The Catalan galley (formerly galea), has its own entity with respect to the galleys of the other maritime nations (referenced from the 13th century ), since the Corominas provides a reference to a Catalan galley from the year 1120 (100 years before the others). It was a type of warship and trade , entirely propelled by the force of the oars and sometimes of the wind, thanks to the presence of masts with sails (usually Latin).
Model of the " La Real ".
Catalan galley sailing a long way.
Maltese galley , Catalan style
At least from the 12th century, the Catalans built the "Catalan galleys", making extensive use of them for wars with the different maritime republics (as enemies or as allies) or for trade with most Mediterranean ports , guaranteeing the commercial routes with the Catalan consulates. Their use began to decline from the seventeenth century, when they were progressively replaced by sailboats , finally becoming extinct at the end of the eighteenth century .
Etymology edit
The name " galley ", for a Catalan ship is documented in the 12th century (in 1120), it is derived from the old term galea, and this from the Greek γαλέoς ( galeos ), that is to say "fish shape", because the shape of this type of ships at the time of its main exponent, it remembered the shape of a fish : a long and subtle shape,
History edit
Reconstruction of the Olympias trireme
Galliot Catalan style (small galley)
The Catalan galley is the natural evolution of ancient Greek ships, such as those described in the Iliad and the Odyssey . The different types of Greek ships had a completely analogous shape, but they were smaller in size.
The construction of larger ships was possible, in classical times, with the innovation of the oars arranged on more orders on both sides of the ship: the best compromise between size and maneuverability was achieved with the trireme , that is, a galley with three orders of oars, which replaced the pentecontera . At the Battle of Salamis ( 480 BC ) the Athenian fleet was already made up almost entirely of triremes. Rarer, but ever present, were ships with a larger number of orders of oars, adopted in particular by the Romans .
The shape of these ships remained largely unchanged until the early Middle Ages , when the Byzantine Empire developed the dromons , an intermediate shape between agile triremes and larger ships.
In the 12th century (1st reference of the year 1211), in the West, with the beginning of the development of the Catalan navy , different types of Catalan galley appeared , a hybrid boat designed not only with the advantages of the rowing boat, but also by the the fact of associating two characteristics in the same type of ship: as a warship and as a merchant ship.
Towards the end of the Middle Ages, the system of rowing with a slam was invented , in which 4-5 rowers did a lot on the same oar. The rowers could be free men, salaried or recruited by lottery (in case of war), they could also be slaves or prisoners sentenced to galleys for a certain number of years: the Catalan term galley actually derives from the word galley.
Finally the galley was progressively replaced by the galleon propelled only by sail, much larger and more powerful: apart from having a greater firepower, it could face the oceanic courses, which with the increase in traffic with America became more important. . The galleon , invented in Spain, the first to adopt it were the countries of the Atlantic coast , especially England . But on the other hand, in the Mediterranean , in the seventeenth century , the galley was still the most commonly used warship.
Features edit
There were examples of Catalan galleys up to 60 m in length and 6 m of hose, with an emerging spur fixed to the bow, which served to spur the adversarial ships and then be able to throw the hooks to move to theapproach. Rowing propulsion made the Catalan galley fast and manoeuvrable in all conditions; the sails or latins allowed the wind to explode when it was blowing in the right direction.
The long and narrow shape of the galleys, ideal especially in battle and for good speed (which in boats that do not plan is limited by length),was to the detriment of stability, and storms and the thick sea could make them subsobrar: that is why they were preferably used during the summer season, at most until autumn; it is documented by John of Austria that the galleys hibernated: "... the ynbernadero del rio de Tortosa that hallo here great relation and to the comedian mayor (Lluis de Requesens) and don Sancho les pareçe that is the mejor that S M tiene en toda España..". If the trip allowed it, they did a cabotagesailing, that is, near the coasts,since the small capacity of their winery forced several stages for the supply mainly of water, which the rowers, due to the continuous physical effort, consumed in large quantities. However, although the galley was poorly adapted to ocean sailing, they were used in trade with England and the rest of the North Sea ports and were made in Barcelona for the race of the Indies.
From the 14th to the 16thcentury, when its military use was very important,The Catalan galleys were classified into three categories, depending on their size, being from highest to lowest, large, bastard and subtle. The crew of the Catalan galleys included forty dancers in the thick and thirty in the subtle ones, with a mission to attack with saetas and viratons the enemy covers. The royal galley or admiral was out of the standings.
