=Sorting

Approximate strength of galley fleets in number of vessels^[1]

"Country"	1650	1670	1700	1720	1740	1760	1790	1800
Spain	30-40	30	30	7	7	0	4	2
Venice	70	60	50	40	30	20	20	-
Ottoman Empire	70-100	60	30	30	15	15	5	0
France	36	25	42	15	15	10	0	0
Papal State(s?)	5	5	4	6	4	5	5	0
Malta	6	7	8	5	4	4	4	-
Genoa	10	10	6	6	6	6	6	-
Tuscany	5	4	3-4	2-3	2	0	0	0
Savoy/Sardinia	2	2	2	4	4	0	0	0
Austria	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	4

Approximate strength of galley fleets in number of vessels; Atlantic, Baltic^[2]

"Country"	period1	period2	period3	period4	period5
England	0	0	0	2	"close"
Sweden	0	0	0	2	"close"
Dernmark(-Norway)?	0	0	0	2	"close"
Russia	0	0	0	2	"close"

• Ottoman Empire^[3]
  • 1501: 50 heavy galleys, 200 galleys, 150 galiots and fustas
  • 1517: <100 galleys
  • 1534: 82 galleys
  • 1537: 82 galleys
  • 1538: 90 galleys, 50 galiots at Prevesa
  • 1539: 58 large galleys, 82 galleys at siege of Catelnuovo
  • 1552: 103 galleys in Western Mediterranean
  • 1560: 85 galleys at Djerba
  • 1565: 140 galleys at siege of Malta
  • 1570: 160 galleys at invasion of Cyprus
  • 1571: c. 230 galleys at Lepanto
  • 1572: 140-25 galleys, 5 galleasses despite huge losses at Lepanto (note ease of rebuilding galley hulls)
  • 1573: 250 galleys, 15 galleasses; all-time high
  • 1575-1644: 45-70 galleys normally (100 at most)
  • 1645-69: 60-80 galleys, 5-10 galleasses in the wars against Venice
  • 1676: 60 galleys
  • 1684: 40 galleys
  • 1686: 40 galleys
  • 1690-1710: 30 galleys
  • 1730: 17 galleys, 8 galiots
  • 1736-39: 15-30 galleys (war with Russia)
  • 1734: 25 galleys
  • 1745: 12 galleys
  • 1768-74: 13 galleys lost at battle of Tchesma in 1770; some operating in Black Sea
  • 1788: 4 galleys; 1 flagship galleys (possibly last Ottoman war galleys, nothing heard from them after that)
  • also squadrons of Ottoman galleys in Red Sea at Suez; Persian Gulf

• Venice^[4]
  • permanent standing fleet (rare at the time) of 25-30 galleys during most of the 16th century
  • usually put a minimum of 50 galleys to sea during wars; up to c. 100^[5]
  • 17th-18th centuries: peacetime force of 16 galleys (and 2-4 galleasses until c. 1620); reduced to 12 after 1718 and then gradually replaced with galiots, xebecs and light sailing ships for patrols
  • 1783: 9 galleys, 1 brigantine, 4 xebecs
  • 1633: reserve fleet of 50 galleys, 6 galleasses
  • 1644: war fleet of 85 galleys
  • 1651-61: 22-24 galleys during campaigns
  • 1683-99: 28 galleys (1684)
  • 1714-18: 15-18 galleys (through 21 galleys in service, 35 in reserve, 37 under construction in 1711)
  • 1619-1669: 340 galleys, 35 flagships, 30 galleasses built in the Arsenal (peak in 1640s)
  • 1797 (year of Napoleon's conquest): 23 galleys (12 active), 7 galiots, 50 gunboats

• Habsburg Spain^[6]
  • permanent force from 1523: Galleys of Spain, 4-10 galleys
  • Galleys of Spain: 25 (1567-71), 33-46 (1572-78), 20+ (1581-94); 8 (1596-1606); 12-15 (1610s)
  • 1530s-60s: 40 permanent galley, 60 in wartime
  • 1561-71: 55-100 galleys
  • 1574: 146 galleys
  • 1598-1616: 63-75 galleys
  • 1637-41: 40 galleys
  • 1646: 30 galleys
  • 1674-79: 20-30 galleys
  • 1701: 30 galleys
  • 1578-1615: 6 galleys in Caribbean Cartagena, Havana, Santo Domingo

• France^[7]
  • 1500-20: 10 (or fewer) royal galleys
  • 1545: 37 galleys (25 participated in attack on England)
  • 1548(-59?): permanent force of 40 galleys (30 in Mediterranean, 10 in Atlantic)
  • 1550: 50 galleys
  • 1578-80: 14-20 galleys, though few servicable
  • 1590: 0 galleys, all destroyed or disabled in the civil war
  • 1610: one dozen galleys and "entrepreneur" vessels

• Knights of Saint John^[8]
  • 15: galleys
  • 16: galleys
  • 17: galleys

• Papal State(s)^[9]
  • considerable galley forces hired from Venice, Tuscany, Genoa, etc
  • 1500-60: 3 galleys, all lost at Djerba 1560
  • 1560s: 0 galleys
  • 1573: 6 galleys
  • 1587-1605: 10 galleys
  • 1605: 5 galleys
  • 1740s: 4 galleys
  • 1755-97: 5 galleys (2 of which in reserve), ended by Napoleon

• Genoa^[10]
  • no permanent navy, "galley entrepreneurs" hired out vessels to other Christian powers
  • 1559: 1-3 galleys
  • 1559-83: 3-4 galleys
  • 1586-1607: 6-8 galleys
  • 1620s-30s: 6-7 galleys
  • 1642: 6 and 2-9 locally armed galleys (from Ligurian coastal cities)
  • 1650-: 6-7 + some local galleys
  • galley force existed until the end of the Genoese republic in 1797 (Napoleon)

• Portugal^[11]
  • no reliable sources
  • "light galley-type vessels" in Indian Ocean

• post-Habsburg successor states^[12]
  • mostly anti-corsair forces
  • no forces larger than 5-8 galleys (Naples in late 18th century)
  • last Spanish galleys out service in 1808
  • last Habsburg galleys (Austrian) disappeared in 1725

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Lead

A galley is a type of ship that is moved mainly by rowing. From around the 8th century BC up to the early 19th century, it was used in warfare, trade and piracy by various naval powers in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. It was characterized by its long, slender hull and low freeboard, the clearance between sea and the railing, to make it efficient for propulsion by oars. In warfare it carried various types of weapons, including rams, catapults and cannons, but relied primarily on its large crew to overpower enemy vessels in boarding actions and close combat. Though all types of galleys have had sails to assist rowing, human strength has been the most important method of making them largely independent of winds and currents.

Galleys were used by the ancient Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians and Romans until the 4th century. After the fall of the Roman Empire galleys formed the mainstay of the Byzantine navy and other navies of successors of the Roman Empire, as well as new Muslim navies. Medieval Mediterranean states, notably the Italian maritime republics, including Venice, Pisa, and Genoa, used galleys until the ocean-going man-of-war made them obsolete.

Galleys dominated naval warfare in the Mediterranean Sea until the 16th century. They were also used in the Atlantic Ocean and the Baltic Sea, though to a lesser degree,since rough seas and higher swells made them less seaworthy than sailing ships. There was also limited use of galleys in waters of the Caribbean and the Philippines by Habsburg Spain and in the Indian Ocean by the Ottoman Empire.

