Editing Carrack (section)

== In Asia ==
Starting in 1498, Portugal initiated for the first time direct and regular exchanges between Europe and India—and the rest of Asia thereafter—through the [[Cape Route]], a voyage that required the use of more substantial vessels, such as carracks, due to its unprecedented duration, about six months.

On average, four carracks connected Lisbon to [[Portuguese India|Goa]] carrying gold to purchase spices and other exotic items, but mainly pepper. From Goa, one carrack went on to [[Ming dynasty|Ming China]] in order to purchase silks. Starting in 1541, the Portuguese began trading with Japan, exchanging Chinese silk for Japanese silver; in 1550 the Portuguese Crown started to regulate [[Nanban trade|trade]] to [[Japan]], by leasing the annual "captaincy" to Japan to the highest bidder at Goa, in effect conferring exclusive trading rights for a single carrack bound for Japan every year. In 1557 the Portuguese acquired [[Portuguese Macau|Macau]] to develop this trade in partnership with the Chinese. That trade continued with few interruptions until 1638, when it was prohibited by the rulers of Japan on the grounds that the ships were smuggling Catholic priests into the country. The Japanese called Portuguese carracks "[[Black Ships]]" (''kurofune''), referring to the colour of the ship's hulls. This term would eventually come to refer to any Western vessel, not just Portuguese.

[[File:Ottoman Barca from Piri Reis' Kitab-ı Bahriye.jpg|thumb|[[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] ''barca'' from [[Piri Reis]]' map]]
The Islamic world also built and used carracks, or at least carrack-like ships, in the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. A picture of an Ottoman ''barca'' on Piri Reis' map shows a deep-hulled ship with a tall forecastle and a lateen sail on the mizzenmast.<ref name=":22" />{{rp|329–330}} The ''harraqa'' (Saracen: ''karaque'') was a type of ship used to hurl explosives or inflammable materials (firebomb in earthenware pots, [[naphtha]], fire arrows). From the context of Islamic texts, there are two types of ''harraqa'': The cargo ship and the smaller longship (galley-like) that was used for fighting. It is unclear whether the nomenclature ''harraqa'' has a connection with European ''carraca'' (carrack), or whether one influences the other. One Muslim ''harraqa'' named ''Mogarbina'' was captured by the [[Knights Hospitaller|Knights of St. John]] in 1507 from the Ottoman Turks and renamed ''Santa Maria''.<ref name=":22">{{Cite book |last=Agius |first=Dionisius A. |title=Classic Ships of Islam: From Mesopotamia to the Indian Ocean |publisher=Brill Academic Pub |year=2007 |isbn=978-9004277854}}</ref>{{rp|343–348}} Gujarati ships are usually called ''naos'' (carracks) by the Portuguese. Gujarati ''naos'' operated between Malacca and the Red Sea, and were often larger than Portuguese carracks. The [[Bengalis]] also used carracks, sometimes called ''naos mauriscas'' (Moorish carracks) by the Portuguese. Arabs merchants of Mecca apparently used carracks too, since [[Duarte Barbosa]] noted that the Bengali people have "great ''naos'' after the fashion of Mecca".<ref name=":2">Manguin, Pierre-Yves. 2012. "Asian shipbuilding traditions in the Indian Ocean at the dawn of European expansion", in: Om Prakash and D. P. Chattopadhyaya (eds), ''History of science, philosophy, and culture in Indian Civilization'', Volume III, Part 7: The trading world of the Indian Ocean, 1500–1800, pp. 597–629. Delhi, Chennai, Chandigarh: Pearson.{{ISBN?}}</ref>{{rp|605–606, 610}}