Caravel - a ship of explorers and adventurers
And if the material was interesting,
Our explorer triumphed,
And the pencil ran quickly in the book.
D. S. Merezhkovsky. Faith
We have already learned what advantages the caravel acquired thanks to lateen sails, shallow draft, and great maneuverability. But this was not enough for long trips into unknown waters.
The long journey required large quantities of drinking water. And for this it was necessary to either scout out in advance the sources of fresh water on the shore available along the route, or have the required supply of drinking water with you.
A long voyage, as we noted above, was accompanied by high mortality among crew members for a variety of reasons, which required the presence of reserve crew members in comparison with the usual regular crew members.
Unfavorable external conditions during a long voyage in unknown waters, unexpected weather conditions, and limited geographical knowledge placed very special demands on the seamanship of the caravel crew members. There shouldn't be random people there.
Caravel model Niña what it looked like at the beginning of Columbus's first expedition
And finally, the design of the caravel, of course, required taking into account the travel route. If swimming along western shores Africa were quite successfully sailed on Portuguese caravels with only lateen sails - caravela latina, then the intersection Indian Ocean and the trip to the American shores, and what’s more, the transition to the Canary Islands, required a change in rigging. They began to install straight sails on the foremast, and then on the mainmast, retaining the lateen sails only on the stern masts. The caravel turned, as we wrote above, into caravela redonda, it was precisely this kind of caravel that the Spaniards began to use, following the Portuguese. But the use of this or that rigging was not a frozen dogma for the sailors. So, two caravels of Columbus's expedition, Nina And Pinta During the trip, the type of sailing rig on the bow masts was repeatedly changed from Latin to straight and back. At the beginning of the trip during a stop at Canary Islands Niña was converted from a caravel Latina
(see also at the beginning of the post)
to the caravel redonda
We can see that a low foremast was added and straight sails were placed on it, as well as on the mainmast. All re-equipment work took, as we know from Columbus's diaries, about one week. Subsequently, the diaries do not indicate any problems with the sails Niñi Moreover, she went on a second trip.
It is now difficult for us to reconstruct in detail the design of the hull of the first research caravels. In Spain, a system for measuring the hull of a ship and its carrying capacity was developed only under Philip II (reigned 1556-1598). Only from this era do we receive documentary data on the ship timber used, the size and tonnage of ships. It should be noted, by the way, that Spanish shipbuilding documents of that time continued to use Portuguese units of measurement: dedos(1.83 cm), palmos(25.67 cm) and rumos(1.54 m).
To understand the design of the first caravels, let's turn to other options available to maritime historians. In maritime archeology there is a method of obtaining data about objects of the past, which involves comparing them with modern traditional objects that have retained the main features of their ancient ancestors. So, in relation to ancient caravels with lateen sails, the modern heir is considered to be a variety of Arabic dhow – Sambuca(سنبوك) (or sambuca, as this ship is also called).
Photo of sambuca taken in 1938. Exhibition in Kuwait 1998.
The Naval Museum at Greenwich has a wonderful model of sambuca, which was used by pearl divers and fishermen in the Persian Gulf.
On each side there were six rowlocks for oars, which indicates that it was a sailing and rowing vessel. Although the oars were used, it seems, only during pearl fishing: cables were attached to their blades, which insured the fishermen during the dive and allowed them to rest between dives.
What interested me most in the Sambuca design was the flat transom stern.
In ancient descriptions of the first caravels it is noted that their stern was flat. However, in the drawings of that era it is not always possible to see the view of the stern of the ship, which leads to difficulties in classifying the ships shown in a particular image. However, more questions are raised by works when ships that have a clearly round rather than flat stern are called caravels. Let us consider, as an example, images of caravels from the famous work of Duarte de Armas (an associate of King Manuel I of Portugal) “The Book of Fortresses” ( Livro das fortalezas situadas no extremo de Portugal e Castela por Duarte de Armas, escudeiro da Casa do rei D. Manuel I). Its creation dates back to the period between 1495 and 1521, sometimes tied to a specific date of 1510. The book depicts with great care the fortresses on the borders of Portugal with the kingdom of Castile. Let's look, for example, at the view of the Valence fortress, located on the Minho River. At that time the river was quite navigable and on it we see several large seagoing ships.
