Search Results: Sailing

In ancient times, the First Cataract at Aswan marked the southern frontier of Egypt. Beyond lay the land of Nubia, which stretched along the river Nile from the First Cataract southwards for about 250 kilometres (155 mi). This region, known...

A sailing ship typical of the Golden Age of Piracy (1690-1730) as seen through a telescope. From the TV series Black Sails. ©2014 Starz Entertainment

A traditional dhow sailing vessel, used by medieval Arab traders in the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean.

This marble relief shows a man sailing a corbita, a small Roman coastal vessel with two masts. Found at Carthage, most likely produced in Africa Proconsularis (modern-day Tunisia) circa 200 CE. The corbita's sails were most likely made...

The galleon (Spanish: galeón, French: galion) was a type of sailing ship used for both cargo carrying and as a warship. Galleons dominated the seas in the second half of the 16th century, and with their lower superstructures, they were much...

Driven by their desire for trade and the acquisition of such commodities as silver from Spain, gold from Africa, and tin from the Scilly Isles, the Phoenicians sailed far and wide, even beyond the Mediterranean's traditional safe limits of...

Ferdinand Magellan, or Fernão de Magalhães (c. 1480-1521), was a Portuguese mariner whose expedition was the first to circumnavigate the globe in 1519-22 in the service of Spain. Magellan was killed on the voyage in what is today the Philippines...

In the 5th century BCE, the Carthaginian explorer Hanno sailed beyond the Pillars of Hercules, out of the Mediterranean and into hitherto unknown territory down the Atlantic coast of Africa. In his search to find new resources and trading...

From the 16th to 18th centuries, two treasure fleets sailed each year, one to Mexico and the other to Central America, then part of the Spanish Empire. There they collected precious eastern goods and the riches of the Americas, including...

It was all very well pocketing other people’s valuables and roistering at rum parties, but life on a pirate ship involved a surprising amount of hard work. Pirates were first and foremost sailors and in the Golden Age of Piracy (1690-1730...