Carrack

Not to be confused withKarak.

For the rocks off the Cornish coast, seeThe Carracks.For the musician, seePaul Carrack.

The large carrack, thought to be theSanta Catarina do Monte Sinai,and other Portuguese carracks of various sizes. From painting, attributed to eitherGregório LopesorCornelis Antoniszoon,showing voyage of the marriage party ofPrincess Beatrice of Portugal, Duchess of Savoyin 1521.

c. 1558painting of a large carrack attributed toPieter Bruegel the Elder

Acarrack(Portuguese:nau;Spanish:nao;Catalan:carraca;Croatian:karaka) is a three- or four-mastedocean-goingsailing shipthat was developed in the 14th to 15th centuries in Europe, most notably inPortugalandSpain.Evolving from the single-mastedcog,the carrack was first used for European trade from the Mediterranean to the Baltic and quickly found use with the newly found wealth of the trade between Europe and Africa and then the trans-Atlantic trade with the Americas. In their most advanced forms, they were used by thePortugueseandSpaniardsfor trade between Europe, Africa and Asia starting in the late 15th century, before being gradually superseded in the late 16th and early 17th centuries by thegalleon.

In its most developed form, the carrack was acarvel-builtocean-going ship: large enough to be stable in heavy seas, and capacious enough to carry a large cargo and the provisions needed for very long voyages. The later carracks weresquare-riggedon theforemastandmainmastandlateen-riggedon themizzenmast.They had a high roundedsternwithaftcastle,forecastleandbowspritat the stem. As the predecessor of thegalleon,the carrack was one of the most influential ship designs in history; while ships became more specialized in the following centuries, the basic design remained unchanged throughout this period.

Replica of a small 15th-century or 16th-century carrack atVila do Conde,Portugal

Name

Naval battle involving carracks and galleys

Englishcarrackwas loaned in the late 14th century, via Old Frenchcaraque,fromcarraca,a term for a large, square-rigged sailing vessel used in Spanish, Italian and Middle Latin.

These ships were calledcarracainPortugueseandGenoese,carracainSpanish,caraqueornefinFrench,andkraakinDutch.

The origin of the termcarracais unclear, perhaps from Arabicqaraqir"merchant ship", itself of unknown origin (maybe from Latincarricare"to load a car" or Greekκαρκαρίς"load of timber" ) or theArabicالقُرْقُورُ(al-qurqoor) and from thence to theGreekκέρκουρος(kerkouros) meaning approximately"lighter"(barge) literally, "shorn tail", a possible reference to the ship's flat stern). Its attestation in Greek literature is distributed in two closely related lobes. The first distribution lobe, or area, associates it with certain light and fast merchantmen found nearCyprusandCorfu.The second is an extensive attestation in theOxyrhynchuscorpus, where it seems most frequently to describe the Nile barges of thePtolemaicpharaohs.Both of these usages may lead back through thePhoenicianto theAkkadiankalakku,which denotes a type of river barge. The Akkadian term is assumed to be derived from aSumerianantecedent.A modern reflex of the word is found in Arabic andTurkishkelek"raft; riverboat".

Three- and four-masted carracks

Origins

16th-century depiction of a Portuguesenau

By theLate Middle Ages,thecogand cog-like square-rigged vessels equipped with arudderat thestern,were widely used along the coasts of Europe, from the Mediterranean, to the Baltic. Given the conditions of the Mediterranean,galleytype vessels were extensively used there, as were various two masted vessels, including thecaravelswith their lateen sails. These and similar ship types were familiar to Portuguese navigators and shipwrights. As the Portuguese and Spaniards gradually extended their trade ever further south along Africa's Atlantic coast and islands during the 15th century, they needed larger, more durable and more advanced sailing ships for their long oceanic ventures. Gradually, they developed their own models of oceanic carracks from a fusion and modification of aspects of the ship types they knew operating in both the Atlantic and Mediterranean, generalizing their use in the end of the century for inter-oceanic travel with a more advanced form of sail rigging that allowed much improved sailing characteristics in the heavy winds and waves of the Atlantic Ocean and a hull shape and size that permitted larger cargoes. In addition to the average tonnage naus, some naus (carracks) were also built in the reign ofJohn II of Portugal,but were widespread only after the turn of the century. The Portuguese carracks were usually very large ships for their time, often over 1000 tonsdisplacement,and having the future naus of theIndia runand of the China and Japan trade, also other new types of design.