Let's take a closer look at the group of three ships in the foreground
One of them, the larger one, belongs to the type Nava (nave, karakka) and in this moment We won’t be distracted by it. As for the remaining two, they are usually classified as caravels. Low profile, lack of bow superstructure, two masts with lateen sails - typical Latin caravels. The forward mast is located far from the bow, as if leaving room for the possible installation of another mast in the bow. How it was done on another ship from the same engraving, from its right side
Here, not only is the foremast with a straight sail installed, but a straight sail is also installed on the mainmast, and an additional mizzen mast is installed in the stern - i.e. we see the transformation Latin caravels V caravel redonda.
However, at the moment we will be interested in the ship from the first group, located in its center. We clearly see that its stern is not flat, but round, like a galley. This casts doubt on the legitimacy of classifying this ship as a caravel, as is done in almost all works that study these images. Or should this ship be distinguished as an independent subspecies of caravels, distinguished by its design and seaworthiness.
Continue later.
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Meaning of the word caravel
caravel in the crossword dictionary
caravel
New explanatory dictionary of the Russian language, T. F. Efremova.
caravel
and. A sea sailing vessel with high sides, common in the Mediterranean countries in the 13th-17th centuries.
Caravel
(Italian caravella), a high-sided sea sailing vessel with one deck, 3≈4 masts and high superstructures at the bow and stern, common in countries Mediterranean Sea(Italy, then Spain, Portugal) in the 13th–17th centuries. From the 15th century they made ocean voyages on K.; in 1492, C.'s flotilla under the command of Columbus crossed Atlantic Ocean, and in 1498 Vasco da Gama (see Gama) on China made a voyage from Europe to India.
Wikipedia
Caravel
Caravel- a type of sailing ship common in Europe, especially in Portugal and Spain, in the second half of the 15th - early 16th centuries. One of the first and most famous type of ships with which the era of the Great began geographical discoveries.
The image of a caravel is usually represented by a two- or three-masted ship with an oblique lateen sail ( caravel latina). Although caravels often used direct sailing equipment (caravel redonda).
Thanks to its poetic name, the caravel is associated with all medieval ocean voyages and discoveries of new lands, thereby undeservedly displacing the carracks, which were more suitable for sea voyages and more common at that time. Although caravels did participate in ocean voyages, this was during the early stages of the Age of Discovery, during the first Portuguese expeditions along the West African coast. Later, caravels played a secondary role in squadrons consisting of carracks, including in the campaigns of Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, and Ferdinand Magellan.
Caravel (disambiguation)
Caravel- medium-sized merchant sailing vessel
Caravel (electrophone)
"Caravel"- a series of Soviet electrophones produced in the 1970s - 1980s.
They differ from other brands of Soviet electrophones in that they are made in a desktop-wall design, that is, if the owner wishes, they can be placed not only on the table, but also on the wall, similar to acoustic systems and subscriber loudspeakers. __TOC__ The series includes three models:
Caravel (press center and sailing flotilla)
"Caravel"- a press center and sailing flotilla in Yekaterinburg, created on July 2, 1961 by the writer V.P. Krapivin and a group of children.
In 1965, the magazine Pioneer took over the patronage of Caravella. The main directions of "Caravelle" are maritime affairs, journalism, fencing, and naval history. Previously, the detachment had the status of a pioneer squad, a press center and a sailing flotilla of the Pioneer magazine. V.P. Krapivin led the detachment for more than thirty years, and at the present time the wife of the writer’s son, Larisa Krapivin, is at the head of “Caravelle”. Squad motto: “Tamborileros, adelante!”(in Spanish - "Drummers, forward!")
Examples of the use of the word caravel in literature.
The Demon's second mate has connected his entire life with the sea, but only a pirate caravel became his second home.
It was possible to change course, but before caravel If they picked up full speed, the islanders, walking at full speed, would overtake them.
Then - small caravel, which did not even enter into battle after seeing the size of the sailboat.
