In the same way, there existed among the Ancients, beside the naves longæ, broad beamed ships which were used in the beginning solely for commerce and transportation.
The invention of gunpowder, and still more the closing by the Turks of the old route to the Indies, at the end of the XVth century, made a change in this situation. From this time, trade moves toward the ocean; a new route to the Indies is sought and the New World is discovered.
Then too, the nations of the North greedy for riches and no longer content with the Baltic Sea, take their chances toward the South.
All these circumstances brought in a turning point for the history of the naval architecture of the Mediterranean. In spite of the efforts made to preserve the supremacy of the old types of ships, by building larger vessels with oars, such as the galliass etc., it was necessary to retreat, not only in Italy but also in Spain and Portugal before the more powerful fleets of the peoples of the North.
Hence it can be said, in the order of the ideas already expressed in speaking of the battle of Zierikzee, which occurred in 1302, that the XIVth and XVth centuries saw the naval architecture of the Ocean make its way into the Mediterranean. On the other hand, the art of the Mediterranean was not without its influence on the former.
It is not easy to reconstitute the types of ships inherent to the Mediterranean; indeed, but few data remain concerning these vessels. All that can be done is to refer to the contracts above mentioned of Louis IX. The first reliable information dates from a period subsequent to the middle ages, and notably from the XVIIth century.
All the old drawings known at present leave something to be desired and are always out of proportion. The only conclusion to be drawn from them is that there were several kinds of boats.
It is really to be regretted, as JAL says, that we have no more exact information. There is no doubt, however, that, even in the middle ages, there were good broad-beamed ships (JAL, Clos. naut., p. 1057; LA CROIX, p. 86; idem, p. 96) which allowed at least five hundred fighting men to be carried. (JAL, Archéologie Navale, p. 380, 2d part, note.) Even horses were loaded on board. (JAL, Archéologie Navale, p. 386, etc. HOLMES, p. 68.)
In order to reconstitute the types inherent to the Mediterranean, it is necessary to find out, first of all, what models were still existing at the end of the XVIIIth century, at the time when wooden vessels exclusively were used.
It will be remarked, before beginning this examination, that boats were constantly beached when not under way; let it also be noted that the waters of the Mediterranean were calm, when compared with those of the Ocean. This latter point especially explains why vessels with oars were there so long in use. (PARIS, Vol. IV, p. 206.)