A Spanish galleon (left) firing its cannons at a Dutch warship (right).Cornelis Verbeeck, c. 1618–1620A Spanish galleonCarracks, galleon (center/right), square rigged caravel (below), galley and fusta (galliot) depicted by D.João de Castro on the "Suez Expedition" (part of the Portuguese Armada of 72 ships sent against the Ottoman fleet at anchor in Suez, Egypt, in response to its entry in the Indian Ocean and thesiege of Diu in 1538) —Tábuas da India in the João de Castro'sRoteiro do Mar Roxo (Routemap of the Red Sea) of 1540–1541.[2]
Such ships played a major role in commerce in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and were often drafted into use as auxiliary naval war vessels—indeed, they were the mainstay of contending fleets through most of the 150 years of theAge of Exploration—before the Anglo-Dutch wars made purpose-builtwarships dominant at sea during the remainder of theAge of Sail.
The word galleon has had differing meanings at different points in its history and in different regions. The term is thought to originate fromgallioni (alternativelygaleanni[8]: 16 ), Venetian oared vessels that were used in rivers in the fifteenth century. The galleons of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were fully developed sailing ships.[9]: 98–99 This descriptive name was used notably in Spain, Portugal and Venice. However, inconsistency can be found, for example, in the use of "galleon" by the notaries who worked in the Basque shipbuilding region of northern Spain. Though most of the ships from this region werenaos, some weregaleones, but the two terms can be found being used as if they were interchangeable by some of the writers of the documents in the contemporary archives.[8]: 14-16
It is thought that the seamen of the Basque country of northern Spain were clear on the differences between anao and agaleón, but what those distinguishing features were is not apparent to modern historians. A hypothesis has been put forward that the differences are more in the underwater hull shape – something which cannot be discerned in contemporary illustrations.[8]: 14–16
The terminological inconsistency of Basque-built ships continues into the present day. Archival research on theRed Bay wreck 24M has identified, with reasonable confidence, this ship to have beenSan Juan ofPasajes. She is described 26 times in six different contemporary documents with at least three different authors as anao, and not once as agaleón. However, published archaeological work repeatedly refers to this ship as a galleon.[8]: 15, 114, 216 [10]: 83
Outside of the Iberian peninsula, the term "galleon" was not often used. For instance, though English shipwrights certainly built galleon-type vessels, they simply referred to them as "ships". In present-day usage, these types are referred to as galleons, with the term "race-built galleon" being applied to those with lower upper-works.[10]: 115 [9]: 106 In Holland, a "pinnas" was a galleon-type ship and in the Baltic, "kravel" was used (a term connected with their carvel construction).[10]: 114
During the 16th century, a lowering of thecarrack'sforecastle and elongation of thehull gave the ocean-going ships an unprecedented level of stability in the water, and reducedwind resistance at the front, leading to a faster, more maneuverable vessel. The galleon differed from the carrack and other older types primarily by being longer, lower and narrower, with a square tuckstern instead of a round tuck, and by having a snout or head projecting forward from the bows below the level of the forecastle. While carracks could be very large for the time, with some Portuguese carracks over 1,000tons, galleons were generally smaller, usually under 500 tons although someManila galleons were to reach a displacement of 2,000 tons. With the introduction of the galleon inPortuguese India Armadas during the first quarter of the 16th century,[11][12] carracks' armament was reduced as they became almost exclusively cargo ships (which is why the Portuguese carracks were pushed to such large sizes), leaving any fighting to be done to the galleons. One of the largest and most famous of Portuguese galleons was theSão João Baptista (nicknamedBotafogo, "Spitfire"), a 1,000-ton galleon built in 1534, said to have carried 366 guns. Friar Manuel Homem says that this galleon mounted 366 bronze pieces of artillery, including the ones that garrisoned the high castles of stern and bow.[13]
Carracks were usually lightly armed and used for transporting cargo in all the fleets of other Western European states, while galleons were stronger, more heavily armed, and also cheaper to build for the same displacement (five galleons could cost around the same as three carracks) and were therefore a much betterinvestment for use as heavily armed cargo ships or warships. Galleons' design changed and improved through the application of various innovations, and they were particularly linked with the military capabilities of theAtlantic sea powers. It was the captains of the Spanish navy,Pedro Menéndez de Avilés andÁlvaro de Bazán, who designed the definitive long and relatively narrow hulled galleon in the 1550s.[14][15]
The galleon was powered entirely by wind, usingsails carried on three or fourmasts, with alateen sail continuing to be used on the last (usually third and fourth) masts. They were used in both military and trade applications, most famously in theSpanish treasure fleet, and the Manila galleons. While carracks played the leading role in early global explorations, galleons also played a part in the 16th and 17th centuries. In fact, galleons were so versatile that a single vessel might be refitted for wartime and peacetime roles several times during its lifespan.
