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Carrack Merchant Ship

Type Object Region Atlantic Ocean Time 1401–1650

The carrack (nao) was a large ocean-going dual-purpose merchant and war sailing ship developed in 15th-century Iberia, with a tall hull, multiple dec…

Timeline

  1. c. 1470–1491Iberian Peninsula ports · PortugalIn the late 15th century, Portuguese and Spanish shipbuilders fused features of the Northern European cog with Mediterranean merchant ships, producing large carracks with multiple decks and high forecastles and sterncastles, expanding cargo holds and living quarters to carry more supplies and goods on long ocean voyages.
  2. 1492–1500Atlantic and Indian Oceans · Indian OceanThe Niña and Santa María in Columbus's 1492 fleet were both carrack-type ships; through 1500 carracks carried the spice trade, colonial supplies, and personnel, and Vasco da Gama's 1497–1499 voyage to India also used a carrack as his flagship type, marking the establishment of a transoceanic commercial shipping system.

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