Vessels similar to the galley were common outside the Mediterranean. The longship is the most well known and had the largest impact, being closely associated with the far-reaching raiding and sea trade of the Scandinavian Vikings. Galley-like ships saw extensive use in the coastal areas and sheltered archipelagos of the Baltic until the early 19th century in the conflicts particularly between Denmark, Sweden and Russia.

Galleys were in mainstream use until the introduction of broadside sailing ships of war into the Mediterranean in the 17th Century, but continued to be applied in auxiliary roles until the advent of steam propulsion.

The Battle of Lepanto was one of the largest naval battles in which galleys played the principal part. (more battles)

Definition and terminology

A huge variety of galleys have existed since they were first developed in the 2nd millenium BC. The terminology for ancient galleys used to day is based on the Greek terminology that reflected the number of oars or rows of rowers. Triaconters and penteconters are galleys with 30 and 50 oars respectively. Ships with more than one rows of oars are termed biremes (two rows) and triremes (three rows) with the Latinized terms for the Greek bieres and trieres. However, when additional rows or rowers were added, the same naming system was kept, though no extra oars were added. By consequence a ship with two rows of oars with two rowers per oar was a quadrireme, a ship with three rows of oars and with an additional rower on two of the rows of oars was a quinquereme and so forth.

Military history

Early seagoing galleys

Late antiquity(?)

• after the Romans had conquered most of the Mediterranean only light Liburnians were needed – equipped with one oar bank, ram (?), one mast with square sail, bow headsail (Unger 1980: 34-35)

• Arab navies were based on Byzantine Greek model, used former Byzantine bases in Egypt and Coptic shipbuilders; qarib was the largest Arab warship, a 2-banked galley; the Arabs had less experienced sailors, likely (Unger) had larger ships to carry more troops since they were a land-focused force; flew quadrilateral lateens "short-luff dipping lug sail" (54) (Unger 1980: 53-54)
• competition between the Byzantines and Arabs from the 7th to the 9th; as competition fiercened, ships became heavier(Unger 1980: 55)

• collapse of Carolingian empire lead to lowered stability, worsened by Scandinavian raids up until 1000; more stability by 1000 through emergence of Christian kingdoms (France, Germany, Hungary, Poland); Italian port towns rose on the fringes of the Byzantine Empire as it struggled with eastern threats (Unger 1980: 75-76)
• King Alfred in England built large rowing boats with 30 oars a side to counter threats from Vikings, up to 40 m long, reportedly "bigger, faster and higher in the water" compared to Viking vessels (Unger 1980: 80)
• Viking ships similar in many ways to galleys, though distinct; extreme cases of 60 oars, though generally much smaller; sailed before the wind, mostly lacked any superstructures and were not armed with catapults, etc; primarily traders and people movers (Unger 1980: 82-94)

• Romans had galleys in the North, but they disappeared after their withdrawal in 3rd-5th; Celtic curraghs: 12 m skin boats with a sail and oars (Unger 1980: 56)

• large northern vessels were sailed, most towed or rowed (Unger 1980: 57); Germanic ships (rowing barges) for moving men 24 meters long, similar in proportion to the dromon, clinker built, 15 paris of oars (Unger 1980: 58)

• the Eastern Mediterranean in the 9th century became a no man's land between Byzantine and Muslim navies with Crete in the middle as a base for pirates (until the recapture of Crete in 960) (Unger 1980: 96-97)

• Arabs suffered from an acute shortage of timber in the late 10th century after the loss of Crete to the Byzantines; timber embargoes and shortage led to a major decline of shipwrights in Fatimid Egypt; worsened by Italian competition who could lower prices and had no lack of timber (Unger 1980: 99-100)

Middle Ages

The late 15th century saw the development of the ocean-going ships. These warships were equipped with multiple masts and rigging that permitted tacking into the wind, and were heavily armed with cannons, first mounted on open decks and later through gunports in the stern and eventually along the broadsides. These proved to be formidable obstacles for attacking galleys.

Despite the steady advances in sailing ship technology in the early modern period, the 16th century saw the last great age of the war galley.

• Viking raids in the 9th century led to founding of an Iberian navy (under Muslims) (Lawrence V. Mott, "Iberian Naval Power, 1000-1650" in Hattendorf & Unger 2003: 105)

• several Orders or Knights were established in the Mediterranean that employed galley forces, dedicated to fighting Islam; the knights served as "admirals"^[21]

• Venice had a state navy from the 14th century onwards^[22]

• Genoa used a "Commune" early on (1263) to assemble warfleet (of galleys); depended on "private" individuals to take their share^[23]
• permanent Genoese state war fleet was not established until 1559 and then fairly tiny (3-6 from 1559-86),^[24] though a powerful merchant marine it had a "laughably small navy"^[25] TRADE?

• Genoese fleet organization was more flexible and open to change; innovated heavier "trireme" in 1290s; added more marines and guns to become the "most effective warship of its day"^[26]
• sailing season extended to winter as well (by Genoa?)^[27] CROSS REF WITH PRYOR
• War of Chioggia (1380?) saw the first time use of large scale use of gunpowder weapons/guns on ships (presumably galleys? - cross-ref with Guilmartin, Rodger, others)^[28]
• SUMMARY OF GENOA-VENICE CONFLICTS^[29]

• English vessels called "galleys" were "major" part of strike force: clinker-built, double-ended, single square sail, some with fighting castles in bow, stern and at mast; little actually known of design, possibly like old Viking ships, but really no conclusive evidence;^[30] called "barges/balingers/barks" c. 1350-1500^[31]; largely replaced by sailing ships by early 15th century, while remaining important for reconnaissance and patrol^[32]

• medieval France had "impressive galley dockyards" (unlike England)^[33]

• English and French used galleys manned by Italian (experts?)^[34]

Early modern period

• the galleys themselves were not much of an administrative or financial problem, but rather the manpower needed to work them/get them in action, both in terms of quantity and quality, as well as the prohibitively expensive artillery of pre-1580s; the galley hulls were considered largely expendable: they often lacked individual names (in Venice) or the names were inherited;^[35] the primary and most valuable part of Mediterranean galley fleets were their personnel organizations; sailing fleets consisted of complex and expensive ships (and plenty of artillery) with temporary (and more expendable) crews^[36]

• three primary Mediterranean powers: Ottomans in the east; Venice in the center; Habsburgs in the west^[37]

• heavy artillery and amphibious abilities made the galley the primary and most effective warship of its time; brought down medieval fortresses (with high, thin walls), had a cheap and largely expendable hull; wars mostly fought on a small scale with only three massive fleet engagements during the 16th century: Prevesa 1538, Djerba 1560, Lepanto 1571 (the largest battle in terms of men anywhere in early modern Europe^[38]

• the Mediterranean ceased to be (as) profitable as a trading "theater" after c. 1600: too many conflicts made transports expensive and dangerous, great powers stalemated one another, massive pirate activity, no proper state protection or monopoly on violence; Western European merchants dealing in the Mediterranean evolved powerful defensive measures (and engaged in piracy) to deal with the harsh environment; warfare became more mobile, but predatory actions remained easier than it than to achieve "sea control strategies"^[39]

