I'm looking for more portable/handheld weapons than cannons and catapults. Not necessarily guns, but that and bows and arrows are all I can think of that's portable enough for an individual to carry around (I should mention that my small group of aristocrats are by themselves, and not always together, either.) The pirates can probably have heavier stuff on their ship, but I was still looking for something more mobile for them to carry around. I wouldn't mind inventing a new type of weapon, period.

Ooh, thanks for the war reference! Now I've got something to get me started, at least.

ETA: I do believe I was thinking of the late Victorian period, so the German Unification War would fit perfectly, as far as timing.