This is an essay I wrote for a DAR competition that I participated in. I had so much fun researching the different ships and the history behind this that I never would have learned in school. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do!
Comparing Ship Technology: The Ships Columbus Used Versus Ships of Today
Leaving
on a summer day of August 3, 1492, from the Spanish port of Palos to the Canary
Islands off the coast of Africa (Flint, 2018)
on the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria, Columbus embarked on his
journey in search of a shorter route to the Far East with a crew of seasoned
sailors and novices, including four convicts (Preparations For The First Voyage
Of Discovery, n.d.) . Preparing for this voyage required seven
years of painstaking negotiations. Learning the path of the trade winds, traveling back and forth to find the best ways
to travel, and trying to find supporters
to help fund his voyage were only parts of his long wait. He was finally able
to receive support from King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain (Tergerson T. , 2018) on April 17, 1492,
nearly four months prior to their departure. This voyage began a new chapter in
the history of the known world.
Columbus
became one the most well known explorers of his time. He traveled across the
Atlantic to look for a new route to the Far East though few people had faith in
him. The timing of his exploration was perfect: the Crusades whetted the desires
of Europeans for spices, perfumes, and silks from the Orient, the technology of navigation and building ships had
improved significantly through advances made under Prince Henry the Navigator
of Portugal giving Portugal control over the route around Africa to the Far
East. Italy controlled the land routes to the Far East creating a duopoly of
control of goods and prices – and tariffs for those goods. The invasion of the
Islamic Moors into Europe through Spain had been halted and the merger of the
Spanish kingdoms of Castile and Aragon created a new seat of power in Spain with
rulers who were eager to own rights to a new, faster, safer route to the Far
East (Tergerson
T. , 2018) . Their desire to have a part in this power led
King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to finance Columbus’ journey when others
would not. Columbus rewarded their investment through his triumph in finding a
New World, that he believed to have been the Indies with its copper-colored
people and their exotic animals, gold, and spices. It took a little over two months
for Columbus to make this discovery from his initial departure from Spain on
his small wooden ships. Today’s ships
can travel more than eight times the speed of Columbus’s ships with better
technology and significantly improved cleanliness, sanitation, and comfort
levels. What would this have been like for those sailing with Columbus? How
would his journey compare to those made on ships today? What are the pros and
cons of the ships of Columbus’ time and those of today?
Columbus’
ships were the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria. The Santa Maria
was a carrack or Nao and Nina and Pinta were caravels (Mariners and
Their Ships: A Revolution in Ship Design., 2018) . A carrack is a large
ship that is approximately 150 feet long that could carry from 50-300 men for
exploration and much food to sustain them (Austin, 2013) , and thus became a favorite of the
explorers. A caravel is a lightweight
ship developed by the Portuguese for traveling around Africa that were capable
of remarkable speed, about four to eight knots (Development
of Sailing Ships, 2014) , and they were excellent for traveling
windward (Brittanica, 2007) .
The
advantages of fifteenth-century ships are
that most of them were relatively small and they could land close to the shore
and use rowboats to travel to and from the ship (Richards,
2018) .
The jobs on the ships were simple. One could hire almost anybody to man the
ship, including convicts, as in the case of Columbus’ journey. The ships were
made of renewable materials, so when the ship was damaged, it was fairly easy
to repair them with supplies that were readily accessible.
With
that said, there were also disadvantages to ships of that time. They were
fragile and could easily be destroyed such
as when the Santa Maria was shipwrecked off the coast of Hispaniola. The
quarters were cramped with very few if any comforts.
There was no proper sanitation as we would expect today. The ships had no means
to refrigerate to preserve foods, so foods and water spoiled rapidly on long
voyages such as this. While these ships
used the renewable resource of wind that is free if the ship was caught in a
doldrum the sailors would die (Richards, 2018) (Tergerson T. , 2018) . Columbus recognized
the risk of mutiny he faced being out to sea with no land in sight for such a
long time. Going to the Canary Islands
to ensure fair winds to blow him eastward was crucial in his navigational
planning.
In
comparison, a modern ship such as a DDG class ship, or Destroyer, is one of the
smaller ships used by today’s U.S. Navy. It has a speed of over thirty knots (United States
Navy Fact File, 2018) (Tergerson M. , 2018) , with better
propulsion resulting in increased speed without the need for wind power so they
can travel the shortest route without concern for the direction the winds blow
– if they blow. These ships are much
more comfortable, and the food will keep fresh longer with modern refrigeration
and shorter travel time. We also have better star navigation charts since 1802 thanks
to the accuracy of Nathaniel Bowditch, whose book, “The New American Practical Navigator,
first published in 1802, is still carried on board every commissioned U.S.
naval vessel.” (Wikipedia Contributors, 2018)
Even
with all the new technology, there are cons to these comfortable ships. With
the ships being made of steel, it is more difficult to repair the ship. The technology employed on these ships
require specialists to monitor the technology used and maintain the ships. This adds to the expense of travel, as does
the fuel cost for the non-renewable diesel fuel or nuclear fuel in the cases of
some Navy ships (Tergerson
T. , 2018) .
Cost for modern Naval ships is another disadvantage. For comparison, a yacht
the size of Columbus’ Santa Maria would cost over six million dollars. (Used Yachts
for Sale from 101 to 130 feet, 2018) Modern cruise ships
and Destroyers cost $1.25-$1.85 billion (Chanev, 2015) (United States
Navy Fact File, 2018) .
Compared
to Columbus’s ships, we have many luxuries for which they would have been
envious: we are able to go shorter routes without the need of wind power, we
are able to keep food fresh longer, the ships are sanitary, we have stronger
built ships, and we can navigate across the oceans easily. Even so, there is also much to envy of them
with their ability to repair their ships with renewable materials, the wind as
fuel for the ships were renewable and free, captains could hire almost any man to
help man the ships, resulting in a somewhat lower cost to operate ships then
compared to today’s costs.
Both
eras are to be appreciated for how they have affected the course of our history
and how we use our dreams to create something new and to explore new
dimensions. These voyages of the seas have inspired new explorers to seek to
explore the vastness of space. Columbus
and his three small, wooden ships started that and gave us courage for centuries
afterward to be curious, courageous, passionate, and strive for our dreams.
Bibliography
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https://www.cruisemapper.com/wiki/759-how-much-does-a-cruise-ship-cost
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