But Pinzón was not there, and the only thing Juan could do was go to bed, not forgetting that his caravel walks in the dark along an unfamiliar shore.
On the seventh day, as the captain believed, caravel arrived in one of the harbors, but not the Canary ones, but.
Islands, islands, islands October 14, all three are ours caravels They went out to sea, having first tarred the boats that would be needed to explore small places.
From a distance I saw how he took their hands in his own, then, looking back at the admiral’s cabin, he said something for a long time and persistently to his fellow tribesmen, putting his hands first to his head, then to his heart, and, finally moving away, stopped at the side, in the same way like the rest of the Guanajans, keeping an eye on those running from the nose caravels two foamy jets of water.
The admiral plans to bring all three ashore. caravels, as they are in dire need of renovation.
Our commanders gave the order to remove the sails, and both caravels let's jibe.
Ehaden, without much hesitation, ordered a hole to be made in the bulwark caravels, opposite the barque's unloading hatch.
There are two big ones caravels, whose team is not guards, but guardsmen.
The brigantine maneuvered sharply, intending to pass in front of caravels, to then approach from the side of the backboard.
skeleton caravels smashed the stern as if it were made of straw, turned the doomed sailing ship along its axis and laid it on board, after which it rushed on, leaving a foaming white trail behind it.
The very thought that the skeleton of a burnt caravels might return to finish the job he started, filled me with horror.
There are no more kings and queens who sent caravels all over the world, but sponsors appeared, distributing millions of dollars.
Caravel
This word reeks of the romance of distant travels. It was on caravels that Christopher Columbus reached the shores of America, and Vasco da Gama circumnavigated Africa and reached India.
What is a caravel? If later the types of sailing ships began to be determined mainly by their sailing equipment, but taking into account the size, then the caravel is more likely the standard size and design of the hull plating.
At that time, ships that essentially had no name, but with a length-to-width ratio of 2 to 1, became widespread. Initially, the term “caravel” characterized, first of all, the type of hull plating. Before this, the “overlapping” method of sheathing was more often used, and for caravels the sheathing boards were laid close to each other. This method was known earlier, but its invention is attributed to a shipbuilder from Brittany named Julian, who called this method “carvel” or “craveel”. The name of the skin extended to the name of the type of vessel. Another feature besides the planking was the length to width ratio, the width being a quarter of the length, and the presence of only one deck. And the raised stern completed the appearance of the caravel, which made it possible to sail with a fair wind, when the waves, one after another, “caught up” with the ship.
The sailing rig of caravels, as a rule, was oblique (latinos), i.e. there was a triangular sail on the inclined yard. As a rule, there were three masts. The classic caravel for these reasons was the Niña, one of Columbus's three caravels. The famous "Santa Maria" was the next step in development, and this type of ship was already called "carrack".
Oblique sailing rigs made it possible to sail at sharp angles to the wind, incl. and oncoming, and the small length-to-width ratio, combined with oblique armament, made these ships very maneuverable, which was an undoubted advantage when exploring unfamiliar shores.
The caravels, as a rule, did not carry artillery weapons; the size of the cannons did not allow for them to be placed on the deck, so if there were any, they were located in the stern. Only small ones were used, either cannons or large muskets, called falconets, on swivel trestles, in the bow of the ship, one on each side. The next technological innovation tested on caravels was the bowsprit, an inclined yard located on the bow of the ship and which made it possible to deploy either oblique triangular sails (jibs) or a small straight sail, which increased the controllability of the ship in a tailwind.
The logical development of this type of vessel was the replacement of the slanting sail on the foremast closest to the bow with a straight one. And How further development replacement of the second sail on the main mast (middle) in the same way, straight ahead. This, by the way, is what Christopher Columbus did with the Niña, initially armed only with oblique sails, during his first stop at Azores, before the “jump” across the Atlantic. His third caravel, “Pinta,” already carried just such sailing weapons.
