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Galleon (Warship/Merchant Vessel)

Type Object Region Atlantic Ocean Time c. 1520–1700

The galleon was a multi-decked ocean-going sailing ship developed in the 16th-century Iberian Peninsula from the caravel and carrack, serving both as…

Timeline

  1. c. 1520–1530Shipbuilding districts of Seville and Lisbon · AndalusiaSpanish and Portuguese shipwrights experimented on the basis of the carrack and caravel with raised hulls, multiple decks, and broadside gun-port layouts, forming early galleon prototypes that balanced cargo capacity and armament.
  2. 1531–1540North Atlantic sea lanes · North AtlanticIn the 1530s the galleon became the standard type for Spanish treasure fleets and privateer armed merchantmen; its broadside gun batteries and deep draft gave it both endurance and firepower in Atlantic seas, marking the establishment of a combined sailing warship-merchantman model.

Sources