The principal warships of the opposingEnglish andSpanish fleets in the 1588 confrontation of theSpanish Armada and in the 1589 confrontation of theEnglish Armada were galleons, with the modified Englishrace-built galleons developed byJohn Hawkins proving their great utility in combat, while the capacious Spanish galleons, designed primarily as transports, showed great endurance in the battles and in the long and stormy return home.
Technical drawing of a late 16th century or early 17th century Portuguese galleon, featured in theLivro de Traças de CarpintariaThe galleon'spintle and gudgeonrudder
Galleons were constructed fromoak (for thekeel),pine (for the masts) and varioushardwoods forhull anddecking. Hulls were usuallycarvel-built. The expenses involved in galleon construction were enormous. Hundreds of expert tradesmen (includingcarpenters,pitch-melters,blacksmiths,coopers,shipwrights, etc.) worked for months before a galleon was seaworthy. To cover the expense, galleons were often funded by groups of wealthy businessmen who pooled resources for a new ship. Therefore, most galleons were originally consigned for trade, although those captured by rival states were usually put into military service.
The most common gun used aboard a galleon was thedemi-culverin, although gun sizes up todemi-cannon were possible.
Because of the long periods often spent at sea and poor conditions on board, many of the crew often perished during the voyage; therefore advancedrigging systems were developed so that the vessel could be sailed home by an activesailing crew a fraction of the size aboard at departure.[citation needed]
Model of an English galleon sporting four mast types: (left to right) • Bonaventure mizzenmast, typically lateen-rigged and shorter than the main mizzen. • Mizzenmast, typically shorter than the foremast and lateen-rigged. • Mainmast, the tallest mast and, on vessels with more than three masts, the most centrally located. • Foremast, the second-tallest mast.A three-masted vessel,square-rigged on theforemast andmainmast andlateen-rigged on themizzenmast.
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The oldest known scale drawings inEngland are in a manuscript called "Fragments of Ancient Shipwrightry" made in about 1586 byMathew Baker, amaster shipwright. This manuscript, held at the Pepysian Library, Magdalene College, Cambridge, provides an authentic reference for the size and shape of typical English galleons built during this period. Based on these plans, the Science Museum, London has built a 1:48 scale model ship that is an exemplar of galleons of this era.[16]
Revenge, a galleon built in 1577, the flagship of Sir Francis Drake in the Battle of the Spanish Armada in 1588, was captured by a Spanish fleet off Flores in the Azores in 1591 and sank while being sailed back to Spain.
Triumph, the largest Elizabethan galleon; flagship of SirMartin Frobisher in the Battle of the Spanish Armada.
Galeon Andalucia, a replica galleon built in Spain in 2014.
"La Galga", theAssateague Spanish galleon that was shipwrecked in 1794; according to legend, the ancestors of the now famousChincoteague ponies swam ashore from its hold.
Nuestra Señora de la Concepción, a Spanish galleon, known to her crew asCacafuego for her strong cannon.[17] She was captured by Sir Francis Drake in 1578 and all her treasures were brought to England. She was holding treasures mined in one year by the Spanish in the Americas.
Padre Eterno, a Portuguese galleon launched in 1663. She was considered to be the biggest ship of her time, carrying 144 pieces of artillery with a displacement up to 2,000 tons.
San Juan Bautista (originally called Date Maru, 伊達丸 in Japanese). She crossed thePacific Ocean fromJapan toNew Spain in 1614. She was of the Spanish galleon type, known inJapan as Nanban-Sen (南蛮船).
Vasa, the only original galleon to be preserved. She sank in 1628 and was raised in 1961 for preservation as amuseum ship.
Ark Raleigh was designed and built by SirWalter Raleigh. She was later chosen by Lord Howard, admiral of the fleet to be the flagship of the English fleet in the fight against theSpanish Armada in 1588 and was summarily renamedArk Royal.
San Pelayo, the large 906-ton galleon, which served as the flagship ofPedro Menéndez de Avilés during his expedition to establishSt. Augustine, Florida in 1565. The vessel was so large it could not enter St. Augustine's harbor, so Menendez ordered it offloaded and sent it back to Hispaniola. At a later date her crew mutinied and sailed to Europe where the ship wrecked off the coast of Denmark.