And the continuation of the logic of development of the caravel is the carakka, a “classic of the genre” - “Santa Maria” by Columbus. The two front masts already constantly carry straight sails, the aft superstructure already has up to six decks (sometimes it was made collapsible). If the size allowed, there were four masts and the last two carried oblique sails. But with all this, the karakka retained all the best features of the caravel with larger dimensions and, accordingly, greater carrying capacity.
It was on these ships that all the great geographical discoveries were made, the “tail” of this era and its share of glory, the further development of the ideas of the caravel and carrack - galleon, characterized mainly by the fact that there were already two decks along the entire length of the ship. Artillery weapons were installed on the lower deck and fired through special embrasures, covered with lids in the stowed position.
It only remains to add that the main contribution to the creation of this type of vessel such as the caravel and karakka was made by the Portuguese, which for a long time determined their dominance in sea communications.
Do you remember what ships Columbus sailed on to distant India? For the first time, hearing the name of these sailboats, you involuntarily exclaim: “How romantic! What are caravels? In fact, the name of these medieval ships has a very melodic sound, and they are very beautiful in appearance. Their wooden hulls were often decorated with rich carvings, and the sails fluttering in the wind made them look like winged boats.
Caravel ship: history of origin and etymology
There are many options explaining the origin of this word. According to one of them, the name of these sailing ships has Portuguese roots and comes from the diminutive version of the word caravo (sailing ship). But the Italians believe that the caravel ship was named so due to its beauty and elegance, and its name comes from the merger of two Italian words - cara (sweetheart) and bella (beauty). And there is also a version of Greek origin, according to which it comes from the word χαραβος (sarabos). From it came the Latin carabus (wicker boat), as well as the Russian word “ship”. Of course, the Italian version is the most beautiful and quite close in meaning, because a caravel is actually a very beautiful ship. However, historians tend to believe that the word has Greek roots.
What are caravels?
These ships were common in the 13th-16th centuries. Since in those years Spain and Portugal were considered the largest maritime powers and the main ones belonged to them, they naturally had the most powerful and developed flotillas. The bulk of the total number of ships of the Spanish flotilla until the 15th century were ships called “caravel” (see photo in the article). Therefore, we associate all the great discoveries of sailors with them, although other sea sailing ships - carracks - much more often participated in the long journeys of Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Magellan and others. Admit that you have heard practically nothing about carracks, while caravels have always were well known, and all thanks to their poetic name. Caravel! Beauty, you can't say anything. They were two- or three-masted ships with straight or oblique (latin) sails. For those who want to know in more detail what caravels are, we can add that they had a special type of hull plating. So, if on other ships the so-called “overlap” method was adopted, then on these sailing ships the planks were laid tightly to each other when sheathing. In addition, a distinctive feature of these ships was a certain ratio of the length of the ship to its width (4:1), the presence of a single deck and a raised stern, thanks to which it was possible to sail with a tailwind. Caravels, as a rule, had 3 masts, and triangular sails were attached to inclined yards.
The first European ships to cross the Atlantic in 1492 and discover New World, steel ships of Christopher Columbus. The caravels “Pinta” and “Nina” with a displacement of 60 tons each had good seaworthiness.
"Nina" carried triangular lateen sails, and "Pinta" - straight ones.
Subsequently, the same ones will be installed on Ninya.
The third ship of the flotilla, the notorious Santa Maria, was not a caravel, it was a hundred-ton carrack. These were the leading ships of their time, and the records they set are still admired by sailors. Admiral Columbus's flotilla was strong and resilient, which cannot be said about the crew.
Caravel "Nina"
After thirty days on the high seas, a mutiny began to brew. It seemed crazy to swim any further. To reassure the sailors, the captain promised to turn back if they did not see land within the next three days. Columbus was an experienced navigator and saw that there were signs that land was nearby. Algae became more and more common, flocks of birds landed on the masts, and on the night of October 11-12, the ships finally reached the long-awaited shore.
Following Columbus, the Spanish conquistadors - conquerors and colonizers - rushed to the shores of the New World. Half a century later, all of Mexico, Central America and even part of South America were in the possession of Spain. The Spaniards imposed a strict monopoly on trade with the New World. However, already in the first quarter of the 16th century. England and France decided to reshape the world in their own way. Pirates played a huge role in the struggle for maritime dominance, taking to the high seas with the knowledge and blessing of the highest persons of their states.
