Barque

Ship

Age of Discovery

Quick Facts:

The earliest barques were noted in Portugal with square sails and oars but by the 18th century, the British Navy used the term bark to cover ships that did not fall in any other categories.

Date: 1400 CE - 1900 CE

"The Endurance solidly embedded in ice with small houses for the dogs in the foreground." Argonauts of the South, 1925, From The Library at The Mariners’ Museum, G850.1911.H9.

The Endurance

"The Endurance solidly embedded in ice with small houses for the dogs in the foreground." Argonauts of the South, 1925, From The Library at The Mariners’ Museum, G850.1911.H9.

The Barque, also spelled Barc or Bark, was a mix between the Carrack and the Caravel. It also had two to three masts but generally boasted square sails. It was smaller and required fewer men to operate, giving it w a wide variety of uses. Many Barques were converted barges, allowing for sturdy structures. Explorers would find the Barque useful for resupply missions. Christopher Newport’s ship, the Susan Constant, was partly designed as a Barque. The Susan Constant was used to help start and resupply the English colony at Jamestown.