Carrack

The carrack was a three- or four-masted ocean-going sailing ship developed in the Mediterranean and Iberian shipbuilding traditions during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, combining a high, rounded hull with a mix of square and lateen sails that gave it both power running before the wind and some ability to sail closer to it. Its capacious hold and stable design made it the vessel of choice for the long Atlantic and Indian Ocean voyages of the Age of Discovery, carrying explorers, cargo, and armament on voyages that could last many months without resupply. Well-armed carracks also served as warships and as the largest merchant vessels of their era, and the type was gradually succeeded by the smaller, more maneuverable galleon during the sixteenth century.