Caravel, << KAR uh vehl, >> was a small, highly maneuverable sailing ship used mostly by Spanish and Portuguese traders and explorers during the 1400’s and 1500’s. Some caravels, used for fishing and coastal shipping, weighed about 10 long tons (10.2 metric tons). Those designed for ocean voyages weighed about 50 long tons (51 metric tons). The caravel developed from fishing boats of the Iberian peninsula in the 1200’s.
The caravel was smaller, lighter, and easier to maneuver than the larger and heavier galleon, another commonly used ship of the time (see Galleon ). The ocean caravel had a high structure at the stern called the sterncastle. A caravel could have three or four masts (tall poles that hold up sails). The foremast normally carried square sails. The other masts carried lateen, or triangular sails. Christopher Columbus made his famous expedition to North America with two caravels—the Nina and Pinta. Columbus’s flagship, the Santa Maria, was a larger decked type of ship called a carrack or nao. See also Columbus, Christopher .
