Caravel - wikipedia Caravel Not to be confused with Carvel ( boat building ). Portuguese caravel. This was the standard model used by the Portuguese in their voyages of exploration. The lateen rigged caravel was able to sail close to the wind, closer than square rigged vessels. It could accommodate about 20 sailors. This is a model of a caravel found in Malta A caravel ( Portuguese : caravela, IPA : ( kɐɾɐˈvɛlɐ ) ) is a small, highly maneuverable sailing ship developed in the 15th century by the Portuguese to explore along the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. The lateen sails gave it speed and the capacity for sailing windward ( beating ). Caravels were used by the Portuguese for the oceanic exploration voyages during the 15th and 16th centuries in the Age of Discovery. Prince Henry, Vasco da Gama, Christopher Columbus, and Bartolomeu Dias all used caravels. Contents 1 History 2 Design 3 See also 4 References 5 External links History A lateen - rigged caravel, Caravela Latina A replica of the caravel Boa Esperança in the city of Lagos, Portugal Until the 15th century, Europeans were limited to coastal navigation using the barge or the balinger ( barinel ), ancient cargo vessels of the Mediterranean Sea with a capacity of around 50 to 200 tons. These boats were fragile, with only one mast with a fixed square sail that could not overcome the navigational difficulties of southward oceanic exploration, as the strong winds, shoals and strong ocean currents easily overwhelmed their abilities. The caravel has origins in earlier Portuguese fishing boats built in the 13th century based on the medieval Islamic qarib, used in Islamic Spain. The lateen sail, which had Middle - Eastern origins, was also adopted from medieval Islamic shipping in the 15th century. The caravel was developed in about 1451, based on existing fishing boats under the sponsorship of Henry the Navigator of Portugal, and soon became the preferred vessel for Portuguese explorers like Diogo Cão, Bartolomeu Dias or Gaspar and Miguel Corte - Real, and by Christopher Columbus. Its name may derive from an ancient boat type known as carabus in Latin and καραβος in Greek, later adopted into Arabic as qārib, indicating some continuity of its carvel build through the ages. They were agile and easier to navigate than the barca and barinel, with a tonnage of 50 to 160 tons and 1 to 3 masts, with lateen triangular sails allowing beating. Various types of Caravels ( 1892 ). In fact all central types and some lateral show technically, naos or naus, with caravels examples mostly on the left edge of the illustration Being smaller and having a shallow keel, the caravel could sail upriver in shallow coastal waters. With the lateen sails attached, it was highly maneuverable and could sail much nearer the shore, while with the square Atlantic - type sails attached, it was very fast. Its economy, speed, agility, and power made it esteemed as the best sailing vessel of its time. The limited capacity for cargo and crew were their main drawbacks, but did not hinder its success. The exploration done with caravels made the spice trade of the Portuguese and the Spanish possible. However, for the trade itself, the caravel was later replaced by the larger carrack ( nau ), which was more profitable for trading. The caravel was one of the pinnacle ships in Iberian ship development from 1400 -- 1600. Design Due to its lighter weight and thus greater speed, the caravel was a boon to sailors. Early caravels generally carried two or three masts with lateen sails, while later types had four masts. Early caravels such as the caravela tilhada of the 15th century had an average length of between 12 and 18 m ( 39 and 59 ft ), an average capacity of 50 to 60 tons, a high length - to - beam ratio of around 3.5 to 1, and narrow ellipsoidal frame ( unlike the circular frame of the nau ), making them very fast and maneuverable but with somewhat low capacity. Towards the end of the 15th century, the caravel was occasionally modified by giving it the same rig as a nau with a foresail, square mainsail and lateen mizzen, but not the carrack 's high forecastle or much of a sternpalace, which would make it unweatherly. In this form it was sometimes known as caravela redonda ( a bulging square sail is said to be round, redonda, in the Iberian tradition ). It was in such ships that Christopher Columbus set out on his expedition in 1492 ; Santa María was a ~ 100 ton nau which served as the flagship and the Pinta and Niña were smaller caravels of around 15 -- 20 m with a beam of 6 m and displacing around 60 - 75 tons. A typical round caravel or caravela de armada ( of 1500 - 1505 ), with origin in the Portuguese model of caravela redonda or square - rigged caravel ( Livro das Armadas ). There were also some other European and Mediterranean types of ships, also called round caravels, during the turn of the century and in the 16th century In the transition to the 16th century, the Portuguese created a specialized fighting ship also called the caravela redonda or square - rigged caravel ( also caravela de armada ) to act as an escort in Brazil and in the Indies route. It had a foremast with square sails and three other masts with a lateen each, for a total of 4 masts. The hull was galleon - shaped, and it is considered a forerunner of the fighting galleon. The Portuguese man o ' war was named after the appearance of the man - of - war, which were in use until the 17th century. Lisbon and the Tagus ( 1572 ). Galleon in the center ( one type of Portuguese galleon ), carracks, galley, round caravels, and caravels ( lateen ), among other vessels See also Iberian ship development, 1400 -- 1600 Notorious - a replica caravel in Australia References This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. ( September 2012 ) Jump up ^ Notice in the Musée de la Marine. Jump up ^ Hobson, John M. ( 2004 ). The Eastern Origins of Western Civilisation. Cambridge University Press. p. 141. ISBN 9780521547246. Jump up ^ Sleeswyk, André W. ( 1998 ). `` Carvel - planking and Carvel Ships in the North οf Europe ''. Archaeonautica. 