Transport & space · c. 1400

Carrack

A big three-masted hull mixing square and lateen sails becomes the first true ocean ship.

Developed in 14th and 15th century Iberia and Genoa, the carrack combined square sails for running with lateen sails for maneuvering, a stern rudder and high cargo capacity. Ships like Columbus's Santa Maria and Magellan's Victoria descend from it. It made sustained transoceanic voyages practical.

See it in the living tree Wikipedia

Arcs above join it to what it stood on, arcs below to what it led to. The bar places this stretch on the tree's whole timeline.

What it built on 3

Magnetic compass 1040
Lateen sail 200
Sternpost rudder 100

What it led to 2

First circumnavigation 1522
Fluyt 1595

Related measurements

The dashed line marks when it first worked.

Transatlantic crossing time Latest: 3.5 hours (1976) Source: Wikipedia: Transatlantic crossing, duration list; Geography of Transport Systems: liner transatlantic crossing times

World trade as a share of GDP since 1500 Latest: 1950-now (PWT): 57.8 % of GDP (2023) Source: Our World in Data