The Galleon

The Galleon is arguably one of the best-known ship designs in history and an icon of the age of sail; it evolved from the carrack or nau and perhaps other types around the XVI century and for many years it remained as the basic ship design of European naval powers.
 
The name "Galleon" had already been in use in the middle ages, but to define a kind of ship altogether different. Medieval galleons were actually galleys. The galleons that sailed between the XVI and XVIII centuries were different, and the type itself evolved during this period. Variations according to the nation that constructed each galleon also were developed. There were trends, preferences and technologies that evolved differently. 

A Spanish Galleon. P.E.

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