14 : 223 -- 228 ( 224f. ). Jump up ^ Russell, Peter E. ( 2000 ). Prince Henry ' the Navigator ' : A Life. Yale University Press. p. 229. ISBN 0 - 300 - 09130 - 3. External links Look up caravel in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ( 1 ) The History and Development of Caravels - A Thesis - George Robert Schwarz, B.A., University of Cincinnati, Chair of Advisory Committee : Dr. Luis Filipe Vieira de Castro, May 2008 Museu da Marinha ( in Portuguese ) Museu da Marinha, fac - similes, ( in Portuguese ) Instituto Camões. Caravela Durchbruch am Kap des Schreckens dir. Axel Engstfeld, Germany 2002, 52m. ZDF ( in German ) Types of sailing vessels and rigs Sailing rigs Bermuda rig Crab claw Fore - and - aft rig Gaff rig Junk rig Lateen rig Lug rig Mast aft rig Square rig By sail plan Barque Brig Brigantine Barquentine Catboat Cutter Full - rigged ship Jackass - barque Ketch Mistico Schooner Sloop Snow Yawl Multihull vessels ʻalia Amatasi Baurua Camakau Catamaran Drua Jukung Kaep Kalia Lakatoi Outrigger canoe Pahi Paraw Pentamaran Proa Quadrimaran Takia Tepukei Tipairua Tongiaki Trimaran Ungalawa Va'a - tele Vaka katea Vinta Wa Naval & merchant vessels ( by origin date ) Ancient Boita Dhow Galley Penteconter Bireme Trireme Quadriremes Tessarakonteres Dromon Junk Mtepe Uru Medieval Balinger Birlinn Cog Hulk Knarr Koch Kondura Longship Shitik 15th c. Carrack Chinese treasure ship Caravel Hoy Trabaccolo 16th c. Crommesteven Galiot Galleon Galleass Flyboat Fluyt Full - rigged pinnace Lorcha Man - of - war Patache Square - rigged caravel ( round or de armada ) Xebec 17th c. Bermuda sloop Corvette East Indiaman Frigate Galeas Koff Pinisi Polacca Ship of the line 18th c. Bilander Clipper ( Baltimore Clipper ) Gallivat Grab Gundalow 74 - gun Ship of the line Sloop - of - war Spéronare Trincadour 19th c. Blackwall frigate Dutch clipper Down Easter Elissa Windjammer Fishing vessels Barca - longa Falkuša Felucca Fifie Gableboat Herring buss Jangada Lugger Masula Nordland Sixareen Sgoth Smack Tartane Well smack Yoal Recreational vessels Dinghy Mast aft rig Pocket cruiser Sailing hydrofoil Sportsboat Trailer sailer Wharrams Windsurfer Yacht Special terms Inflatable Razee Sewn Tall ship ULDB Other Floating restaurant Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter Fusta Mersey flat Norfolk punt Norfolk wherry Pausik Pink Pinnace ( ship 's boat ) Pram Scow Thames sailing barge Wherry Timeline of the world 's largest passenger ships Syracusia ( 240 BC ) Thalamegos ( 200 BC ) Caravel ships ( 1400s ) SS Royal William ( 1831 ) SS Great Western ( 1837 ) SS British Queen ( 1839 ) SS President ( 1840 ) SS Great Britain ( 1845 ) HMS Himalaya ( 1854 ) RMS Atrato ( 1854 ) SS Great Eastern ( 1858 ) RMS Celtic ( 1901 ) RMS Baltic ( 1903 ) RMS Empress of Scotland ( 1906 ) RMS Lusitania ( 1907 ) RMS Mauretania ( 1907 ) RMS Olympic ( 1911 ) RMS Titanic ( 1912 ) SS Imperator ( 1913 ) SS Leviathan ( 1913 ) RMS Majestic ( 1914 ) SS Normandie ( 1935 ) RMS Queen Mary ( 1936 ) RMS Queen Elizabeth ( 1940 ) MS Sovereign of the Seas ( 1987 ) MS Sun Princess ( 1995 ) MS Carnival Sunshine ( 1996 ) MS Grand Princess ( 1997 ) MS Voyager of the Seas ( 1999 ) MS Explorer of the Seas ( 2000 ) MS Navigator of the Seas ( 2002 ) RMS Queen Mary 2 ( 2004 ) MS Freedom of the Seas / MS Liberty of the Seas / MS Independence of the Seas ( 2006 ) MS Oasis of the Seas ( 2009 ) MS Allure of the Seas ( 2010 ) MS Harmony of the Seas ( 2016 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Caravel&oldid=805495348 '' Categories : Ship types Exploration ships Maritime history of Portugal Portuguese inventions Age of Sail Hidden categories : Articles containing Portuguese - language text Articles containing Greek - language text Articles lacking in - text citations from September 2012 All articles lacking in - text citations Articles with Portuguese - language external links Articles with German - language external links Talk Contents About Wikipedia Afrikaans Azərbaycanca Беларуская Български Bosanski Català Čeština Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Gaeilge Galego 한국어 Հայերեն Hrvatski Ido Íslenska Italiano עברית Kurdî Lietuvių Magyar Македонски Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Occitan Polski Português Română Русский Scots Simple English Slovenščina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Tagalog Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 15 October 2017, at 19 : 46. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who invented the caravel or the first ship to be able to sail against the wind
Answer: the Portuguese