Perhaps the most cruel and successful corsair can be called Francis Drake. Having personal scores to settle with the Spaniards, Captain Drake created a small squadron and made his first raid on Caribbean coast. Plundering Spanish cities and capturing treasure ships, the pirate generously shared his booty with the English treasury. It is not surprising that Queen Elizabeth gave him official permission to actively interfere with Spanish trade in Pacific Ocean. Elizabeth's expectations were justified: the pirate voyage of 1577-1580. brought Drake 4700% of net profit, the lion's share of which, of course, was received by the Queen of England. Not out of simple curiosity, but by force of circumstances, fleeing the pursuit of Spanish ships, Drake made his second trip around the world, after Magellan.
Drake sailed on the Pelican, which was later renamed the Golden Hind by the corsair for its speed. However, despite the name change, the pelican painted on the stern and the sculpture of this bird on the bow remained unchanged attributes of Drake's ship.
"Golden Hind" - the famous ship of Francis Drake
The legendary “Golden Hind” was a small 18-gun ship about 18 m long. The hull, made of hard wood, was very durable, and the three-masted sailing rig met the latest trends of the era. Two cannons were placed on the deck. Three light falconettes were installed there, placed on special swivels. They fired at enemy ships, and in case of boarding they turned them around and could shoot along the deck.
In the 15th century The word “sappope” (cannon) began to be used to describe an artillery piece of any type and size. The smallest of them were falconets, muskets (gradually turned into hand guns) and ship bombardels, which fired stone or iron cannonballs. Small-caliber guns were placed on the bulwarks and held by rotating forks - swivels. Heavy kartauns and long-barreled large-caliber culverins were placed on the lower deck to give greater stability to the vessel. Gradually, cannon barrels began to be cast along with trunnions - cylindrical protrusions that made it possible to aim the gun in a vertical plane.
Galion "Amsterdam"
By the middle of the 16th century. the term “carrack” falls out of use, and large sailing ships with three or four masts begin to be called simply “ship*.” A variety of naves of those times were Portuguese and French caravels, as well as Spanish talions. The seas were then dominated by large sailing ships with different caliber artillery. Increasing the sail area made them more maneuverable and easier to control. One such sailboat was raised from the bottom of the River Hamble. According to experts, the found sailing ship is none other than the famous “Great Harry” of the English king Henry VIII, built in 1514. Probably, “Harry” was the last large ship with a displacement of 1000 tons, which was sheathed using wooden dowels.
French pinnace. XVII century
Old technologies gradually became a thing of the past, and in the 16th century. appeared in northern Europe new type sailing ship - a three-masted pinnace with a displacement of 100-150 tons. Subsequently, the displacement of these ships increased to 800 tons. Pinnaces were used mainly as cargo ships, and therefore were armed with only 8-10 guns.
The Portuguese galleon, willingly borrowed by the Spaniards, British and French, had much in common with the pinnace and became the basis of all strong European fleets by the end of the century.
A special feature of the galleon was its sharp hull, the length of which along the keel (about 40 m) was almost four times greater than its width. The heavy aft superstructure, characteristic of the karakka, was replaced by a narrow and high one, accommodating up to seven decks, which housed the captain’s cabin, a powder magazine - a hook chamber and storage rooms. 50-80 guns mounted on two battery decks fired at the enemy through the ports. The ram on the bow soon lost its combat significance, and a latrine decorated with a figurehead was installed in this place. At the stern there were one or two galleries, which later began to be glassed.
Three sails were usually raised on the main and foremasts. The mizzen and bonaventure masts had slanting lateen sails. Another straight sail was pulled on the bow, which received the amusing name “artemon”. Due to the high sides and bulky superstructures, the galleons were heavy and clumsy.
The crew, as befits a large warship with a displacement of 500-1400 tons at that time, reached 200 people. Often, galleons delivered settlers to America, and sailed back, filling their holds to the brim with jewelry - a tasty bait for numerous pirates, from whose all-seeing eyes it seemed impossible to escape.
