Caravela de armada of João Serrão

Caravela de armada of João Serrão

A Portuguese Caravel

The Caravel was an innovative new ship design that was extremely maneuverable and enabled the ship to sail into the wind, greatly increasing the potential for long voyages at sea. The caravel was critical in early Portuguese exploration of Africa as well as Spanish voyages such as Columbus'. The caravel enabled Europeans to explore and trade across the world and the innovations in its design impacted all future ship making as colonial empires began to form across the world.

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Wikimedia Commons

1502

Public Domain