The Catalan galley (formerly galea), has its own entity with respect to the galleries of the other maritime nations (referenced from the s.[1] XIII), since Corominas provides a reference to a Catalan galley from the year 1120 (100 years earlier than the other countries).[2][3] It was a type of warship and trade ship, powered entirely by the power of oars and sometimes by the wind, thanks to the presence of masts with their sails (usually Latin).
At least as of the 12th century, the Catalans built the "Catalan galleys", making extensive use of them for wars with the different maritime republics (as enemies or as allies) or for trade with most Mediterranean ports, guaranteeing trade routes with Catalan consulates. Its use began to decline from the seventeenth century, when they were progressively replaced by Sailboats, finally becoming extinct in the late eighteenth century .[4]
Admirals Galley edit
The admirals's galley was a large galley, accompanied by a subtle, or light, squad of galleys and rowing logs. They regulated subordination, rewards, punishments, dangers, and profits. The men in arms constituted the admiral's guard, in combat, they never had to leave helpless, until they lost their lives. Their ordinary armament was the already mentioned crossbowmen, except what the admiral ordered. They were appropriate people for boarding, and they fought on all occasions; his prize was a quarter of the loot, apart from what the admiral could promise. The most desired prey was the cape's armor and all that the enemies wore at the time of the boarding, since once this was accomplished, they prescribed their rights. All the armed people were directly commanded by the so-called constable.
Combat edit
On board the Catalan galleys, the battles with other galleys were resolved only on boarding, in which the crews faced each other and, from the 16th century onwards, with arcabus fire . Sometimes the rowers also joined the fight.
Compared to the medium-sized galleons, which had twelve to twenty guns of greater caliber and range, the galleys had a fragile structure that was not very resistant to enemy fire, with a maximum of five guns at the bow . In combat the low structure of the galleys was overwhelmed by the high edges of the galleons, while their crew fired from the higher decks..
The crossbowmen "in table" edit
Crossbowmen were the most important offensive forces aboard a traditional galley. And they coexisted for many years with the arcabusseros and artillerymen. Ramon Muntaner was a supporter of professional crossbowmen, only recruited to act as crossbowmen (crossbowmen hired on the table to be agreed; hence the name "on board").[5][6]
It was mandatory that every sailor with crossbowman duties in the galleys, had to have two crossbows with two feet and another one with a strap (that had a strap to arm it), three hundred pins, a steel helmet, a stitching (it could be the union of weight and point: heavy-point) or breastplate and sword or saber. The same armament had to be carried by crossbowmen ex officio in smaller ships.
- The galleys were the same. Normal galleys only carried two rowers per bank: a dovecote and a postic. The galleys with third parties went with a third rower in each bank: the thirdol. They were faster but the number of professional crossbowmen was smaller.
- Some foreign scholars have wanted to translate (without justification or success) the "table" by a type of castle or protection reinforcement that only the Catalan galleys wore. [7][8][9][10]
Organization on board edit
The organization of the Catalan galleys in the Middle Ages had two main sections: the rowers, under the command of the commander or captain of the rabble; and those who we could qualify as the official. Between these two sections were sailors with regard for their duties. The officers consisted of the skipper, one or more pilots and the ship's clerk who enjoyed great prominence.
Among the crew were the pilots , practical men with nautical knowledge, among whom were chosen the boatswains and helmsmen. The most important position was for the senior pilot, a true officer who substituted for the boss and could accidentally act as a pilot. The other sailors were panhandlers and they went to the stern of the ship, there were also one or more carpenters and caulkers and the servants or servants, among whom there were the boys or cabin boys.
When a commercial galley became armed, it rose in rank, increasing the number of crew, sometimes having an admiral or a captain instead of the master, men at the bow and gonfaloneros, in charge of flags and signals, and retaining their high functions. , the clerk of the galley.
