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Carrack
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A carrack or nau was a three- or four-masted sailing ship developed in the Atlantic Ocean in the 15th century by the Portuguese. It had a high rounded stern with an aftcastle and a forecastle and bowsprit at the stem. It was square-rigged on the foremast and mainmast and lateen-rigged on the mizzenmast.
Carracks were the first proper ocean-going ships in Europe: large enough to be stable in heavy seas, and roomy enough to carry provisions for long voyages.
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Encyclopedia
A carrack or nau was a three- or four-masted sailing ship developed in the Atlantic Ocean in the 15th century by the Portuguese. It had a high rounded stern with an aftcastle and a forecastle and bowsprit at the stem. It was square-rigged on the foremast and mainmast and lateen-rigged on the mizzenmast.
Carracks were the first proper ocean-going ships in Europe: large enough to be stable in heavy seas, and roomy enough to carry provisions for long voyages. They were the ships in which the Portuguese and the Spanish explored the world in the 15th and 16th centuries. In Portuguese this type was called nau, while in Spanish it is called carraca or nao (both of which meant simply "ship"). In French it was caraque, caravelle or nef.
Early origins
By the late Middle ages the cog and cog like two masted vessels, were widely used along the coasts of Europe, particularly in the Atlantic, but also in the Mediterranean. Given the conditions of the Mediterrenean, but not exclusively restricted to it, galley type vessels were extensively used there, as were various two masted vessels. These and similar ship types were familiar to Portuguese navigators and shipwrights. As the Portuguese gradually extended their explorations and trade ever further south along Africa's Atlantic coast during the 15th century they needed a larger and more advanced ship for their long oceanic adventures. Gradually, they developed the carrack
from a fusion and modification of aspects of the ship types they knew operating in both the Atlantic and Mediterranean.
Advantages
The carrack was the choice high seas beast of burden and has been described as the 'perfected transport ship'.
- It offered the space for crew, provisions and also cargo.
- They were virtually impregnable to attack from small craft, which was often a problem in the East Indies.
- Their ability to carry cargo and provisions made them independent of ports en route, and so they had a longer range using the most efficient route.
- The combination of four sails and advanced rigging allowed for a fair degree of flexibility—the large square sails provided propulsion, but were reduced in size during storms. The smaller sails at bow and stern allowed for maneuvering, and the lateen sails allowed for sailing across the wind.
- The stable deck allowed for placement of guns, thus making the vessel an effective gun platform, as was demonstrated at the Battle of Diu (1509). This fact would greatly assist the Portuguese in convincing non-compliant rulers like the Samoothiri Raja in Asia to trade with them; allowing the Portuguese to break into established trade monopolies. It also gave effective protection against pirates.
However, the large superstructures of these ships made them prone to toppling in strong winds.
Famous carracks
Carracks in Asia
From around 1515, Portugal had trade exchanges with Goa in India, consisting of 3 to 4 carracks leaving Lisbon with silver to purchase cotton and spices in India. Out of these, only one carrack went on to China in order to purchase silk, also in exchange for Portuguese silver.
From the time of the acquisition of Macau in 1557, and their formal recognition as trade partners by the Chinese, the Portuguese Crown started to regulate trade to Japan, by selling to the highest bidder the annual "Captaincy" to Japan, in effect conferring exclusive trading rights for a single carrack bound for Japan every year. That trade continued with few interruptions until 1638, when it was prohibited on the ground that the ships were smuggling priests into Japan.
During the 16th century the carrack developed into the galleon.
Additional reading
- Kirsch, Peter, The Galleon (1990), Conway Maritime Press, ISBN 0-85177-546-2
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