The Age of Explorations

Improvement in Ships Before the 15th Century

● The types of ships used before the 15th century were not suitable for travelling long distances. ● As people wanted to travel further, they started to make improvements in how their ships were built. The Caravel

● The types of ships used before the 15th and 16th centuries were not suitable for travelling long distances. ● But the Portuguese invented a new type of that could travel long distances called a ‘caravel’. The Rudder

These ships were also steered by a ‘rudder’ which made the ship easier to turn. Clinker Built Caravels were ‘clinker built’. This means that the boards of the ship overlapped, making them stronger. The Caravel

● They used both square and ‘’ . ● These sails allow the ships to against the by using a technique called ‘’. Life on the Ship

● Life on a ship was hard. ● Life was so hard that captains brought more sailors than they needed because they knew some of the sailors would die! ● There was no room below deck, so the sailors slept on the deck. Food on the Ship

● Food was poor, you were lucky to get one hot meal in the day. ● All the fresh food had to be eaten quickly before it went off. ● After that, you had to eat hard biscuits, salted meat and fish. ● Rats and maggots often got into the food. Antonio Pigafetta

“We ate only old biscuit turned to powder, all full of worms and stinking of the urine which the rats had made on it.” Work on a Ship

1. Pump the water out - All wooden boats leaked a bit. 2. Mend sails and ropes. 3. Look out for land. 4. Scrub the deck. Homework

Create an advertisement for a new boat called a caravel. This should be a one-page ad that could appear in a newspaper or magazine. Your ad must include: ● A coloured drawing of the caravel ● Why people should be interested ● A list of what the caravel does ● A made up quote from someone living at the time. ● A new piece of technology that can be used on it.