← Explore on the interactive map

Iberian Carrack (armed merchant ship)

Type Object Region Iberian Peninsula Time c. 1480–1620

The Iberian carrack (Portuguese: nau da carraca) was a large ocean-going armed merchant vessel built by Portugal and Spain from the 15th to 17th cent…

Timeline

  1. 1500–1520Lisbon · PortugalAfter Vasco da Gama opened the route to India, Portugal built large carracks at Lisbon, carrying spices, silk, and precious metals back and forth across the Indian Ocean.
  2. 1571–1580Cádiz · SpainAfter the union of Spain and Portugal in the 1570s, carracks still handled colonial supply to the Americas and Atlantic trade, with Cádiz serving as an important assembly port.
  3. 1580–1620Seville · SpainAfter 1580 the Spanish Empire gradually replaced the cumbersome carrack with galleons on the American routes, while carracks shifted to regional trade and military transport.

Sources