In a small volume consisting only of ten leaves,[1] preserved in the Grenville library, there are two drawings of vessels said to be copies of the caravels of Columbus, but unfortunately no description whatever is given of them; of these, one is given in the edition of Washington Irving's work just referred to,[2] with the statement that it is "the sketch of a galley coasting the island of Hispaniola, from an illustration contained in a letter written by Columbus to Don Gabriel Sanchez, treasurer of the king of Spain;" and that "the original sketch is supposed to have been made with a pen by Columbus." But the sketch does not represent the kind of vessel which an experienced navigator, like Columbus, would have chosen for an Atlantic voyage, when he must have had more suitable vessels at his disposal.
Though the word "caravel" was generally used to designate vessels of a small size, in the Mediterranean it was occasionally given to the largest class of ships of war among the Mussulmans. Thus, in a naval classification made by King Alphonzo, in the middle of the thirteenth century, large ships propelled only by sails are described as Naos;[3] the second class, or smaller vessel, were known as Caraccas, Fustas, Ballenares, Pinazas, and Carabelas; while boats of the smallest size, with sails and oars, were called Galleys, Galliots, Tardantes, and Sactias. To the latter class the vessel said to have been sketched
- ↑ Mr. Major ("Select Letters of Columbus") has mentioned all the known copies of this very rare tract.—Introd. p. cviii.
- ↑ W. Irving (Murray). Ibid. p. lxxxvii.
- ↑ Columbus calls his own ship the Christopher Nao; and M. Jal, who has at great length discussed the size of Columbus's ships on his voyage, states that Nao was the usual title of an admiral's vessel.—Arch. Nav. ii. p. 249.
