Galleon
Galeón
- Date
- c. 1530-1550 · confidence medium
- Place
- Seville and the shipyards of the Cantabrian coast, Spain; Venice
- Credited to
- Spanish, Venetian and Portuguese shipyards; refined by John Hawkins (the race-built galleon, 1570)
- Field
- Movement
What it is
A sailing ship with a long, narrow hull, a lowered forecastle, a square stern and batteries of guns on continuous decks, suited to both cargo and combat. It formed the backbone of the Indies fleets and the Manila Galleon.
The exact origin is disputed between Venice, Spain and Portugal; the word appears in Venetian sources of the 16th century.
What it led to
- The transatlantic fleet system and the global trade in silver
- Naval gunnery warfare in line formation (the Spanish Armada, 1588)
- The oceanic colonial empires of Iberia and, later, England and the Netherlands
- Transoceanic mercantile capitalism
Built on
Made possible
- San Juan Bautista (Japanese-built galleon that crossed the Pacific)1613-1614
- Ship of the line1637-1655
- Sailing frigatec. 1640-1650
- Havana Royal Shipyard and the ship of the line Santísima Trinidad1724-1769
- Ship of the line
- East India Company merchant ship (East Indiaman)