Genoese Lateen-Sail Ship

Timeline

1. 1250–1300Port of Genoa · GenoaGenoese merchants equipped merchant ships with lateen sails, trading on western Mediterranean, Iberian, and North African routes; the ship type emphasized cargo capacity and sailing efficiency, and the city-state navy adopted similar rig.
2. 1331–1340Southern Black Sea (around Caffa) · CrimeaGenoese lateen-sail merchant fleets maintained grain and luxury-goods trade through the Bosphorus to Black Sea posts such as Caffa, competing with Venetian galley power for routes and ports.
3. 1400–1500Western Mediterranean · Western MediterraneanIn the 15th century Genoese shipbuilding gradually combined lateen and square sails, developing mixed-rig merchant ships better suited to ocean voyages and providing technical reference for Iberian caravels and similar types.