• guns replaced men as fighting power, but could be stored (exchanging manpower for capital); sailing ships increased range dramatically, outcompeting galleys^[40] KOLLA GUILMARTIN OM PRISFÖRÄNDRINGAR
• introduction of guns initially benefited galleys (older perception "demolished" by Guilmartin) since they were a more "mature technology"; increase in galley navies all over Europe 1520-1580, became the most important warships in terms of displacement^[41]
• lack of development of effective tactics for sailing ships before 1650^[42]
• gun-armed galleys produced a "crisis in naval warfare" that led to the development of the galleon, combining ahead-firing guns (broadsides came later) with superior sailing abilities^[43]
• early heavy ship guns were effective against early forts and sailing ships with high profiles; galleys vulnerable to hits, but had small target area; maneuverability regardless of wind direction made them capable of disciplined formations (unlike sailing ships)^[44]
• Bamford considers galleys to have been outclassed by sailing vessels; sails could only be beat under particular circumstances (becalmed and/or outnumbered and surrounded) and by letting their guard down; galleys were a waste of resources militarily (instead of going to sailing vessels), though good for "trade and harbor defense" and effective for projecting prestige^[45]
• galleys could be usful for towing damaged sailing ships out of the line (but only in a flat calm; at the battle of Malaga) (Rodger 2003: 170)
• two naval Baltics in fights between Denmark-Russia-Sweden; open sea for sail and archipelagos for galleys; path from Finnish coast-Åland-Stockholm to pass through (Rodger 2003: 230-31) [see also Anderson, Naval Wars in the Baltic, 177-78]

• "generalizing" of bronze ordnance in the Mediterranean (during 16th century) increased the cost of war at sea; introduction of small firearms increased not just firepower, but made military forces dependent on them more resilient to manpower losses; unlike those dependent on skill-heavy weapons like bows ^[46]
• five "local" wars in the 15th century Mediterranean: resulted in the Ottomans' crushing of the Byzantine Empire (with excellent siege technology, including huge pedreros), closing off the Black Sea (to Genoa), fighting off Venice in Morea (Greece), Agean Sea, conquering Iran and Egypt; Spain "upended" Italy politically; Portugal took on Indian Ocean all the way to India^[47]
  • Aragon and Castile vs Granada, France and Portugal (and with each other)
  • interwarring between commercial Italian city-states
  • Ottomans vs Venice (in the eastern Mediterranean)
  • sea ghazis from North Africa (raiding) against Spain
  • Knights of Saint John (Rhodes) against eastern Mediterranean Muslims
• qualitative changes in technology important to downfall of Mediterranean , but after quantitative was even more important, especially the invention of cheap cast iron guns (in England 1543)^[48]
• galleys were the only valid alternative in a time when artillery was scarce; excellent amphibious assault craft; floating siege batteries: galley fleets could raid and invade in 2,000-mile (strategic) radius^[49]
• decline of Mediterranean system of maritime war was caused by economic development and indirectly by technological development: food prices raised maintenance costs; increased number and cheapness of artillery introduced competing sailing ships; increasingly larger galleys stunted their own performance, range and amphibious capabilities (harder to beach, etc.); loss of specialist artillerist culture rendered single guns ineffective^[50]

• galleys in 16th century Mediterranean in symbiosis with seasode fortresses (and fortified ports)^[51]
• "inverse relationship between a galley fleet's size and its radius of action"^[52]
• Barcelona, Venice, Constantinople were the three wholly dependable Mediterranean galley fleet bases; formed the core regions for the major Mediterranean galley fleets^[53]
• galley campaigning largely limited to summer season; winter campaigns occurred, but were calculated (or desperate) risks; only the Christian corsairs and the North African ghazis were "immune" to these limitations^[54]

• 4 Genoese carracks vs "body" of Ottoman galleys off Constantinople on 20 April 1453: comparable to siege warfare at sea; attempts to board carracks under cover of bow arrows was held off by the Genoese with crossbows, hand cannon pellets and hurling large objects (to stave in galley bottoms; guns did not actually effect on outcome^[55]
• battle of Zonchio 1499: one large "command" carrack (?), galleys; two large Venetian carracks and galleys; all three large ships destroyed by Ottoman incendiaries; Ottoman huge gun on large ship sunk Venetian galley (and small "barge") outright early in battle; huge 200-lbs (ammunition weight) cannons used on both sides; gunpowder weapons employed, but not decisive on final outcome^[56]

• galleys used mainly in the Mediterranean and Baltic (in permanent fleets); temporary use around rest of Europe and in North America (mainly in rivers, on lakes and in coastal areas)^[57]
• half-galleys only common among North African corsairs^[58]
• galleasses only used by Venice until 1755^[59]
• no large galley battles "in this period"; galleys functioned as cruisers; acting in support of sailing warships behind the line-of-battle in fleet actions, much like frigates did elsewhere^[60]

• the Three Basic Conflicts of the Mediterranean:^[61]
  • Venice and the Ottoman Empire up to 1718 (faded in 1720s-30s)
  • Bourbon France and Habsburg Spain/Italy; ended in large part by the Bourbon overtaking of Spain in 1700
  • Christians and North African corsairs: corsairs largely replaced galleys with xebecs and light galleys, though Christian powers continued to use galleys as cruisers and on patrols

• by 1790 only Venice, Genoa, the Papal States, Malta and Spain (minor force) had galleys left; all except Spain wiped out as states during Napoleonic Wars^[62]

• unclear (according to Glete) situation of prestige use of galleys; oared vessels certainly still relevant and functional until the invention of practical stamships^[63]

• Russian buildup of galleys began in Sea of Azov; continued with defense of Gulf of Finland-acquisitions; established as offensive through conquering of Finland^[64]

• Sweden had one of the largest galley fleets in the 16th century: used in the archipelago, in large rivers and estuaries in the east (against Russians) and in the south (against Poles, Germans);^[65] small gun-armed galleys built for local defense (against insurrection) in lakes Vänern and Vättern to protect and relieve forts under siege and to transport strike forces^[66]
• sailing warships were displaced by large galley fleets during the 16th century^[67]
• Swedish galley expeditions under Gustav Vasa, who showed particular interest in them (as befitting a Renaissance prince); part of a new standing professional, centralized army^[68]
• the king (Gustav Vasa), the court, kanslipersonalen, royal bodyguard all traveled by galley^[69]
• in 1590, c. 30 galleys with 4,000 men^[70]
• Swedish galley fleet fourth largest (after Spain, Ottomans, Venice)^[71]
• small galleys used by Gustavus Adolphus until 1630 (up to 24 in the same expedition), after that a decrease; 2-4 small guns (out of which 2 were heavy stormstycken)^[72]

• major clashes between the Swedish and Russian galley- and "rowing" fleets during the Great Northen War in the 1700s and 1710s (Hangö, Rilax)^[73]
• Swedish (somewhat unsuccessful) "super-galleys" (or galleasses) used on the west coast: 48 m long, 30 pairs of oars, 500 men, 3x36-pounders^[74]

• 44 Swedish galleys built 1748-49^[75]
• smaller Baltic Sea galleys adapted for small passages^[76]
• half-galleys: 22 m, with 16-18 pairs of oars, armed with 6-pounders used, but only for reconnaissance^[77]
• Chapman's and Ehrensvärds collaboration led to new hybrid designs and eventually the introduction of gunboats; taking over the role of galleys^[78]

