Editing Carrack (section)

{{Short description|14th–18th century masted sailing ship}}
{{distinguish|Karak (disambiguation){{!}}Karak}}
{{for multi|the rocks off the Cornish coast|The Carracks|the musician|Paul Carrack}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2023}}
[[File:Portuguese Carracks off a Rocky Coast.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The Portuguese carrack [[Santa Catarina do Monte Sinai]] and other ships, painting by [[Joachim Patinir]]. <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/rmgc-object-12197 | title=Portuguese Carracks off a Rocky Coast &#124; Royal Museums Greenwich }}</ref> The voyage of [[Infante|Infanta]] [[Beatrice of Portugal, Duchess of Savoy|Beatriz]], second daughter of King [[Manuel of Portugal]], to Villefranche for her marriage to Charles III, Duke of Savoy, in 1521.]]
[[File:Medieval carrack - detail by Pieter Bruegel the Elder.jpg|thumb|{{Circa|1558}} painting of a large carrack attributed to [[Pieter Bruegel the Elder]]]]

A '''carrack''' ({{Langx|pt|nau}}; {{Langx|es|nao}}; {{Langx|ca|carraca}}) is a three- or four-[[Mast (sailing)|masted]] ocean-going [[sailing ship]] that was developed in the 14th to 15th centuries in Europe, most notably in [[Portugal]] and [[Spain]]. Evolving from the single-masted [[Cog (ship)|cog]], the carrack was first used for European trade from the Mediterranean to the Baltic and quickly found use with the newly found wealth of the trade between Europe and Africa and then the trans-Atlantic trade with the Americas. In their most advanced forms, they were used by the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] and [[Spaniards]] for trade between Europe, Africa and Asia starting in the late 15th century, before being gradually superseded in the late 16th and early 17th centuries by the [[galleon]].

In its most developed form, the carrack was a [[Carvel (boat building)|carvel-built]] ocean-going ship: large enough to be stable in heavy seas, and capacious enough to carry a large cargo and the provisions needed for very long voyages. The later carracks were [[square-rigged]] on the [[foremast]] and [[mainmast]] and [[lateen]]-[[rigging|rigged]] on the [[mizzenmast]]. They had a high rounded [[stern]] with [[aftcastle]], [[forecastle]] and [[bowsprit]] at the stem. As the predecessor of the [[galleon]], the carrack was one of the most influential ship designs in history; while ships became more specialized in the following centuries, the basic design remained unchanged throughout this period.<ref>{{cite book |title=The History of Shipwrecks |first=A. |last=Konstam |year=2002 |location=New York | publisher=Lyons Press |pages=77–79 |isbn=1-58574-620-7}}</ref>[[File:Vila do Conde 2018 (9).jpg|thumb|Replica of a small 15th-century or 16th-century carrack at [[Vila do Conde]], Portugal]]