Introduction
The Age of Discovery began in the 15th century. European explorers began exploring more of the globe, and crossing greater distances over water. One of the most important ships they used for their journeys was the caravel. These durable, agile ships were used not just for travel, but also for carrying cargo. Explorers used caravels for the great Atlantic Ocean voyages that opened up new maritime routes.

History and Development
Caravels were relatively small trading vessels used heavily from the 14th to 17th centuries. The Portuguese are often credited with the development of the caravel. One of the earliest known descriptions of a caravel comes from a 13th century Portuguese manuscript. It describes the caravela as fishing vessels. Early caravels came from Mediterranean cultures, and were mostly used by the Spanish and Portuguese.  Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal funded many of the early expeditions for new maritime trade routes. His desire to expand knowledge played a key role in the first circumnavigation of the African continent, and spread of trade into the Indian Ocean. On these journeys, the majority of ships used were caravels. 

Later, voyages, funded by the Spanish empire, would also use the caravel. In 1492, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus gained money from the Spanish King and Queen. He was given three ships – Niña, Pinta and Santa Maria, his flagship. The two smaller ships, Niña and Pinta, were each caravels. His expedition across the Atlantic Ocean brought new changes for the world. Caravels remained popular for several centuries. Around the 17th century, caravels began to be replaced by larger, faster ships that could carry more cargo.

Design and Construction
Caravels were smaller ships compared to later vessels that would cross oceans. They had more rounded hulls, making them fast ships for their time. Typically, they were built using a carvel planking style. This is a design where the ship’s planks are placed edge-to-edge flushed beside each other. This differs from an older design where planks were built clinker style. This is an overlapping style, where the lower edge of a plank is attached to the top edge of the plank below it.

Earlier caravels used lateen-rigging, known as caravela latina. This means the ship had a triangular sail attached to a long yard mounted on the mast. As caravels became more popular in use, their design changed slightly. Later caravels adopted square rigging style often known as caravela redonda.   Some caravels adopted square sails for the mainmast (tallest mast of a ship) and foremast (near the bow), with a lateen sail on the mizzenmast (near the aft). Square sails are better used for open water, like oceans, where lateen sails are more useful near shorelines. This made the caravel an adaptable vessel for trade as the ships came to and from place to place.

Endnotes

1. Bjorn Landstrom, The Ship: An Illustrated History, (New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc.), 106.
2. Graham Blackburn, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Ships, Boats, Vessels and Other Water-borne Craft, (New York: The Overlook Press, 1978), 78.
3. Blackburn, The Illustrated Encyclopedia, 79.
4.  Tony Gibbons, editor, The Encyclopedia of Ships: Over 1,500 Military and Civilian Ships from 5000 B.C to the Present Day, (San Diego: Thunder Bay Press, 2001), 535.
5. Gibbons, The Encyclopedia of Ships, 535.
6. Landstrom, The Ship: An Illustrated History, 106.