All Topics  
Xebec

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Xebec
 
 
  Topics Xebec Topic Home

A xebec ( or ), also spelt zebec, was a Mediterranean sea sailing ship that was used mostly for trading. It would have a long overhanging bowsprit and protruding mizzenmast. It also can refer to a small, fast vessel of the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries, used almost exclusively in the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea or Ocean off the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia....
.
cs were similar to galleys used by Berber
Berber people

Berbers are the indigenous ethnic groups of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are discontinuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River....
 corsair
Corsair

Corsairs were French privateers from the north-western French port of Saint-Malo, located on the northern coast of Brittany. Since the corsairs gained a swashbuckling reputation, the word corsair is also used generically as a more romantic or flamboyant version of the word privateer, or even of the word pirate....
s and Barbary pirates having both lateen sails and oars for propulsion.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Xebec'
Start a new discussion about 'Xebec'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


A xebec ( or ), also spelt zebec, was a Mediterranean sea sailing ship that was used mostly for trading. It would have a long overhanging bowsprit and protruding mizzenmast. It also can refer to a small, fast vessel of the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries, used almost exclusively in the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea or Ocean off the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia....
.
Sail Plan Xebec

Description

Xebecs were similar to galleys used by Berber
Berber people

Berbers are the indigenous ethnic groups of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are discontinuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River....
 corsair
Corsair

Corsairs were French privateers from the north-western French port of Saint-Malo, located on the northern coast of Brittany. Since the corsairs gained a swashbuckling reputation, the word corsair is also used generically as a more romantic or flamboyant version of the word privateer, or even of the word pirate....
s and Barbary pirates having both lateen sails and oars for propulsion. Early xebecs had two mast
Mast (sailing)

The mast of a sailing ship is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship....
s; later ones three. Xebecs featured a distinctive hull
Hull (watercraft)

A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. It is a central concept in floating vessels as it provides the buoyancy that keeps the vessel from sinking....
 with pronounced overhanging bow
Bow (ship)

The bow is a List of nautical terms that refers to the forward part of the hull of a ship or boat, the point that is most forward when the vessel is underway....
 and stern
Stern

The stern is the rear or aft part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter to the taffrail....
, and rarely displaced
Displacement (fluid)

In fluid mechanics, displacement occurs when an object is immersed in a fluid, pushing it out of the way and taking its place. The volume of the fluid displaced can then be measured, as in the illustration, and from this the volume of the immersed object can be deduced ....
 more than 200 ton
Tonnage

Tonnage is a measure of the size or cargo capacity of a ship. The term derives from the taxation paid on tuns of wine, and was later used in reference to the weight of a ship's cargo; however, in modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically refers to a calculation of the volume or cargo volume of a ship....
s, making them slightly smaller and with slightly fewer guns than frigate
Frigate

A frigate is a warship. The term has been used for warships of many sizes and roles over the past few centuries.In the 18th century, the term referred to ships which were as long as a ship-of-the-line and were square rig on all three masts , but were faster and with lighter armament, used for patrolling and escort....
s of the period.

Notable Xebecs of the French Navy include:
  • Ruse, 160 tons, 18 guns, 1750
  • Serpent, 160 tons burthen, 18 guns, 1750
  • Le Requin, 260 tons burthen, 24 guns, 1750
  • Indiscret, 260 tons burthen, 24 guns, 1750


In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, a large polacre-xebec carried a square rig
Square rig

Square rig is a generic type of Sail-plan in which the primary driving sails are carried on horizontal spars which are perpendicular, or , to the keel of the vessel and to the masts....
 on the foremast, lateen
Lateen

A lateen or latin-rig is a triangular sail set on a long Yard mounted at an angle on the mast , and running in a fore-and-aft direction....
 sail
Sail

A sail is any type of surface intended to generate thrust by being placed in a wind—in essence a vertically-oriented wing. Sails are used in sailing....
s on the other masts, a bowsprit
Bowsprit

The bowsprit, or boltsprit, of a sailing vessel is a pole extending forward from the vessel's prow. It provides an anchor point for the forestay, allowing the mast to be stepped further forward on the hull....
, and two headsail
Headsail

A headsail of a sailing vessel is any sail set forward of the foremost mast . The most common headsails are the jib and its larger cousin the genoa , but there are a large number of others, such as the staysail....
s. The square sail distinguished this form of a xebec from that of a felucca
Felucca

A felucca is a traditional wooden sailing boat used in protected waters of the Red Sea and eastern Mediterranean including Malta, and particularly along the Nile in Egypt....
 which is equipped solely with lateen
Lateen

A lateen or latin-rig is a triangular sail set on a long Yard mounted at an angle on the mast , and running in a fore-and-aft direction....
 sails. The last of the xebecs in use by European navies were fully square-rigged and were termed xebec-frigates.

Sea-going Mediterranean peoples greatly favoured xebecs as corsairs, and for this purpose built them with a narrow floor to achieve a higher speed than their victims, but with a considerable beam
Beam (nautical)

The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point, or at the mid-point of its length. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position....
 in order to enable them to carry an extensive sail-plan
Sail-plan

A sail-plan is a set of drawings, usually prepared by a Naval Architecture. It shows the various combinations of sail proposed for a sailing ship....
. The lateen
Lateen

A lateen or latin-rig is a triangular sail set on a long Yard mounted at an angle on the mast , and running in a fore-and-aft direction....
 rig of the xebec allowed for the ship to sail close hauled to the wind often giving it an advantage in pursuit or escape. The use of oars or sweeps allowed the xebec to approach vessels who were becalmed. When used as corsairs they carried a crew of 300 to 400 men and mounted perhaps 16 to 40 guns according to size. In peacetime operations, the xebec could transport merchandise.

Etymology


Xebec is also written as xebeck, xebe(c)que, zebec(k), zebecque, chebec, shebeck ; from Catalan:
Catalan language

Catalan is a Romance languages, the national language and official language of Andorra, and a official language in the Autonomous Communities of Spain of the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencian Community and in the city of Alghero in the Italy List of islands in the Mediterranean of Sardinia....
 xebec, , , , , , and ) Words similar in form and meaning to xebec occur in Catalan, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Arabic and Turkish. The Online Etymology Dictionary
Online Etymology Dictionary

The Online Etymology Dictionary is a dictionary that describes the etymology English language words. The abbreviation, OED , coincides with the frequently used acronym for the Oxford English Dictionary, a coincidence unlikely to be lost on etymologists....
 regards the Arabic
Arabic language

Arabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages languages such as Hebrew language and Aramaic language....
 shabbak (meaning "a small warship
Warship

A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way than cargo ship....
") as the source form, however the Arabic root means 'a net', implying the word originally referred to a fishing boat.

The Spanish jabeque had only lateen sails, as portrayed in the Cazador. This ship was built and used by the Spanish crown in the mid eighteenth century to fight Algeria
Algeria

Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country located in North Africa. It is the largest country of the Mediterranean sea, second largest in the Arab World, and the second largest on the African continent and the eleventh-largest country in the world in terms of land area....
n corsairs (privateers) in the Mediterranean Sea. Algerian Berber
Berber people

Berbers are the indigenous ethnic groups of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are discontinuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River....
 corsairs also used three-lateen-sail xebecs in their raids on Mediterranean trade.

See also

USS Champion (1777)
USS Champion (1777)

The Continental Navy xebec, Champion, commanded by Captain James Josiah, served in the Delaware River in a force composed of ships of the Continental and Pennsylvania Navy during the American Revolution....


External links

  • High resolution photos of a model of an eighteenth century xebec