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Carrack


 
 



A carrack or nau was a three- or four-mastedMast (sailing)

The mast of a sailing ship is a tall vertical pole which supports the sails....
 sailingSailing

Sailing is the skillful art of controlling the motion of a sailing ship or sailboat, across a body of water....
 ship developed in the Mediterranean in the 15th century by the PortuguesePortugal

Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic is located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula, and is the w...
. It had a high rounded sternStern

The stern is the rear or after part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extendin...
 with an aftcastleAftcastle

An aftcastle is the upper deck of a sailing ship positioned behind the Mizzenmast....
 and a forecastleForecastle

Forecastle also spelled fo'c's'le originally meant the upper deck of a sailing ship, forward of the foremast....
 and bowspritBowsprit

The bowsprit, or boltsprit, of a sailing vessel is a pole extending forward from the vessel's prow....
 at the stem. It was square-rigged on the foremast and mainmast and lateenLateen

A lateen is a triangular sail set on a long yard mounted at an angle on the mast, and running in a fore-and-aft direction....
-riggedRigging

Rigging denotes how a boat is outfitted....
 on the mizzenmast.

Carracks were one of the first proper oceanOcean

Oceans cover almost three quarters of the surface of the Earth, and nearly half of the world's marine waters are over 3,00...
-going ships in EuropeEurope

Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth....
; large enough to be stable in heavy seas, and roomy enough to carry provisions for long voyages. They were the ships in which the PortuguesePortugal

Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic is located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula, and is the w...
 and the SpanishSpain

Spain, officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a European parliamentary monarchy....
 explored the world in the 15th and 16th centuries. In PortuguesePortuguese language

Portuguese is an Iberian Romance language, of the Indo-European family....
 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.

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 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. This fact would greatly assist the Portuguese in convincing non-compliant rulers like the Samoothiri RajaZamorin

    Zamorin is the anglicised version of Samoothirippadu or Samoothiri, a title of the rulers of the erstwhile Hindu sta...
     in Asia.


However, the large superstructures of these ships made them prone to toppling in strong winds.

Famous carracks

  • Great Michael, a Scottish ship, at one time the largest in Europe.
  • Mary RoseMary Rose Overview

    The Mary Rose was an English carrack and one of the first to be able to fire a full broadside of cannons....
    and Henri Grâce à Dieu — commissioned by Henry VIIIHenry VIII of England

    Henry VIII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 22 April 1509 until his death....
     - English military carracks like these were often called great shipGreat ship

    Name often given to English military carracks from 1400 onwards, particularly as built by Henry VIII....
    s.
  • Grace DieuFacts About Grace Dieu (ship)

    See Grace Dieu for other Grace-Dieu, especially nautical, or HMS Grace Dieu...
    — commissioned by Henry VHenry V of England

    Henry V of England was one of the great warrior kings of the middle ages....
  • Santa AnnaSanta Anna (ship)

    Santa Anna was an early 16th Century carrack of the Knights Hospitaller....
    — a particularly modern design commissioned by the Knights HospitallerFacts About Knights Hospitaller

    The Knights Hospitaller is a tradition which began as a Benedictine hospitaller religious order founded in Jerusalem, follo...
     in 1522 and sometimes hailed as the first armoured ship.
  • Madre de DeusMadre de Deus

    Madre de Deus was a Portuguese ship, renowned for her fabulous cargo, which stoked the English appetite for trade with t...
    — which was seized by the Navy RoyalFacts About Royal Navy

    The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services ....
     off Flores Island in 1592 with an enormously valuable cargo.
  • Santa CatarinaFacts About Santa Catarina (ship)

    Santa Catarina was a Portuguese carrack that was seized by the Dutch East India Company during February, 1603 off Singapore....
     — which was seized by the Dutch East India CompanyDutch East India Company

    The Dutch East India Company was established on March 20, 1602, when the Estates-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21...
     off SingaporeSingapore

    Singapore, formally the Republic of Singapore , is an island city-state and the smallest country in Southeast Asia....
     in 1603.
  • Santa MaríaSanta María (ship)

    The Santa Mar?a was the largest of the three ships used by Christopher Columbus in his first voyage across the Atlantic ...
     — in which Christopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus

    Christopher Columbus Italian Cristoforo Colombo; Spanish: Cristbal Coln was a navigator and an admiral for the Crow...
     made his voyage in 1492.
  • Santo António or St. Anthony, the personal property of King John of PortugalPortugal

    Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic is located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula, and is the w...
    , wrecked off GunwalloeGunwalloe

    Gunwalloe is a village and civil parish in the Kerrier district of Cornwall, United Kingdom....
     Bay in 1527, the salvage of whose cargo almost led to a war between Britain and Portugal.
  • VictoriaVictoria (ship)

    The Victoria was one of the five ships of Ferdinand Magellan....
     — the first ship to circumnavigate the globe, from 1519 to 1522. Five Spanish naos left the port of SevilleSeville Summary

    Seville is the artistic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain, irrigated by the river Guadalquivir...
     on 11 August 1519 with 243 men. Only the nao Victoria, commanded by Captains Ferdinand MagellanFerdinand Magellan

    Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese maritime explorer who, at the service of Spain, led the first successful attempt to sai...
     and Juan Sebastián ElcanoJuan Sebastián Elcano

    Juan Sebastin Elcano was a Spanish Basque explorer....
    , and with only 18 survivors, came back to the same port on 8 September 1522.

Carracks in Asia

From around 1515, Portugal had trade exchanges with GoaGoa

Goa is India's second smallest state in terms of area after Delhi and the fourth smallest in terms of population after Sikk...
 in IndiaIndia

India , officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia....
, consisting in 3 to 4 carracks leaving LisbonLisbon

Lisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal....
 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 MacauMacau

The Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China , commonly known as Macau or Macao is...
 in 1557, and their formal recognition as trade partners by the Chinese, the Portuguese Crown started to regulate trade to JapanJapan

is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of China, Korea, and Russia, stretching from...
, 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 galleonGalleon

A galleon was a large, multi-decked sailing ship used primarily by the nations of Europe from the 16th to 18th centuries....
.

Additional reading

  • Kirsch, Peter, The Galleon (1990), Conway Maritime Press, ISBN 0-85177-546-2

External links