The organization of a corsair galley was curious, mixing the positions of peace and war. Apart from the aforementioned, the crew had different specializations, the overseers or liquidators, distributors of the loot obtained; the aferradors (handles) that clung to the ships in the attacks, at the moment of the boarding; the registrars who registered the opposing vessels and carried out the inventory of the dam; the boys (cabin boys), with a corporal in charge of them; the Consuls, a kind of judges in charge of the on-board police, and the clavarios (treasurers) who are auditors of the prey carried out and depository cashiers of what was collected. The senior pilot, acting as boatswain or captain of the sails, was in charge of everything regarding the sail.The presence of a priest, a doctor and a barber was compulsory in warships or choirs.
Chronology of the various stages and eras edit
- Pisano-Catalan crusade
- 1120. Ramón Berenguer III
... ut habeat illi viginti galeas et de gorabs so many id possit alchaid mitere ducentos cauallos inter christianos et sarracenos et passet illum ad maioricas ... Historical origins of Catalonia. Josep Balari i Jovany. Page 657.
- Pedro the Ceremonious and Bernat II de Cabrera
- Ordinations on what is made of the sea
- Features of the galleys of the time
| Characteristic | Fat galley | Bastard galley | Subtle galley |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benches on the starboard side, with 2 rowers per bench | 29 | 29 | 29 |
| Banks on the port side, with 2 rowers per bank | 28 | 28 | 28 |
| Total rowers, with 57 banks (NOTE 1) | 114 | 114 | 114 |
| Ratchet mast, above deck | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mast master on Paramola / paramitjal | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Half mast, on the deck | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Ratchet sail (bow wolf, tertiary) | 30 vessos | 25 | 22 |
| Vela maestra o vela de maestro(artimó) | 40 | 35 | 30 |
| Vela de media | 22 | 18 | 16 |
| Ballesteros | 40 | 36 | 30 |
NOTE 1: A bench on the left side (starboard) was suppressed by the stove.
- Caspe's commitment. The Generalitat determines to build 3 trosselleres galleys ("trocelleres" in the original; made of pieces or pieces of scrapped galleys) of 30 banks.
- Alfonso the Magnanimous
- 1420. Set sail a stole of 26 galleys and 6 galleys.
- 1432. 26 galleys and 9 fat ships.
- 1435. Defeat of the Battle of Ponça.
- Catalan Civil War.
- Ferdinand the Catholic initiated what some have called "political persecution" of Catalan shipbuilding.Previously the galleys (of war) were built by the Generalitat or private characters "with royal permission" investing their own money. From Ferdinand the Catholic, the money passes to the crown and the king orders the construction of galleys, allocating a very small part of the taxes collected to shipbuilding. The result is known: virtual destruction of the Catalan naval industry, loss of artisans and, in a few years, Spanish need for shipyards and foreign products with an exorbitant increase in prices.
These galleys were disarmed by order of the Catholic Monarchs Don Fernando and Doña Isabel and persuasion of friars who entrusted them with their consciences because they had galleys, saying that God did not have more than one hell for everyone, and that they wanted to have many because each galley was a hell. So much was the obedience that the Catalans had to their kings, that although they had war with old enemies ginoveses, and although they did and feared the damage that later here they have been followed by this, they then fulfilled the commandment; and so good was the advice of those friars, that it has been the cause of how many wars and robberies have done cosarios in these kingdoms ... Choronica of the very named Omiche and Haradin Barbarossas. Francisco López de Gómara
- In 1505, Ferdinand the Catholic commissioned the construction of 9 galleys to the shipyards of Barcelona. In the preserved correspondence the king speaks of "his" shipyards.
- 1529, 1535. Carlos V.
- 1585. Frederic Despalau, drassaner major of the Shipyards of Barcelona.
Campaigns edit
The"Way of the Spaniards",with its main and secondary variants, went from Barcelona and Naples to Brussels, via Genoa-Milàn. The most famous campaigns where these ships fought, in both took part several hundred galleys fueron_
- The campaign of Lepanto,the 1571
- The campaign of the Invincible Navy in 1588. Although the history books do not recognize Catalan participation, the secret Venice-England archives released to the public say otherwise:
". The Englishman (Drake), apart from the burning of the Catalan ships, on board of which fifty thousand crowns were lost, captured a ship belonging to Don Pedro de Valdez, with four hundred and fifty Spaniards on board, and a large amount of field artillery that had been used as ballast."
Other important campaigns:
- Mediterranean campaign of Alfonso the Magnanimous 1420-1423 All the troops of Alfonso the Magnanimous ) embarked the galleys in Barcelona.