• the modern Russian fleet developed from the need of amphibious attack capability in close cooperation with the army against Sweden and Ottoman Turkey^[79]
• the Russian and Swedish galley fleet formed the flank of the army when operating in the border wars^[80]
• 160 galleys built 1712-14 (130 of which raided Swedish coasts in 1719); horse galleys 1719-21; 89 galleys built 1726-30; 63 galleys built 1738-43; 40 built 1770; 86 built 1771-76; especially early Russian galleys deteriorated quickly and were likely built with cheap timber (pine, not oak) and not very well ^[81]

• 1796, the last 20 war galleys in the world were built by Russia^[82]
• galleys were replaced with "archipelago frigates" (copied from Chapman designs), xebecs, gunboats, floating batteries built 1788-90; 1809 saw the last actual use of galleys in a fleet action anywhere in the world ^[83]

• Spain was surpassed by France as the largest galley force around 1650^[84]

• galleys equipped by (private) merchants for defense of trade against piracy, etc.^[85]

• cast-iron guns, which cost one third of bronze guns, was the "death knell" of the war galley after c. 1580^[86]

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• galleys and other oared vessels were the effective types of warship with guns until c. 1560: could fight each other, attack sailing ships in calms or unfavorable winds (or deny them action if needed), bombard forts, make amphibious attacks (even from France to Scotland)^[95]
• Spain secured financing of troops in the Netherlands from late 1560 by sending galleys with silver to Genoa bankers who organized payments^[96]
• Spanish force of 31 armed merchantmen, 2 galleasses, 12 galleys, 48 "small vessels" with 16,000 men conquered Azores in 1583^[97]
• 2,000 rowers (on (including) 2 galleys and 4 galleasses) in Spanish Armada of 1588, though the actual number in the Mediterranean was at least 80 galleys, though the galleys never made it to the battle^[98]
• Spanish force of 6 galleys very effective in the narrow waters of the Netherlands 1599-1603^[99]
• Spanish and French galley(?) fleets clashed in battle of Guetaria off Basque coast in 1638 (French major victory)^[100]
• Spanish waged "classical" galley warfare in by supplying troops in Tarragona in 1640^[101]

• Swedish galley fleet built up after 1540; by 1560 consisted of 26 units, large and small (largest in the Baltic?)^[102]

• Turks contested Portuguese dominance in the Indian Ocean in the 16th century, but failed because they used Mediterranean-style galleys against carracks (eventhough they were becoming outdated by the time) (Lawrence V. Mott, "Iberian Naval Power, 1000-1650" in Hattendorf & Unger 2003: 112)
• build in Caribbean and Philippines by Spanish to "run down marauders"^[103]
• galleys "sporadically" used by Spain in Netherlands, Bay of Biscay and the Caribbean (Lawrence V. Mott, "Iberian Naval Power, 1000-1650" in Hattendorf & Unger 2003: 113-114)

• early modern state navies, a result of bureaucratization and centralization (monopoly of violence) had to be supported by sailing warships^[104]

add info from Anthony Roll, Knighton & Loades

• smågalärer vanliga i Östersjön från 1500-talet i Danmark och Sverige, "riktiga" större galärer var "udda specialfartyg" som främst fick användning på Bohuskusten under kriget på 1710-talet^[105]

• 29 galärer i svenska flottan 1788; 20-22 årpar, 5 man per åra, 1x24p + 2x6p kanoner i fören, ca 250 mans besättning; främst som trupptransporter i skärgården^[106]

INSERT PIC OF ANTHONY ROLL SHIPS (Antelope, Galley Subtle, etc.)

Though in decline, galleys were used in the Mediterranean by pirates and pirate-hunters alike and as inexpensive convoy escorts by merchants.

War of the Spanish Succession, the Galley Corps shrunk from 55 (1690) to 40 (1700); after Louis XIV 26 (1716), 15 (1718-48); Corps abolished in 1748; North Africans, Order of Saint John, Papacy cut down on galleys more drastically^[107]

• crash program of galley construction 1662-90, from half a dozen to over 40;^[108] extensive use of green, unseasoned, timber shortened service life of galleys considerably; late 17th century French galleys was no more than ten years, on average 4,5 in 1978; ^[109] 18th century galleys averaged over 14 years of service^[110]
• decline after 1715, and in consequence better timber^[111]

Modern era

• gunboats replaced galleys (and skärgårdfregatter) in 1800s^[112]

Design

• design remained almost unchanged 13th to 18th centuries with the exception of the rowing layout^[113]
• gallee sottili made up the "main strike forces of all Christian maritime powers" in the 12-14th centuries; second mast added in the 13th century and expanded to three rowers per bench in late 13th-early 14th ;^[114] these and smaller galiotte made up the bulk of the navies of the major navies (Genoa, Venice, Papcy, Hospitallers, Sicily, Aragon, Castile (later Spain)) as well as of corsairs^[115] Ottoman galleys highly similar, but generally smaller, faster under sail but slower with oars^[116]

• Romans built (like Greeks) with mortise and tenon joints; hulls of malleable wood (cypress); keel, posts, tenons of hardwood (oak) (Unger 1980: 36-37)
• mortise and tenon technique exclusive to Greeks and Romans; "excessively strong" ships, watertight w/o caulking; war, tarred fabric and lead sheathing (Unger 1980: 39)
• hull protection (lead sheathing) abandoned, though uses for warships in the 10th century (Unger 1980: 42)
• feature of Byzantine warships essentially established by 600: larger than Roman, slower, less cargo space, larger crews, more firepower (Unger 1980: 43) 6:1 ratio, two-banked (2x25 oars per side), 40-50 x 5 m; minimum of one man per oar; 1.5 meter draught; flat bottom amidships; shields on the sides (like Vikings); no stringers, strengthened by strakes and wales; MORE TO BE GOT IF NEEDED AND SOURCE IS RELIABLE (Unger 1980: 43-45)

• fairly small, but important differences in regional galley design^[117]
  • Spain: "tactical infantry assault craft"; slower under oars, heavily manned; designed for amphibious raiding and large fleet actions
  • North Africans: galleys and galiots; "strategic raiding craft"; faster under oars to allow them to escape pirate patrols; guerilla galleys; ability to outflank fleet battle galleys
  • Venice: "heavily armed tactical attack transport": artillery platform designed for standoff actions; faster under oars, slower under sail; good for relieving besieged fortresses
  • Ottoman Turks: offensive strategic siege transport/defensive tactical craft; intended to hold off attacking relief fleets while land forces defeated the strongholds on land; fast under oars, decent sailer

Armament

The regular galleys carried one 50-pound cannon or a 32-pound culverin at the bow as well as four lighter cannon and four swivel guns. The larger lanterns carried one heavy gun plus six 12 and 6 pound culverins and eight swivel guns.

• first mention of galleys with guns in Burgundian records from the mid-15th century, though not known where the guns were placed; centerline guns first attested in a woodcut of Venetian galleys by Rewick in Breidenbach^[118]

• centerline guns recoiled down the corsia; basically the same design for all Mediterranean galleys^[119]

Antiquity

Besides Athlit bronze rams, ^[120] the only other parts of ancient galleys to survive are parts of two Punic biremes off western Sicily (see Basch & Frost). These Punic galleys are estimated to have been 35 m long, 4.80 m wide, with a displacement of 120 tonnes. These biremes had evidence of an easily breakable pointed ram, more like the Assyrian image than the Athlit ram. This type of ram may have been designed to break off to prevent that the hull was breached.

