1480 to 1750: The Age of Exploration and Exploitation
The Caravel
The caravel was a small ship made of the common beachwood found on the shores of Europe. These ships had three masts, the mizzen carrying a lateen sail, while the fore and main were square rigged. Larger ones had a square rigged foremast, while the main, mizzen, and bonaventure were lateen rigged. Christopher Columbus' Pinta and Nina were caravels. Also, Vasco Da Gama and other Portuguese explorers used the caravel to reach India via the Cape of Good Hope. John Cabot's ship Mattew was alos a caravel. Magellan had a caravel in his posession when he commanded the first circumnavagation. Caravels were capable ships and perfect for those first voyages out from the shores of Europe by Spain, Portugal, and England. They were faster than many other ships, but carried few guns. They were essentially merchant ships ranging from 60 to 200 tons.
The Carrack
Carracks were similar in rig to the caravel. These ships usually had the same sail arrangements as a Caravel, but with the addition of a spritsail on the bowsprit, and a topsail on the main mast. Carracks were also quite larger. The Portuguese were well known around the world for their huge, if unseaworthy, carracks. In Japan, Portuguese carracks were known as 'black ships', because of the black tar that covered their sides. The fore and after castles on these ships extended much higher than they needed to be, causing them to tip over in strong winds. Columbus' Santa Maria was a small carrack. The advent of the galleon made the carrack obsolete.
The Pinnace
In the seventeenth century, the Caribbean was a major trade center. Many different ships were designed and built there and one of the smallest types was the pinnace. It usually carried one to three masts rigged with lateen sails. They were fast and had a shallow draft for entering shallow harbors, but their cargo space was extremely small. These pinnaces were often only used by merchants and were targets for many pirates.Sloop
The sloop was a small craft with almost yacht characteristics. These ships had one mast, being square rigged with a gaff-spanker and jibs. Eventually, the speed of these ships brought an entire fleet, used to hunt down pirates in the late 17th century.
The Barque
Seemigly a greatly generalized term, the word 'barque' applies to a number of small merchant and coastal vessels. These ships range from fully lateen rigged to square rigged ships. These ships usually did not exceed 300 tons, and sometimes had oars to propell them through poor winds or into the eye of the wind.
The Xebec (Chebec, Zebec)
The xebec was a Mediterranean ship used by Corsairs during the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries. It was very similar to the galley, as it had a long and narrow hull with overhanging sections at the bow and stern. This ship type was usually rigged in lateen fashion, with the fore and mizzen masts being raked to the bow and stern respectively.
The Flute
A very well specified ship, flutes had the hull qualities of the smaller ships (a shallow draft), but had more cargo space and were square rigged with a lateen sail on the mizzen. Though these ships had more space, they lacked oars so going into the wind brought them to a halt. The Dutch used these ships commonly, and the English did aswell, only to a lesser extent. Flutes were common in the Caribbean, Dutch coastal waters, and the ports of Britain. It was a very popular ship type.
The Frigate
A light, fast, but heavily armed warship used by all European nations. Square rigged as was the sail arrangement of most ships of its size, making it a fast and formidable opponent in battle. These ships usually sailed alone but when ever pirates spotted them, the pirates would fade into the distance. Such ships had the quality of being faster than anything more heavily armed, and more heavily armed than anything faster. 20 to 30 guns was the usual weapons compliment of frigates in this age.
The English Galleon
An English version of the Spanish galleon, this type of ship was used by Sir Frances Drake. Due to the better gunnery and sailing skills of the English, along with having the advantage of poor weather unto the Spanish, Philip II's Armada failed its task. The Spanish Armada, of a said 150 ships, mainly Spanish galleons (64), fought a force of 197 to the English flag. The English ships were faster than the average galleon but lightly armed and more maneuverable. They were also more seaworthy, because they were not as top-heavy. The Golden Hind, in which there is a recreation of in London, is an excellent example. The Revenge was the pinnicle of this ship development, and was a favorite of many important figures during the events of 1588.
The War Galleon
These ships were were rigged as a galleon but with more cannon. They were mainly used as convoy escorts by the Spanish to protect their valuable treasure fleets crossing the Atlantic from privateers and pirates. Such ships were the fore-runner of the man'o'war, along with the early 'great ships'.
The Spanish Galleon
The most heavily armed and largest merchant vessel of the period, they were cumbersome and slow. Such ships were employed by Spanish Treasure Fleets that carried gold, silver, and jewels from the Caribbean to Spain. They often had a large compliment of guns and crews to protect them if they were ever let a-stray from the fleet. Much of the Spanish Armada was made up of such ships, totalling 64 galleons. The average galleon carried a spritsail, top and course on the fore mast, top and main on the main mast, and lateen rigged mizzen and bonaventure. These ships had reduced upper superstructure, making them seaworthy enough to travel the globe. They best sailed with the main course furled.
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