Caravel

A caravel (Portuguese: caravela, IPA: [kvl]) 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 it speed and
the capacity for sailing windward (beating). Caravels were used by the
Portuguese for the oceanic exploration voyages during the 15th and 16th
centuries in the Age of Discovery.
Until the 15th century, Europeans were limited to coastal navigation using the
barge or the balinger (barinel), ancient cargo vessels of the Mediterranean Sea
with a capacity of around 50 to 200 tons. These boats were fragile, with only one
mast with a fixed square sail 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 Diogo Co, Bartolomeu Dias or
Gaspar and Miguel Corte-Real, and by Christopher Columbus. Its name may
derive from an ancient boat type known as carabus in Latin and in
Greek, later adopted into Arabic as qrib, indicating some continuity of its carvel
build through the ages.[2] They were agile and easier to navigate than the barca
and barinel, with a tonnage of 50 to 160 tons and 1 to 3 masts, with lateen
triangular sails allowing beating.

Various types of Caravels (1892). In fact all central types and some lateral show
technically, naos or naus, with caravels examples mostly on the left edge of the
illustration
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 (nau), which was more profitable for trading. The caravel
was one of the pinnacle ships in Iberian ship development from 14001600.
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 (39 and 59 ft), an
average capacity of 40 to 50 tons,[3] a high length-to-beam ratio of around 3.5 to
1, and narrow ellipsoidal frame (unlike the circular frame of the nau), 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 (a bulging
square sail is said to be round, redonda, in the Iberian tradition). It was in such
ships that Christopher Columbus set out on his expedition in 1492; Santa Mara
was a ~100 ton nau which served as the flagship and the Pinta and Nia were
smaller caravels of around 1520 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 (also
caravela de armada) 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.