Galleys were hauled out of the water whenever possible to keep them dry, light and fast and free from worm, rot and seaweed. Galleys were usually kept in ship sheds during the winter. The archaeological remains of these have left scholars with valuable clues to the dimensions of the ships themselves.^[121]

Building an efficient galley posed technical problems. The faster a ship travels, the more energy it uses. Through a process of trial and error, the unireme or monoreme — a galley with one row of oars on each side — reached the peak of its development in the penteconter, about 38 m long, with 25 oarsmen on each side. It could reach 9 knots (18 km/h), only a knot or so slower than modern rowed racing-boats.

Roman era

• oars made from silver fur by stripping layers (Shaw 1995: 163)
• a giant forty built by Ptolemy Philopater, believed to have had twin hulls like a giant catamaran; impractical showpiece (Shaw 1995: 164-165)

• hulls need to have high (M)(length at waterline: 1/3 of displaced volume): a trireme has about 9 (and no ballast), medieval and medieval and "later war galleys" 6.5-8 (Coates 1995: 128)
• mortise and tenon construction in ancient galleys; sharp bottoms without keelsons to support the structure; transverse framing secured with dowels with nails driven through (Coates 1995: 131); hypozomata used since Hatshepsut and in ancient galleys, but of unknown design and method of tightening (Coates 1995: 132); hulls were watertight without any caulking (Coates 1995: 132)
• ram-supporting structures were built on to the hull to take the impact of vertical or lateral motion and thereby protect the hull from penetration, weight of rams only about 0,4-2 t(Coates 1995: 133-4)

• fives: invented by D. of S.; the first step toward double oar-manning; Roman 5s were "cataphract" and higher (than Carthaginians); Roman types somewhat slow, but better at weathering storms than 4s; believed to have had 2:2:1 oar arrangement (Morrison 68-69)

• sixes: development of 4 (2x3, though unlikely) or 5 by Dyn. I or II, perhaps in 367 BC; probably with a wider hull, only slightly higher than others (though some Romans had towers); no 6 in Athenian fleet; Brutus' flagship, Roman consuls sailed in 6s against Carthage in 256 BC, Ptolemy XII "royal six". Sextus Pompeius met Octavian and Antony near Puteoloi in 39 BC in a "splendid six", 6s largest ships of Octavian at Actium; no record of battle performance, though said to have been slow, of deep draught and with a large compliment of men; the Republic used it for "conspicuous" commanders' ships (Morrison 69-70)
• four: (Morrison 70-71)
• Liburnian: (Morrison 72-73)
• hemiolia:(Morrison 74-76)
• seven: (Morrison 76)
• eight: (Morrison 76)
• nine, ten: (Morrison 77)
• eleven-forty:(Morrison 77)

Middle Ages

• less expensive building technology; more fragile, but faster; after 600 came a "major step" towards skeleton construction, though not completely^[122]
• hull protection (lead sheathing) abandoned, though uses for warships in the 10th century^[123]

• great galleys: lower breadth:length-ratio than warships, high bow to ride waves, higher freeboard, up to three masts with lateens (sometimes a square sail on the mainmast); rowed primarily in and out of harbors, otherwise a sailing vessel; went to Flanders, Egypt, Black Sea, etc; capable of open sea sailing; more room for provisions (or cargo/passengers);^[124] after 1292 great galleys could make two round trips per year, but stuck mostly to coastal trunk routes to regularly fill up on provisions, water and "refresh" passengers ("recreation")^[125]

• stern rudders introduced in the 14th century (Pryor; according to Christides, already in Naumachia and Eustathios of Thessalonica)^[126]
• very little is known about Muslim galleys, assumed that they were highly similar to those used by Christians, but in general smaller and faster ^[127]
• galleys of Charles I of Anjou, king of Sicily in 1275 were basically “huge rowing shells” at 10.7:1, 39x3.67m, 80 tons; designed to cut through the water rather than to ride the waves^[128]

• galia sottil was the model for all war galleys from the 15th to the 16th centuries, a minimum of 8:1 length:breadth ratio; a rectangular telaro (outrigger); diagonal benches on either side of the centerline corsia, angled aft towards the center; 1:3 of the oars inside of the thole^[129]
• very stable size of the galia sottila from 14th to 16th century^[130]
• side rudders complemented with a stern rudder around 1400 and replaced them some time in the 15th century^[131]

• ^[132]

Early modern

(One bench on each side was typically removed to make space for platforms carrying the skiff and the stove.)

• galley "ratings" evolved in the more advanced Mediterranean bureaucracies, mainly based on the number of benches:^[133]
  • galleass/great galley
  • lantern galleys - flagships (30+)
  • galleys - standard battle vessels (20+)
  • galiots - cruisers (15-20, 2 rowers per oar)
  • fustas - cruisers (smaller than galiots?)
  • brigantine - small cruisers ()
  • fregata - very small cruiser; originally a galley tender/"ship boat"

• galleys reached their "final form" in mid-17th century^[134]
  • 25-26 pairs of oars with 5 men per oar (c. 250), 50-100 sailors, 50-100 soldiers: total of 400-450
  • one 24-36 pounder gun, 2-4 4-12 pounders, swivels along railings
  • 8:1 length-to-beam ratio; 2 main lateen masts with an extra ("mizzen"?) that could be raised in need
• Swedish galleys shorter in early 18th (5:1), later around 6.5-7:1^[135]

• few instances of flagship galleys with up to 30 pairs of oars with 5-7 rowers per oar;^[136] dimensions of Swedish and French "super galleys"^[137]

• galleys required less timber to build and were cheaper (simpler design, fewer guns), especially for small states; flexible for ambushes and amphibious operations; needed few skilled seamen; difficult for sailing ships to catch and important for catching other galleys^[138]

• galley (kitchen), where it was actually present, consisted of a clay-lined box that was positioned on one of the benches, usually on the port side^[139]
• rambade in French used for bow fighting platform from 16th century until end of galley era^[140]

• galeasses developed from the great galleys (but with more guns); used in England to a minor extent but the term was used for much smaller four-masted, broadside ships in Henry VIII's navy with unknown number of oars (oarports below guns); English also used smaller pinnaces, rowbarges^[141]

• remo di scaloccio, from scala, "ladder; staircase"^[142]
• one (main)mast regular rigging on (war) galleys until c. 1600; a temporary foremast became permanent, stepped to the side of gun recoil; a mizzen mast added in 18th, possibly already in the early 17th century^[143]

• ^[144]

• ^[145]

• Colbert imposed regulations on galley dimensions around 1678-79: about 185 ft long, 22 feet wide at the waterline; with 26 oars per side with 5 men per oar(69); oars for ordinary galleys were 38 ft, larger galleys had 45 ft long oars (70); one heavy 24- or 36-pounder coursier, chaser, gun with another 2-4 in smaller guns, all in the bow; swivel guns were used before but eliminated during Louis XIV since they had little use^[146]

• galleys were made more expensive the higher they were ranked (71-72); Patronne middle-large ranked ship; up to 50% more rowers in a réale, r painted white while (with three lanterns) normal French galleys were red (and had only two lanterns) (71) Pierre Puget was the most famous of galley ornamentors and it was was decorated with 109,000 livres for just cloth while a normal galley cost altogether 28,000^[147]

• for prestige purposes a galley was according to a report once built, with pre-cut timbers and 500 carpenters working in teams on one side each, caulked, tested and floated in 24 hours to impress the King^[148]

Hybrids

Rigging?

