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I'm not at all sure that most nations had a permanent navy in 1492. England certainly didn't. Navies were generally created on an "ad hoc" basis by requisitioning merchant ships. I know that Venice operated a permanent navy, at that time entirely composed of galleys, which was used to protect the republic's vulnerable merchant galleys, which travelled in state-organised convoys to places as far afield as Tana and Kaffa on the Black Sea; Alexandria, Egypt; or Southampton, England, and Bruges in Flanders.
You ask a good question, Yannelis. I'd guess the Venetians in the Mediterranean, but the Portugese in open water. The Arabs and the Chinese may have had larger navies, but the Portugese demonstrated their clear superiority over them as early as 1502, when de Gama with 14 sail virtually annihilated a larger body of Malabar Arab ships in the Indian Ocean.
Navy best at doing what?
trade? combat? power projection?
(hansa, venice, spain btw imho)
trade? combat? power projection?
(hansa, venice, spain btw imho)
I think it might be the Turks. At least in cooperation with some pirates such as thee barbarossas in North Africa
What do you mean by best? quality or quantity or the combination of the both? Ocean-going only or overall?
Portugal is a good candidate for the open sea
Vencie or Turkey in the Mediterran, depends of quality(Venice) or quantity(Turkey).
The Hansa dominated the Baltic sea but only because of the truly sorry state of the navies of the countries in the region at that time.
Portugal is a good candidate for the open sea
Vencie or Turkey in the Mediterran, depends of quality(Venice) or quantity(Turkey).
The Hansa dominated the Baltic sea but only because of the truly sorry state of the navies of the countries in the region at that time.
Chinese Navy
I don't want to sound ethno-centric, but I believe the Chinese got the most technologically advanced ships of that era.
The Yuan (Mongolian), Ming (Chinese) and Ching (Manchurian) dynasties got their hands full with land affairs and never really acquired a maritime aspiration.
One exception is the fleet under ambassador Zheng Ho send by the Ming emperor Chen Zhu. The fleet, which consisted of some 200 large seaworthy vessels, sailed as far as the island of Madagascar. The fact that Zheng Ho is a enuch (royal courrier in Ming China) is indicative of the fact that such expeditions are privately assigned by the emperor. This lack of general enthusiasm probably accounts for the expedition's short-livedness.
I know two books that deal with the size and technos of Chinese navy of this period but they are both in Chinese. Does anyone know similar books in other languages?
I don't want to sound ethno-centric, but I believe the Chinese got the most technologically advanced ships of that era.
The Yuan (Mongolian), Ming (Chinese) and Ching (Manchurian) dynasties got their hands full with land affairs and never really acquired a maritime aspiration.
One exception is the fleet under ambassador Zheng Ho send by the Ming emperor Chen Zhu. The fleet, which consisted of some 200 large seaworthy vessels, sailed as far as the island of Madagascar. The fact that Zheng Ho is a enuch (royal courrier in Ming China) is indicative of the fact that such expeditions are privately assigned by the emperor. This lack of general enthusiasm probably accounts for the expedition's short-livedness.
I know two books that deal with the size and technos of Chinese navy of this period but they are both in Chinese. Does anyone know similar books in other languages?
As an afterthought:
Perhaps Chinese mentality explains why we never reach over the seas. My signature demonstrates this very well, it was written by a Ming scholar/stateman/man-of-letters Gu Yen-Wu 300 years ago. He is like the Chinese parallel of Cato the Younger.
Perhaps Chinese mentality explains why we never reach over the seas. My signature demonstrates this very well, it was written by a Ming scholar/stateman/man-of-letters Gu Yen-Wu 300 years ago. He is like the Chinese parallel of Cato the Younger.
You are probably right. China had the tech and resources to dominate the seas during that period, but seem to largely have lacked the will to do it. I heard somwhere about the fleet you mentioned:
1) that it was bigger than any exploration fleet ever sent from Europe. (and in tonnage bigger than the sum of all European exploration fleets sent during the 16th century)
2) After that fleet return the Emperor decided to abandon all future sea explorations.
I my be wrong on this since I can not find the source.
I looked it up a little:
The fleet consisted of 62 really big ships and 250 smaller ships. On this fleet there were 30000 people. That's like an entire city!
Cheng Ho made 7 long voyages and visited 30 countries. The last voyage was 2000 kilometres long. On the ships they grew vegetables and stuff and they were pretty healthy all of them.
RL14
The fleet consisted of 62 really big ships and 250 smaller ships. On this fleet there were 30000 people. That's like an entire city!
Cheng Ho made 7 long voyages and visited 30 countries. The last voyage was 2000 kilometres long. On the ships they grew vegetables and stuff and they were pretty healthy all of them.
RL14