A typical three-masted carrack such as theSão Gabrielhad six sails: bowsprit, foresail, mainsail, mizzensail and two topsails.

Replica ofDubrovačka karaka(Dubrovnik Carrack), used between the 14th and the 17th century for cargo transport in theRepublic of Ragusa(present-dayCroatia)

In theRepublic of Ragusa,a kind of a three or four masted carrack calledDubrovačka karaka(Dubrovnik Carrack) was used between the 14th and the 17th century for cargo transport.

In the middle of the 16th century, the firstgalleonswere developed from the carrack. The galleon design came to replace that of the carrack although carracks were still in use as late as the middle of the 17th century due to their larger cargo capacity.

In Asia

Starting in 1498, Portugal initiated for the first time direct and regular exchanges between Europe and India—and the rest of Asia thereafter—through theCape Route,a voyage that required the use of more substantial vessels, such as carracks, due to its unprecedented duration, about six months.

On average, four carracks connected Lisbon toGoacarrying gold to purchase spices and other exotic items, but mainly pepper. From Goa, one carrack went on toMing Chinain order to purchase silks. Starting in 1541, the Portuguese began trading with Japan, exchanging Chinese silk for Japanese silver; in 1550 the Portuguese Crown started to regulatetradetoJapan,by leasing the annual "captaincy" to Japan to the highest bidder at Goa, in effect conferring exclusive trading rights for a single carrack bound for Japan every year. In 1557 the Portuguese acquiredMacauto develop this trade in partnership with the Chinese. That trade continued with few interruptions until 1638, when it was prohibited by the rulers of Japan on the grounds that the ships were smuggling Catholic priests into the country. The Japanese called Portuguese carracks "Black Ships"(kurofune), referring to the colour of the ship's hulls. This term would eventually come to refer to any Western vessel, not just Portuguese.

OttomanbarcafromPiri Reis' map

The Islamic world also built and used carracks, or at least carrack-like ships, in the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. A picture of an Ottomanbarcaon Piri Reis' map shows a deep-hulled ship with a tall forecastle and a lateen sail on the mizzenmast.Theharraqa(Saracen:karaque) was a type of ship used to hurl explosives or inflammable materials (firebomb in earthenware pots,naphtha,fire arrows). From the context of Islamic texts, there are two types ofharraqa:The cargo ship and the smaller longship (galley-like) that was used for fighting. It is unclear whether the nomenclatureharraqahas a connection with Europeancarraca(carrack), or whether one influences the other. One MuslimharraqanamedMogarbinawas captured by theKnights of St. Johnin 1507 from the Ottoman Turks and renamedSanta Maria.Gujarati ships are usually callednaos(carracks) by the Portuguese. Gujaratinaosoperated between Malacca and the Red Sea, and were often larger than Portuguese carracks. TheBengalisalso used carracks, sometimes callednaos mauriscas(Moorish carracks) by the Portuguese. Arabs merchants of Mecca apparently used carracks too, sinceDuarte Barbosanoted that the Bengali people have "greatnaosafter the fashion of Mecca ".