• lateen sail became established in the Mediterranean during this period and was completely dominant by 800 (the date from when the first Byzantine illustration of one is known); demanded large crews, which were readily available on the galleys^[149]

• explanation of how a lateen sail works; leading edge does not pivot on the mast; the spar needs to be lifted (carried) over the mast for it to come over to the other tack (?)^[150]

• small boats tack easily with a lateen rigs (and carracks in general), but with large galleys (esp. great galleys) with yards up to 45 m, 7 t more complicated business^[151]

Construction

Propulsion

• sliding stroke is possible, but impractical; inconclusive evidence that ancient rowers were advised to use their legs, but it could just be used for a fixed rowing technique; trials with Olympias were not able to produce a practical use of sliding^[152]
• rowing backwards could be done in trials by rowing backwards with some skill required (max 3 knots) or simply turning around (5 knots)^[153]

• rowing in rough seas or a headwind is exhausting^[154]
• few rowers in ancient trireme could see much and orders by a supervisor was essential, done with chants ryppapai/o opop and pipes; trials proved that certain rythmic melodies conveyed by loudspeakers or collective humming worked^[155]

• difficult to row even in moderate seas (Shaw 1995: 166-7)
• with three men per oar, all might have sat, but the 1 (furthest out) would have done a stand- and-sit stroke; with more than three all would have done a sit-and-stand stroke (Shaw 1995: 170)
• with a SIX 3x2; with a FIVE 2x2 + 1x1; no ship had more than three levels because it was physically impracticable; no proof of moving (rolling) seats; (Shaw 1995: 168-169)

• alla sensile means "in the simple fashion"^[156]
• change recorded around 1300 (same source as Pryor) from two rowers per bench to three^[157]

• change from alla sensile to a scaloccio around 1550, allowing larger galleys; lantern galleys with 36 pairs of oars with up to 420 rowers appeared^[158]

Performance

The upper limit for rowing in a fixed position lies around 10 knots. The faster a ship travels, the more energy it uses and in order to reach higher speeds requires energy which a human-powered vessel is incapable of producing.

Ancient war galleys of the kind used in Classical Greece are by modern historians considered to be the most efficient of all galleys. A full-scale replica of a 5th century trireme, the Olympias was built in 198? and was used for a series of sea trials to test its performance. It showed that a cruising speed of 7-8 knots that could be maintained for a whole day would have been possible.

Medieval galleys are believed to have been considerably slower since they were not built with ramming tactics in mind. A cruising speed of no more than 2-3 knots has been estimated. A sprint speed of up to 7 knots that could be maintained for no more than 20-30 minutes was possible, but risked exhausting the rowers completely.

• 10 knots is the upper limit for fixed seat rowing (Coates 1995: 127); "oar systems have very low [energy] densities", 70 W per man and therefore little room for superfluous weight (Coates 1995: 128)
• theoretical speeds: sprinting for 5 minutes, 10 knots; cruising speed, 7,5-8 knots (for a whole day); (Shaw 1995: 169)
• ancient triremes were (likely) never surpassed in speed (Shaw, "Oar Mechanics and Oar Power in Ancient Galleys" in Gardiner 1995: 163)
• sitting down is the most effective rowing position (Shaw 1995: 168)

• galleys highly susceptible to swamping in open seas, in combination with small stores made for limited range^[159]
• medieval galleys were poor sailers, difficult to handle in headwinds (if not outright dangerous), heeling set apostis awash and made it unmanageable; probably only sailed with wind astern; average speed amounted to about the same as under oars (2-3 knots); could reach 8.5 kn in fair conditions^[160]
• water among the biggest problems for galley range; at 0.5 gallon per man (a low estimate by Guilmartin (p. 63), agreed by Pryor) stores would not last long; medieval galleys carried 3000-5700 liters (800-1600 gallons);^[161] normal water supply of maximum 2-3 weeks, less on merchant galleys which could prioritize cargo or passengers^[162]
• Dotson considers the need to be 4 liters per man, reducing the cruising range by half^[163]

• sailing season highly limited in Mediterranean: late Spring to early Autumn from antiquity to 15th century; possible, but still largely restricted winter travel rest of year after 15th; coastal trunk routes important to keep close to familiar shores, islands (Balearics, Crete, Corsica/Sardinia) and harbors; all battles clustered around these coasts and strategic bases; wind favored travel from west to east and north to south, opposite direction always slower^[164]

• Northern Europe has much more unfriendly waters (and to galleys): dangerous, rocky, gradually shallow shores (unlike sharply deep Mediterranean); difficult tides; violent Atlantic storms; plenty of easy Mediterranean sandy beaches for beaching ships; not until invention of advanced rigging did the North get “fighting chance” to overcome difficulties with sailing ships for both war and trade^[165]

• 17th century galleys could carry two months of (bread) rations (50 tons) at the most, but no wine, and that was considered unpractical due to hampered performance; required support fleets to rendezvous with^[166]

Crew

• galleys very filthy due to heavy over-crowding; so much that it was believed that it sped up decay by rotting the timbers^[167]
• great stench of galleys reputed to be origin for use of perfume by upper-class officers ^[168]

• 3000 oarsmen required just for the Squadron of Spain under Philip IV; despised as convicts and forzados or Muslim galley slaves (their percentage increased until the 1610s) were driven hard, but were still considered valuable and measures were taken to not allow them to die; lesser crimes were penalized with galley duty to fill gaps; gypsies condemned to row; French POWs employed; sentences prolonged (illegally) to avoid loss of manpower; gypsies also used in French galley force^[169]

Rowers

• ventilation essential (as proven by the Olympias experiment) and lack of it is likely to lead to decline in performance; requires louvres on the sides and on top (at least until just before battle)^[170]

• water requirements at 2.8 t for 400 men (7 l/man + 2 l for other needs)^[171]

Galleys slaves and convicts

• Roman merchants were manned with slaves (even masters?), but very seldom galleys (Unger 1980: 36)
• "After the Bastille, the galleys were the greatest horror of the old regime." Albert Savine (1909)^[172]; the worst conditions were for condemned Protestants, a small minority^[173]

• relatively lenient sentence compared to contemporary harsh bodily punishment and prisons that forced captors to pay for everything (while galley oarsmen were fed and under strict, but reasonable regulations)^[174]

Contrary to the popular image of rowers chained to the oars, conveyed by movies such as Ben Hur, there is no evidence that ancient navies ever made use of condemned criminals or slaves as oarsmen, with the possible exception of Ptolemaic Egypt.^[175]

The literary evidence indicates that Greek and Roman navies generally preferred to rely on freemen to man their galleys.^{[176] [177]} Slaves were put at the oars only in exceptional circumstances. In some cases, these people were given freedom thereafter, while in others they began their service aboard as free men.

• semi-"forced" wine-selling on French 17th century galleys with taverns on board run by comites (NCOs resonsible for rowers), a tradition going back to the Middle Ages^[178]
• 350-500 men in 170x40-45 feet^[179]
• rations of 2 lbs of bread or biscuit, bean soup, oil or lard, some wine^[180]
• rowing was difficult, requiring strength, rhythm, cooperation; coordinated with oral commands, drums and physical abuse by supervisors; accidents could lead to severe injuries or even death; frequent exercising was done, even in winter^[181]; high mortality, few survived more than a few years; some 20-30 years "or more"^[182]
• the term galérien was used as a general term for convicts long after they were forced to serve in galleys, even after 1815^[183]
• two galley-convicted Protestants were released in 1775 after serving for 30 years each, at the ages of 58 and 72^[184]

In early modern times however, it became the custom among the Mediterranean powers to sentence condemned criminals to row in the war-galleys of the state, initially only in time of war. Galley-slaves lived in very unhealthy conditions, and many died even if sentenced only for a few years - and provided they escaped shipwreck and death in battle in the first place.

