Search Results: Caravel

The caravel (caravela in Spanish and Portuguese), was a type of medium-sized ship which, with its low draught and lateen or triangular sails, made it ideal for exploration from the 15th century onwards. Fast, manoeuvrable, and only needing...

Prince Henry the Navigator (aka Infante Dom Henrique, 1394-1460) was a Portuguese prince who famously helped capture the North African city of Ceuta, sponsored voyages of exploration with the aim of building colonies in the North Atlantic...

A detail of a caravel ship belonging to a fleet under the command of João Serrão. From the 1566 Livro das Armadas (Academy of Sciences, Lisbon)

The galleon (Spanish: galeón, French: galion) was a type of sailing ship used for both cargo carrying and as a warship. Galleons dominated the seas in the second half of the 16th century, and with their lower superstructures, they were much...

A model of a 15th-century Portuguese caravel with lateen sails. The caravel was an important element of Portugal's ambitions to build an empire. (National Maritime Museum, Paris)

The full-size replica of John Cabot's ship the Mathew (also spelt Matthew) on which he sailed to the eastern coast of Canada in 1497 CE. The ship was a caravel, the maritime workhorse of the Age of Exploration.

The carrack (nao in Spanish, nau in Portuguese, and nef in French) was a type of large sailing vessel used for exploration, to carry cargo and as a warship in the 15th and 16th centuries. Famous carracks include the Santa Maria of Christopher...

John Cabot (aka Giovanni Caboto, c. 1450 - c. 1498 CE) was an Italian explorer who famously visited the eastern coast of Canada in 1497 CE and 1498 CE in his ship the Mathew (also spelt Matthew). Sponsored by Henry VII of England (r. 1485-1509...

This infographic illustrates five notable ships from the Age of Exploration, a period during the 15th and 16th centuries when European powers sought new trade routes, territories, and knowledge of the world. Several notable ships played key...

A map of the world drawn by Juan de la Cosa (c. 1450-1510). Made in 1500 on leather-backed parchment. (National Naval Museum of Madrid)