Publication Date
2009
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The word first appeared in the Portuguese language in 1255, being used until the 18th century to identify various types of ships, which really did not have many common characteristics. The first caravels were light vessels used in fishing work (caravela pescareza), river transportation or coastal navigation, as well as in diverse maritime activities requiring light vessels.
By the end of the 1430s, judging from the testimony of Gomes Eanes de Zurara´s Crónica da Guiné, Latin Caravels were employed in the voyages of exploration along the west coast of Africa. These vessels would become symbolic of the Era of Discovery itself, being protagonists in the cycle of voyages which ended with Bartolomeu Dias and the empirical verification of the existence of a maritime connection between Atlantic and Indian Oceans. It is agreed that these caravels, which were rigged with Lateen sails on two masts, were larger than the boats of the first voyages promoted by Prince Henry the Navigator. Thus, caravels allowed for improved conditions to advance in unknown seas via the use of ropes to maneuver the sails for better wind incidence - in relation to ships rigged with square sails - the only possible solution when the physical conditions of navigation were unknown, and when they had to face strong winds which were contrary to the direction the ship was headed in. On the other hand, it is possible that the utilization of caravels was also due to their potential to increase the autonomy of the trips, as these larger ships were able to load greater quantities of provisions, athough the crews, whenever possible, relied on reprovisioning along islands and favorable coastal locations.
With the entry into the Indian Ocean, it became evident that the fragility and dimensions of these ships made them unsuitable for transoceanic navigation. According to Gaspar Correia, the navigators that returned from the 1487-1488 voyage relayed to King Dom João II that they had found "mares grossos" ["rough seas"] that they were unable to advance in with these ships.
These two-masted Latin Caravels had a capacity of 50 tons, while the three-masted ones (always lateen-rigged) which were in use by the end of the 1400s may have reached 80 or perhaps 100 tons. Both continued to be employed in navigation to the Atlantic archipelagos and to Brazil for a significantly longer period; their lightness made their utilization advisable in the transportation of valuable goods that were low in volume - such as gold from Guinea - while their speed allowed them to escape corsair ships easily. For this reason, they were also employed in the 17th century commerce with Brazil, carrying only half a load of cargo to allow for increased lightness.
By the end of the 1400s, another type of caravel was used which would have an important role in 16th century oceanic navigation: the caravela redonda [square-rigged caravel] which was named thus because of its three lateen-rigged masts and square-rigged fourth mast at the prow. By the end of the century, its tonnage was typically 150 to 180, and it functioned as a support ship to the great carracks and galleons that sailed the Carreira da India, equipped with artillery and a slimmer bow that hand in hand with the sail system, guaranteed their superior navigational and maneuvering capacities. It was particularly suitable for naval military missions: thus it is understandable that these caravels (surely square-rigged) were part of Pedro Álvares Cabral´s armada, since the unsuitability of the smaller, two-masted Latin Caravel had just been established. To this new caravel, also known as caravela armada or caravela de armada, befell the war activities that had been deemed likely to be necessary, and actually were.
Bibliography:
DOMINGUES, Francisco Contente, Arqueologia Naval Portuguesa (séculos XV e XVI). História, conceito, bibliografia, Lisboa, Edições Culturais da Marinha, 2003. DOMINGUES, Francisco Contente, Navios Portugueses dos Séculos XV e XVI, Vila do Conde, Câmara Municipal, 2007.
Translated by: Maria João Pimentel
By the end of the 1430s, judging from the testimony of Gomes Eanes de Zurara´s Crónica da Guiné, Latin Caravels were employed in the voyages of exploration along the west coast of Africa. These vessels would become symbolic of the Era of Discovery itself, being protagonists in the cycle of voyages which ended with Bartolomeu Dias and the empirical verification of the existence of a maritime connection between Atlantic and Indian Oceans. It is agreed that these caravels, which were rigged with Lateen sails on two masts, were larger than the boats of the first voyages promoted by Prince Henry the Navigator. Thus, caravels allowed for improved conditions to advance in unknown seas via the use of ropes to maneuver the sails for better wind incidence - in relation to ships rigged with square sails - the only possible solution when the physical conditions of navigation were unknown, and when they had to face strong winds which were contrary to the direction the ship was headed in. On the other hand, it is possible that the utilization of caravels was also due to their potential to increase the autonomy of the trips, as these larger ships were able to load greater quantities of provisions, athough the crews, whenever possible, relied on reprovisioning along islands and favorable coastal locations.
With the entry into the Indian Ocean, it became evident that the fragility and dimensions of these ships made them unsuitable for transoceanic navigation. According to Gaspar Correia, the navigators that returned from the 1487-1488 voyage relayed to King Dom João II that they had found "mares grossos" ["rough seas"] that they were unable to advance in with these ships.
These two-masted Latin Caravels had a capacity of 50 tons, while the three-masted ones (always lateen-rigged) which were in use by the end of the 1400s may have reached 80 or perhaps 100 tons. Both continued to be employed in navigation to the Atlantic archipelagos and to Brazil for a significantly longer period; their lightness made their utilization advisable in the transportation of valuable goods that were low in volume - such as gold from Guinea - while their speed allowed them to escape corsair ships easily. For this reason, they were also employed in the 17th century commerce with Brazil, carrying only half a load of cargo to allow for increased lightness.
By the end of the 1400s, another type of caravel was used which would have an important role in 16th century oceanic navigation: the caravela redonda [square-rigged caravel] which was named thus because of its three lateen-rigged masts and square-rigged fourth mast at the prow. By the end of the century, its tonnage was typically 150 to 180, and it functioned as a support ship to the great carracks and galleons that sailed the Carreira da India, equipped with artillery and a slimmer bow that hand in hand with the sail system, guaranteed their superior navigational and maneuvering capacities. It was particularly suitable for naval military missions: thus it is understandable that these caravels (surely square-rigged) were part of Pedro Álvares Cabral´s armada, since the unsuitability of the smaller, two-masted Latin Caravel had just been established. To this new caravel, also known as caravela armada or caravela de armada, befell the war activities that had been deemed likely to be necessary, and actually were.
Bibliography:
DOMINGUES, Francisco Contente, Arqueologia Naval Portuguesa (séculos XV e XVI). História, conceito, bibliografia, Lisboa, Edições Culturais da Marinha, 2003. DOMINGUES, Francisco Contente, Navios Portugueses dos Séculos XV e XVI, Vila do Conde, Câmara Municipal, 2007.
Translated by: Maria João Pimentel