Prisoners of war were often used as galley-slaves. Several well-known historical figures served time as galley slaves after being captured by the enemy, the Ottoman corsair and admiral Turgut Reis, the Maltese Grand Master Jean Parisot de la Valette, and the author of Don Quijote, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, among them.

• Spain was forced to use mostly servile rowers; Ottomans had the organization/structure in place to mix slaves with volunteers;^[185] Venice had mostly free rowers (medieval tradition, alla sensile); Knights of Saint John used slaves extensively, as did Spanish (Habsburg) Italy, Papal State, Florence and Genoa; ghazis relied almost entirely on (Christian) slaves^[186]

Trade

• two types of Roman ships: galleys and merchants (Unger 1980: 34)

• merchants were used in the navy; 500 transports for 92 warships against the Vandals in 533 (Unger 1980: 46)

• large differences between South and North: differing hull designs, steering systems, propulsion; both had trade dominated by luxuries, but in the North it was mostly manufactured goods while South concentrated on silks and spices from Asia (South had much higher total value per unit of volume) (Unger 1980: 95-96)

• the Western Mediterranean was less organized than the Eastern; more pirate activity, more trade in luxuries and less coastal trade; spices, silks, etc imported, slaves and "sylvan" products (and timber) exported (Unger 1980: 51)

• cogs and hulks were used for carrying trade in the North (Unger 1980: 61-63)

• sailing "round" ships transported bulk goods; galleys carried spices, silks, precious cloths, metals, weapons^[187]
• from the 15th century there were state owned merchant galleys, leased to the highest bidders in charter auctions; standardization of hulls (leased "bare" and empty) from 1420; 150 rowers and 20 officers and "specialists"^[188]
• Venetian state merchant galleys system eventually broke down in the 16th (?) century when faced with more enemies, especially aggressive Muslim expansion in Mediterranean^[189]

Piracy

Galleys had likely been employed for piracy in the Mediterranean since early Antiquity, and the predatory activities intensified after the collapse of the Roman Empire. The eastern Mediterranean became a kind of no man's land in the 9th century, located in the middle of the rivalry between the Byzantines and Muslim states. The island of Crete, as a Muslim emirate served as a major base for medieval pirates until it was re-captured by the Byzantines in 960.^[190] The Western Mediterranean in the early Middle Ages lacked influence from any major powers, making it even less regulate and prone to piracy, with most of the trade being in more expensive goods (spices, silks, slaves, etc.) in well-defended merchant galleys.^[191]

Though less romanticized and less famous than Atlantic and Caribbean pirates, the corsairs Mediterranean equaled or outnumbered them at any given point in history.^[192] Mediterranean piracy was conducted almost entirely with galleys until the mid-17th century, when they were gradually replaced with highly maneuverable sailing vessels such as xebecs and brigantines. They were, however, of a smaller type than battle galleys, often referred to as galiots or fustas.^[193] Pirate galleys were small, nimble, lightly armed, but often heavily manned in order to overwhelm the often minimal crews of merchant ships. In general, pirate craft were extremely difficult for patrolling craft to actually hunt down and capture. Anne Hilarion de Tourville, a French admiral of the 17th century, believed that the only way to run down raiders from the infamous corsair Moroccan port of Salé was by using a captured pirate vessel of the same type.^[194] Using oared vessels to combat pirates was common, and was even practiced by the major powers in the Caribbean. Purpose-built galleys (or hybrid sailing vessels) were built by the English in Jamaica in 1683^[195] and by the Spanish in the late 16th century.^[196] Specially-built sailing frigates with oar-ports on the lower decks, like the James Galley and Charles Galley, and oar-equipped sloops proved highly useful for pirate hunting, though they were not built in sufficient numbers to check piracy until the 1720s.^[197]

• an English purpose-built galley with fifty oars [small galley or galley-frigate?] for pirate hunting stationed at Jamaica from 1683^[198]
• Caribbean pirate vessels with oars regularly outran English pirate hunters; lack of sufficient numbers of oar-equipped sloops to run down pirates effectively up to at least the 1720s^[199]
• galleys built in Caribbean by Spanish to replace auxiliary galleon (with oars) force to protect against pirates/privateers; for a short time resulted in a system very like the Mediterranean; replaced by larger galleons 1583/84^[200]

The expansion of Muslim power through the Ottoman conquest of large parts of the eastern Mediterraneanin the 15th and 16th century resulted in extensive piracy on sea trading. The so-called Barbary corsairs began to operate out of Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, Morocco and Morea (modern-day Greece) around 1500, preying primarily on the shipping of Christian powers, including massive slave raids on land as well as at sea. They were nominally under Ottoman suzerainty, but had considerable independence to prey on the enemies of Islam. The Muslim corsairs were technically often privateers with support from legitimate, though highly belligerent, states. But they also considered themselves as holy Muslim warriors, or ghazis,^[201] carrying on the tradition of fighting the incursion of Western Christians that had begun with the First Crusade late in the 11th century.^[202] The Barbary corsairs had a direct Christian counterpart in the military order of the Knights of Saint John that operated out of Rhodes (Malta after 15??), though they were less numerous and took fewer slaves. Both sides waged war against the respective enemies of their faith, and both used galleys as their primary weapons. Both sides also used captured or bought galley slaves to man the oars of their ships; the Muslims relying mostly on captured Christians, the Christians using a mix of Muslim slaves, Christian convicts and a small contingency of buonavoglie, free men who out of desperation or poverty had taken to rowing.^[203] The historian Peter Earle has described the two sides of the conflict as "mirror image[s] of maritime predation, two businesslike fleets of plunderers set against each other"^[204]. This conflict of faith in the form of privateering, piracy and slave raiding generated a complex system that was upheld/financed/operated on the trade in plunder and slaves that was generated from a low-intensive conflict, as well as the need for protection from violence. The system has been described as a "massive, multinational protection racket".^[205], the Christian side of which was not ended until 1798 in the Napoleonic Wars. The Barbary corsairs were finally quelled as late as the 1830s, effectively ending the last vestiges of counter-crusading.^[206]

• Barbary corsairs out of Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, Morocco (and Morea); fought as holy warriors nominally under Ottoman "suzerainty", Christian galley slaves acquired through slave raids; assisted by Western renegades who served as experts, crewmen, gunners, etc. (some even converted); Knights of Saint Stephen operated out of Leghorn (Legorno?), Knights of Saint John out of Malta, both almost exact opposites of Muslim corsairs; Christian corsairs were manned by 30 or so knights, "paid soldiers" (mercenaries?; p. 47), crew and rowing crew of Muslim slaves, Christian convicts and buonavoglie, "free but normally desperate men who rowed unchained and were regarded as some protection against mutiny by the slaves" (p. 47)^[207]
• "mirror image of maritime predation, two businesslike fleets of plunderers set against each other and against the enemies of their faith[s]";^[208] both requires/resulted in a complex and vast economic system sustained by piracy and slave raiding;^[209] a "massive, multinational protection racket" (recent description in the The Times)^[210]
• typical Sallee sailing vessels were almost always equipped with oars and were lightly armed, heavily manned and very fast (fast enough for French admiral Tourville to believe that it took a Sallee prize sold into naval service to catch another Sallee ship)^[211]

