe route as well. The fact that some of these brain dead programs have aftershows makes me laugh. Trying to philosophize and go deep into character motivations, while nothing about the storytelling begs for that level of dive. Uh, that was stupid, and now you're trying to spend an hour explaining it?
Ken Burn’s The Tenth Inning on PBS.