^[1] Galeão –Navegações Portuguesas by Francisco Contente Domingues(in Portuguese)
^Despite this kind of ship (or only a close model of art) was already depicted in the heraldry of theForal of Lisbon (of D. Manuel I) in 1502, it is in 1510 (as also in some of the following years after 1510) the appearance of the Portuguese oceanicgalleon in the records. It is however from 1519 that their number increases substantially, but gradually. It was an evolution and a gradual improvement in the design made during the first quarter of the century – technical improvement which continued until the second half of the century. The Portuguese galleon evolved from thesquare rigged caravel and was a compromise between the great carrack or nau and the aforementioned square rigged caravel orwar caravel (also calledcaravela de armada or Portugueseman of war) that evolved into a new design of ship, but keeping its hull design similar to the galley.[1] It was also more maneuverable, more robust and heavily armed.
^Timothy R. Walton,The Spanish Treasure Fleets, Pineapple Press Inc, 2002, p. 57ISBN1-56164-261-4
^Mariano González Arnao, A prueba de piratas, n.º 61 de La aventura de la Historia, Arlanza Ediciones, November 2003
^Carlos Gómez-Centurión, La Armada Invencible, Biblioteca Básica de Historia -Monografías-, Anaya, Madrid, 1987, ISBN 84-7525-435-5
^Lane, Kris E. Pillaging the Empire: Piracy in the Americas 1500–1750. M. E. Sharpe, 1998.
^abcdGrenier, Robert (2007). Grenier, Robert; Bernier, Marc-Andre; Stevens, Willis (eds.).The Underwater Archaeology of Red Bay. Vol. 3: The 24M Hull. Ottawa: Parks Canada.ISBN9780660196527.
^abPhillips, Carla Rahn (1994). "The Caravel and the Galleon". In Gardiner, Robert; Unger, Richard W (eds.).Cogs, Caravels and Galleons : the sailing ship, 1000-1650. London: Conway Maritime Press.ISBN0851775608.
^abcAdams, Jonathan (2013).A maritime archaeology of ships: innovation and social change in medieval and early modern Europe (First ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxbow Books.ISBN9781842172971.
^[2] Os Navios e as Técnicas Náuticas Atlânticas nos Séculos XV e XVI: Os Pilares da Estratégia 3C – Rear Admiral Antonio Silva Ribeiro –Revista Militar(in Portuguese)
^[3]Archived 2017-02-18 at theWayback Machine Galeão –Navegações Portuguesas by Francisco Contente Domingues(in Portuguese)
^"The galleon evolved in response to Spain's need for an ocean-crossing cargo ship that could beat off corsairs. Pedro de Menéndez, along with Álvaro de Bazán (hero of Lepanto), is credited with developing the prototypes which had the long hull—and sometimes the oars—of a galley married to the poop and prow of a Portuguesenau or merchantman.Galeones were classed as 1-, 2- or 3-deckers, and stepped two or more masts rigged with square sails and topsails (except for a lateen sail on the mizzenmast). Capacity ranged up to 900 tons or more. Menéndez'sSan Pelayo of 1565 was a 900-ton galleon which was also called anau andgaleaza. She carried 77 crewmen, 18 gunners, transported 317 soldiers and 26 families, as well as provisions and cargo. Her armament was iron."—p.100Menéndez: Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, Captain General of the Ocean Sea Albert C. Manucy, published 1992 by Pineapple Press, Inc
^Walton, Timothy R. (2002).The Spanish Treasure Fleets. Pineapple Press Inc, p. 57.ISBN1-56164-261-4
^Little, Benerson (2010). "Spanish Galleons and Portuguese Carracks".Pirate Hunting: The Fight Against Pirates, Privateers, and Sea Raiders from Antiquity to the Present. Washington, DC: Potomac. p. 145.ISBN978-1-59797-291-8.Called by her crewCacafuego ... fire shitter
Alertz, U. (1991)Vom Schiffbauhandwerk zur Schiffbautechnik : die Entwicklung neuer Entwurfs- und Konstruktionsmethoden im italienischen Galeerenbau (1400–1700), Hamburg : Kovač,ISBN3-925630-56-2
Humble, R. and Bergin, M. (1993)A 16th century galleon, Inside story series, Hemel Hempstead : Simon & Schuster,ISBN0-7500-1339-7
Kirsch, P. (1990)The Galleon: the great ships of the Armada era, London : Conway Maritime,ISBN0-85177-546-2
Rutland, J. (1988)A galleon, 2nd rev. ed., Connaty, M. (ed.), London : Kingfisher,ISBN0-86272-327-2
Serrano Mangas, F. (1992)Función y evolución del galeón en la carrera de Indias, Colección Mar y América9, Madrid : Editorial MAPFRE,ISBN84-7100-285-X