- Campaign of Granada with the siege of Malaga,in 1492,- "the royal was left without gunpowder and the king sent two galleys to Valencia and Barcelona for it" (Cura de los palacios)
- Wars of Italy- All the troops of Ferdinand the Catholic (as they had done those of his uncle Alfonso the Magnanimous) embarked on the galleys in Barcelona.
- Tunisia campaign 1535 All troops (as well as Charles V and his cohort)embarked on the galleys at Barcelona.
In the following wars the Spanish thirds (as well as Charles V and his cohort)went in Catalan galleys from Barcelona to Genoa and the Italian thirds from Naples to Genoa,there they took the Way of the Spaniards to their destination
- War of Esmalcalda 1546-1547
- War of Flanders 1548-1568
Chronology of battles edit
Detail of the Tavola Strozzi. Ships returning to Naples after the Battle of Ischia (1465).
- Battle of Nicotera 1282
- Battle of Malta 1283
- Battle of the Golf of Naples 1284
- Naval Battle of Sant Feliu de Guíxols 1285
- Naval Battle of Formigues 1285
- Battle of the Counts 1287
- Battle of Cape Orlando 1299
- Battle of Gagliano 1300
- Naval Battle of Cagliari 1324
- Naval Battle of the Bosphorus 1352
- Naval Battle of Zonklon 1352
- Naval Battle of Puerto del Conde 1353
- Naval Battle of Barcelona (1359)
- Naval Battle of Bône 1360
- Siege of Boniface 1420
- Battle of Foç Pisana 1421
- Sack of Marseille 1423
- Siege of Calvi 1429
- Naval Battle of Ponza (1435)
- Battle of Ischia 1465 (conspiracy of the Barons)
- Siege of Kefalonia 1500
- Mazalquivir Day 1506
- Conquest of Oran 1509
- Siege of Bejaïa (1514)
- Battle of Formentera (1529)
- Day of Tunisia 1535
- Battle of Preveza 1538
- Battle of Girolata 1540
- Battle of Alboran Island 1540
- Day of Algiers 1541
- Siege of Nice (1543)
- Battle of Los Gelves (1560)
- Siege of Malta (1565)
- Battle of Terceira Island 1582
- Battle of Lepanto
Gallery edit
Panorama edit
The 'Invincible' Armada, with Catalan galleys sailing off Cornwall. There are at least two Catalan flags hoisted on two Navy ships, one of them on the galleys in the center of the painting. (They must not be confused with that of Isabel I observing from the coast, which is that of the Stuarts)
See also edit
- Sailboat (profession)
- José María Martínez-Hidalgo y Terán
- invincible army
- Galiot
- Galley
- Galeaza
- Galeote (sailor)
- Royal Galley
- Galleys penalty
- Catalan Navy
- Book of the Consulate of the Sea
- Ordinacions on the fet of the sea
- Hours vial
- Pump deplete
- Tartana (boat)
References edit
- ^ "DCVB: Galera".
- ^ Joan Corominas.
- ^ Josep Balari i Jovany.
- ^ Nicolas (rev) Aubin.
- ^ Ramón Muntaner.
- ^ Ángel San Martín.
- ^ "Ships of the 13th-century Catalan Navy" (PDF).
- ^ Charles D Stanton.
- ^ "Antiguos tratados de paces y alianzas entre algunos reyes de Aragón y diferentes principes infieles de Asia y Africa desde el siglo XIII hasta el XV: copiados con orden de S.M. de los originales registros del ... Archivo de la Corona de Aragón". Imprenta Real. 10 February 1786.
- ^ "APORTACIÓN MALLORQUÍNA A LA ARMADA SANTA. 1398–1399" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 August 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
Bibliography edit
Garcia i Sanz, Arcadi (1977). History of the Catalan Navy (in Catalan) . Barcelona: Aedos.
External links edit
Royal Gallery to the Requesens Archive Medieval ship building process Unali, Anna; Catalan sailors, pirates and corsairs in the late Middle Ages; Dimensions of a Catalan galley Rubió and Lluch; Diplomatari del Oriente Catala; p.267 Inventory of a galley
This work contains a translation derived from the Catalan Wikipedia's " Catalan Gallery ", published by its editors under the GNU Free Documentation License and the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License .