A caravel is a small, highly maneuverable sailing ship developed in
the 15th century by the Portuguese to explore along the West African coast and
into the Atlantic Ocean. The lateen sails gave her speed and the capacity
for sailing to windward. Caravels were used by the Portuguese for the oceanic
exploration voyages during the 15th and 16th centuries in the Age of Discovery.
History Until the 15th century, Europeans were
limited to coastal cabotage navigation using the barge or the balinger, ancient
cargo vessels of the Mediterranean Sea of around 50 to 200 tons. These boats
were fragile, with only one mast with a fixed square sails that could not
overcome the navigational difficulties of southward oceanic exploration, as the
strong winds, shoals and strong ocean currents easily overwhelmed their
abilities. The caravel was developed in about 1451,
based on existing fishing boats under the sponsorship of Henry the Navigator
of Portugal, and soon became the preferred vessel for Portuguese
explorers like Bartolomeu Dias, Vasco da Gama or Ferdinand Magellan. Its name may
derive from an ancient boat type known as carabus in Latin and καραβος in
Greek, later adopted into Arabic as qārib, indicating some continuity of its
carvel build through the ages. They were agile and easier to navigate, with a
tonnage of 50 to 160 tons and 1 to 3 masts, with lateen triangular sails
allowing beating. Being smaller and having a shallow keel,
the caravel could sail upriver in shallow coastal waters. With the lateen
sails attached, it was highly maneuverable and could sail much nearer
the wind, while with the square Atlantic-type sails attached, it was
very fast. Its economy, speed, agility, and power made it esteemed as the best
sailing vessel of its time. The limited capacity for cargo and crew were their
main drawbacks, but did not hinder its success.
The exploration done with caravels made the spice trade of the Portuguese and
the Spanish possible. However, for the trade itself, the caravel was later
replaced by the larger carrack, which was more profitable for trading. The
caravel was one of the pinnacle ships in Iberian ship development from 1400–1600.
Design Due to its lighter weight and thus
greater speed, the caravel was a boon to sailors. Early caravels generally
carried two or three masts with lateen sails, while later types had four masts.
Early caravels such as the caravela tilhada of the 15th century had an
average length of between 12 and 18 m, an average capacity of 40 to 50 tons, a
high length-to-beam ratio of around 3.5 to 1, and narrow ellipsoidal frame,
making them very fast and maneuverable but with somewhat low capacity. Towards
the end of the 15th century, the caravel was occasionally modified by giving it
the same rig as a nau with a foresail, square mainsail and lateen mizzen, but
not the carrack's high forecastle or much of a sternpalace, which would make
it unweatherly. In this form it was sometimes known as caravela redonda. It
was in such ships that Christopher Columbus set out on his expedition in
1492; Santa María was a ~100 ton nau which served as the flagship and the
Pinta and Niña were smaller caravels of around 15–20 m with a beam of 6 m and
displacing around 60-75 tons. In the transition to the 16th century,
the Portuguese created a specialized fighting ship also called the caravela
redonda or square-rigged caravel to act as an escort in Brazil and in the Indies
route. It had a foremast with square sails and three other masts with a
lateen each, for a total of 4 masts. The hull was galleon-shaped, and it is
considered a forerunner of the fighting galleon. The Portuguese man o' war was
named after the appearance of the man-of-war, which were in use until the
17th century. See also
Iberian ship development, 1400–1600 Notorious - a replica caravel in
Australia References
External links [1] The History and Development of
Caravels - A Thesis - George Robert Schwarz, B.A., University of Cincinnati,
Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Luis Filipe Vieira de Castro, May 2008
Museu da Marinha Museu da Marinha, fac-similes,
Instituto Camões. Caravela Durchbruch am Kap des Schreckens dir.
Axel Engstfeld, Germany 2002, 52m. ZDF