Caravel (ship)
The caravel was a small, fast sailing ship that gained prominence during the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries. Known for its maneuverability and innovative sail-rigging design, the caravel was instrumental in many significant exploratory voyages, particularly by Portuguese navigators. Although no physical examples of caravels have survived, they are well-documented in historical records. The ship typically ranged from 40 to 75 feet in length and could weigh from 50 to 200 tons, depending on its design adaptations for longer voyages.
Caravels were characterized by their rounded hulls, which allowed for increased cargo space, and they could be rigged with either triangular lateen sails for tacking or square sails for speed on open waters. Typically manned by fewer than thirty crew members, these vessels were often used not only for exploration but also for trade and piracy. Notable figures like Prince Henry the Navigator and Christopher Columbus are associated with caravels, which are regarded as among the best ships of their time. Their development marked a significant advancement in maritime technology, facilitating extensive travel and trade in the early modern period.
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Caravel (ship)
The caravel was a sailing ship that achieved great popularity during the Age of Discovery in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Caravels were relatively small, which made them fast and maneuverable. They also had a sail-rigging design that enabled them to take advantage of wind currents more than many other ships. Many of the important voyages of discovery during this time were made in caravels. However, no actual examples of caravels have been found, and they are remarkably absent from contemporary images of the time. Despite this, written records from that era make it clear that caravels made a significant impact on history.
Background
The origin of the caravel is uncertain. During the thirteenth century, a ship called a caravel existed along the Iberian Peninsula, where it was used for coastal fishing. However, it is unclear whether its design resembled the sailing ship used two centuries later. Written records indicate that before this, ships that resembled caravels were used by Muslim fishermen. Like caravels, these ships were prized for their speed, maneuverability, and adaptability. Some scholars think that these ships inspired the design of the caravel and the name is derived from the Muslim name, qârib. Others think the name had other origins. Some try to trace the name to the Italian words cara bella as a reference to the caravel's beautiful design and grace under sail. No consensus has been reached as to the origin of the caravel as of the twenty-first century, however. Similarly, no one is certain exactly what a caravel looked like.
Overview
Shipbuilding during the heyday of the caravel was a highly skilled art. No blueprints or set designs existed to make any ship; the entire design was in the shipbuilder's head. Because of this, no written plans exist to be found by later generations, and it was relatively rare for two ships to be exactly alike unless the shipbuilder specifically intended it to be that way. As a result, all ships from that time fell into certain general categories, with a fair amount of room for creativity on the shipbuilder's part.
The caravel was no different. Shipbuilders followed some general rules for design but written records indicate that there were differences in the exact dimensions and how the sails were rigged. Caravels were generally smaller than the larger carracks used as warships and were used by the Portuguese for the earliest voyages during the golden age of exploring. They were about forty to sixty feet long, although they could be as long as seventy-five feet. Initially they weighed about fifty tons, but as longer voyages were planned, the ships were adapted and increased in size until some weighed about two hundred tons.
Caravels had a raised area in the rear (stern) that was known as the sterncastle. A few had a raised area in the middle or near the front of the ship, but this was not the norm. Caravels generally had two or three masts but could have as many as four. These masts supported either square sails or triangular lateen sails. This ability to use different sails made the caravel especially versatile, as the lateen sails could be used for zig-zag sailing into the wind while the square sails allowed the ship to take advantage of full wind in the open seas. While their usual cruising speed was about four knots, or about one hundred miles per day, the caravel was capable of reaching speeds of eight knots.
Caravels usually carried a crew of fewer than thirty along with an assortment of animals used for food and trade, supplies of food and water, and whatever cargo the ship might be transporting. Although the ship's rounded bottom provided more room than would normally be expected for a ship of the same size, the hull was often crowded with animals supported in slings, so the ship's movement did not hurt them. Loose cargo also had a tendency to slide around. As a result, the crew often slept on deck exposed to the elements until voyages to the New World exposed them to the hammocks used by native tribes. Ship crews quickly adapted this idea and hung hammocks below deck above the animals and cargo for protected sleeping.
The size, speed, and adaptability of the caravel made it one of the preferred vessels for many voyages of various lengths during the Age of Discovery. Caravels were also used for other purposes; most notably, pirates stole them and then used them as their own sailing vessels. Overall, caravels were a key factor in the travel and trade that occurred throughout the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and beyond.
Famous Caravel Travels
Caravels are most closely associated with the Portuguese explorers of the Renaissance era. One such adventurer was Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal (1394–1460), who chose a caravel over the larger ships often used for such journeys when he sailed to the West African coast in the 1440s. At the time, however, the caravel's design still used only the triangular lateen sails, which required a larger crew to maintain.
Eventually, ship captains corrected this problem by adapting at least some of the masts to accommodate the square sails, which required fewer men to use and provided greater speed on open water. It is believed that Christopher Columbus's (c.1451–1506) ships the Nina and the Pinta were caravels that were rigged for square sails. As these and other journeys were undertaken, captains worked with shipbuilders to improve the caravel until it was larger and better equipped but still small enough to be fast and maneuverable. It was considered by many to be the best sailing ship of its time.
Bibliography
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