Source: Unknown.

Early European Sailships

The caravel was the first major breakthrough in European maritime technology. In Spain and Portugal, the earliest known caravels were constructed starting from the 13th Century. These early caravels were small, three-mast vessels with a crew of 5 or 6 men and were about 50 tons in size. They were used as fishing boats, or coastal cargo ships since navigation could not permit high seas faring until the middle of the 14th century.

The peak of the caravel was the period from the 1430s to the 1530s when all of Europe used these vessels for trade and exploration. By this time many caravels were between 100 and 200 tons in size and were armed with cannons. The most famous caravels were the Nina and the Pinta, which sailed with Columbus on his maiden voyage to the New World. However their small size limited their cargo capacity and they gradually disappeared in the late 16th century. The caravel was replaced by the galleon, a much larger ship of 400 tons on average with some reaching up to 1,000 tons.

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