Caravel

The caravel was the instrument that broke open the world. Portugal's shipwrights perfected the design in the fifteenth century: a small, nimble vessel carrying the triangular lateen sail — borrowed from Arab dhows — that allowed sailing closer to the wind than any square-rigged predecessor. Columbus crossed the Atlantic aboard two caravels in 1492; Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope in one. Their shallow draft let explorers push into estuaries and coastal waters that larger ships could not enter, while their seaworthiness made open-ocean crossings of thousands of miles practical for the first time in history. The caravel was lightly armed — a few swivel guns at most — making it a scout and explorer rather than a warship. In the game it is the fastest early naval unit, invaluable for exploration and coastal raiding, but outgunned by any purpose-built warship in a direct engagement.