Famous carracks

• Santa María,in whichChristopher Columbusmade his first voyage to America in 1492.
• Gribshunden,flagship of the Danish-Norwegian King Hans, built in the Low Countries 1485 and served the Danish-Norwegian crown until sinking in June 1495.
• São Gabriel,flagship ofVasco da Gama,in the 1497 Portuguese expedition from Europe to India by circumnavigating Africa.
• Flor do MarorFlor de la Mar,as it was called, served over nine years in theIndian Ocean,sinking in 1512 withAfonso de Albuquerqueafter theconquest of Malaccawith a huge booty, making it one of the legendary lost treasures.
• Victoria,the first ship in history to circumnavigate the globe (1519 to 1522), and the only survivor ofMagellan's expeditionfor Spain.
• La Dauphine,Verrazzano's ship to explore the Atlantic coast of North America in 1524.
• Grande Hermine,in whichJacques Cartierfirst navigated theSaint Lawrence Riverin 1535. The first European ship to sail on this river past the Gulf.
• Santo António,orSt. Anthony,the personal property of KingJohn III of Portugal,wrecked offGunwalloeBay in 1527, the salvage of whose cargo almost led to a war between England and Portugal.
• Great Michael,a Scottish ship, at one time the largest in Europe.
• Mary Rose,Henri Grâce à DieuandPeter Pomegranate,built during the reign of KingHenry VIII of England— English military carracks like these were often calledgreat ships.
• Grace Dieu,commissioned by KingHenry V of England.One of the largest ships in the world at the time.
• Santa Catarina do Monte Sinai,a war ship built inIndiaby the Portuguese
• Santa Anna,a particularly modern design commissioned by theKnights Hospitallerin 1522 and sometimes hailed as the first armoured ship.
• Jesus of Lübeck,chartered to a group of merchants in 1563 by QueenElizabeth I of England.Jesus of Lübeckbecame involved in the Atlantic slave trade underJohn Hawkins.
• Madre de Deus,built in Lisbon during 1589, she was one of the world's largest ships. She wascaptured by the EnglishoffFlores Islandin 1592 with an enormously valuable cargo from theEast Indiesthat is still considered the second-largest treasure ever captured.
• Cinco Chagas,presumed to have been the largest and richest ship to ever sail to and from the Indies until it exploded and sank at theaction of Faialin 1594.
• Santa Catarina,Portuguese carrack which was seized by theDutch East India CompanyoffSingaporein 1603.
• Nossa Senhora da Graça,Portuguese carrack sunk in a Japanese attack near Nagasaki in 1610
• Peter von Danzig,ship of theHanseatic Leaguein 1460s–1470s.
• La Gran Carracca,the ship of theOrder of St. Johnduring their rule overMalta.
• Bom Jesus,a Portuguese ship that disappeared in 1533 after sailing from Lisbon. The well preserved shipwreck was discovered in 2008 on the coast of Namibia, along with its cargo of assorted copper ingots, elephant ivory and over 2000 gold and silver coins.

Gallery

• 
  Small 16th-century carrack
• 
  Famous Portuguese nauFlor de la Mar(launched in 1501 or 1502), in the 16th-century "Roteiro de Malaca"
• 
  AreplicaofNao Victoria,in 1522 the first ship to circumnavigate the globe and the only Magellan ship to return
• 
  Columbus' Ships(G.A. Closs, 1892): theSanta MariaandPintaare shown as carracks; theNiña(left) as a caravel.
• 
  Model of the carrackMadre de Deus,in theMaritime Museum,Lisbon. Built based on another design, later in Portugal (1589), she was one of the largest ship in the world in her time. She had seven decks.
• 
  Portuguese carrack, as depicted in a map made in 1565
• 
  Japanese depiction of a Portuguese carrack, dubbedkurofune(black ship)
• 
  Carracks of the Indian Ocean: Indian carrack "Piroga" — Carrack of Mecca — Carrack of Rumes (Ottoman)
• 
  A four-masted Turkish carrack, 1586

Popular culture

The Italian wordcaraccaandderivativewords are popularly used in reference to a cumbersome individual, to an old vessel, or to a vehicle in a very bad condition. The Portuguese form of "carrack",nau,is used as its unique unit in theCivilization VandCivilization VIstrategy game.

See also

• Medieval ships
• Chinese junk ship
• Javanese jong
• Arabs baghlah
• Portuguese India Armadas

Further reading

• Kirsch, Peter (1990).The Galleon.Conway Maritime Press.ISBN0-85177-546-2.
• Nair, V. Sankaran (2008).Kerala Coast: A Byway in History. (Carrack: Word Lore).Trivandrum: Folio.ISBN978-81-906028-1-5.

External links

• Media related toCarracksat Wikimedia Commons
• The dictionary definition ofcarrackat Wiktionary
• The Development of the Square-Rigged Ship:from the carrack to the full-rigger
• Computer modeling of a Portuguese carrack
• Dubrovačka karaka(Dubrovnik Carrack) – a kind of a three or four masted carrack used between the 14th and the 17th century for cargo transport in the Republic of Ragusa
• Carrack (karaka) – a large three-masted cargo sailing ship in the 14th–17th centuries