| Abstrakt: |
The period from 1500 to 1850 saw dramatic developments in naval warships. Although the first effective gun-armed sailing ships had appeared around 1500, these ships were little more than converted merchant ships, not designed to make the most effective use of artillery. Nonetheless, they allowed Europeans to display maritime power on a global scale for the first time, as evidenced by the creation of the Spanish and Portuguese empires in Asia and the Americas, and also in parts of Africa, in the early sixteenth century. The first type of sailing ship designed around gun armament was the galleon, which appeared in approximately 1550. Although galleons were still used by the Spanish as cargo carriers, warships became increasingly differentiated from merchant ships. By 1600 the principal missions of warships were fairly well defined: to seize command of the sea in order to facilitate or prevent invasion; to attack and defend maritime commerce; and also to attack onshore targets. These basic missions continued throughout the age of sail, and into the age of propulsion. |