• Barbary piracy was upheld despite lack [or shrinking] profits^[212]
• Christian corsairs finally disbanded by Napoleon in 1798 (after seven centuries of crusading)^[213]

• though less romanticized and less famous, Mediterranean corsairs equaled or outnumbered Atlantic and Caribbean (European) pirates^[214]

• an English purpose-built galley with fifty oars [small galley or galley-frigate?] for pirate hunting stationed at Jamaica from 1683^[215]
• Caribbean pirate vessels with oars regularly outran English pirate hunters; lack of sufficient numbers of oar-equipped sloops to run down pirates effectively up to at least the 1720s^[216]
• galleys built in Caribbean by Spanish to replace auxiliary galleon (with oars) force to protect against pirates/privateers; for a short time resulted in a system very like the Mediterranean; replaced by larger galleons 1583/84^[217]

• ghazis "resembled" Knights of Saint John^[218]

Strat/tac

• Viking tactics were hand-to-hand fighting; common to form defensive formations by lashing ships together side by side; attacks would be at the flanks with both sides feeding in fresh troops from other ships, including smaller craft; leader ships would often have their (larger) bows in front of others to be the first to engage in battle^[219]

Early modern

• early modern galleys could move 200 yards in one minute, less time than it took to reload the main guns; fire was held until the last possible moment, similar to infantry tactics with early firearms; often fired with "scatter shot" to maximize death and injury to enemy crew^[220]
• line abreast formations moved at most around 2-3 knots (collectively) to hold the formations together; maximum of about 65 galleys in the center and 53-54 on the wings;^[221] maximum dash speed of about 7 knots for at most 20 minutes (before rowers became tired to the point of exhaustion)^[222]
• advanced signaling systems in place in the 16th century Mediterranean, thanks to old traditions and well-developed organizations^[223]
• beaching was done stern first, pointing bow guns out; allowed rowers and crew to escape safely if the galley was threatened, leaving only soldiers and fighting men^[224]
• at Prevesa in 1538, it took a whole day to move a galley fleet 20 miles (out of a small gap?)^[225]
• control of the nearby shore was critical in a galley battle, making them highly amphibious weapons of war^[226]

• forward offensive power of galleys accentuated by guns, tactics remained much the same (but with some stand-off capabilities)^[227]

• medieval naval operation were auxiliary to land warfare; transporting armies, supporting army maneuvers; galleys were manned by soldiers who fought with army tactics^[228]

Other uses?

• French galleys defended by conservative "friends" despite being criticized as expensive, inefficient and burdened by the reputation as being a tool of the authority to force religious obedience as well as an excuse for keeping slaves^[229]
• Louis XIV took charge of the galley fleet and made it a state enterprise, rather than a private or mercenary business^[230]
• the French navy was the biggest consumer of construction material in late 17th century^[231]

• "embarrassing failure" of reconstruction of a Roman trireme for Napoleon III in 1860-61; too heavily built, oars too long and of different lengths; target practice and sunk by a torpedo^[232]

• writers in 5th to 16th centuries attempted to explain triremes in their own terms, failing in the process and producing images of impossible constructions due to a lack of understanding of the oar system^[233]

• galleys could "pay" for themselves by hiring out (forced) rowers as laborers out of the patrolling season; very timber efficient in a Mediterranean context of scarcity; required little (very expensive) ordnance in comparison with sailing ships^[234]
• sailing arships "almost never" caught galleys in 16th and 17th centuries that had opportunity to escape^[235]

Religious/ceremonial, prestige

• early modern states used grand galleys as symbols of power, prestige and symbols of state power: bucentoro, La Réale and Kadirga (see below)

• galleys were more closely associated with land warfare and land tactics; prestige of land warfare was transferred to galleys, which were seen as "the supreme symbol of royal power [...] derived from its intimate association with armies, and consequently with princes" ^[236]

• the French Galley Corps was a "tool of royal authority" used to position Louis XIV against the Pope as a crusading force officered by the Knights of Saint John (with double allegiance to the Vatican); fighting "infidels" and punishing Protestant heretics^[237]
• galleys associated with slavery, cruelty, "arbitrary authority", though the most cruelly treated Protestants were only a "notorious minority"^[238]

Research

Archaeology

Surviving vessels

The naval museum in Istanbul contains the galley Kadırga (Turkish for "galley"), dating from the reign of Mehmed IV (1648–1687). It was the personal galley of the sultan, and remained in service until 1839. Kadırga is presumably the only surviving galley in the world, albeit without its masts. It is 37 m long, 5.7 m wide, has a draught of about 2 m, weighs about 140 tons, and has 48 oars that were powered by 144 oarsmen.

A 1971 reconstruction of the Real, the flagship of Don Juan de Austria in the Battle of Lepanto 1571, is in the Museu Marítim in Barcelona. The ship was 60 m long and 6.2 m wide, had a draught of 2.1 m, weighing 239 tons empty, was propelled by 290 rowers, and carried about 400 crew and fighting soldiers at Lepanto. She was substantially larger than the typical galleys of her time.

A group called "The Trireme Trust" operates, in conjunction with the Greek Navy, a reconstruction of an ancient Greek Trireme, the Olympias.^[239]

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Notes

References

• Template:Sv icon Artéus, Gunnar, Gustav III:s ryska krig. Probus, Stockholm. 1992. ISBN 91-87184-09-5
• Bamford, Paul W., Fighting ships and prisons : the Mediterranean Galleys of France in the Age of Louis XIV. Cambridge University Press, London. 1974. ISBN 0-8166-0655-2
• Template:Fr icon Basch, Lucien, "La voile latine, son origine, son évolution et ses parentés arabes", in H. Tzalas, Tropis VI, 6th International Symposium on Ship Construction in Antiquity, Lamia 1996 proceedings, Athens: Hellenic Institute for the Preservation of Nautical Tradition, pp. 55–85
• Casson, Lionel, "Galley Slaves" in Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, Vol. 97 (1966), pp. 35-44
• Casson, Lionel, "The Age of the Supergalleys" in Ships and Seafaring in Ancient Times, University of Texas Press, 1994. ISBN 029271162X[3], pp. 78-95
• Goodman, David, Spanish naval power 1589-1665: reconstruction and defeat. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 1997. ISBN 0-521-58063-3
• Guilmartin, John Francis, Gunpowder and Galleys: Changing Technology and Mediterranean Warfare at Sea in the Sixteenth Century. Cambridge University Press, London. 1974. ISBN 0-521-20272-8
• Hattendorf, John B. & Unger, Richard W. (editors), War at Sea in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Woodbridge, Suffolk. 2002. ISBN 0-85115-903-6[4]
  • Balard, Michel, "Genoese Naval Forces in the Mediterranean During the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries", pp. 137-49
  • Bill, Jan, "Scandinavian Warships and Naval Power in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries", pp. 35-51
  • Doumerc, Bernard, "An Exemplary Maritime Republic: Venice at the End of the Middle Ages", pp. 151-65
  • Friel, Ian, "Oars, Sails and Guns: the English and War at Sea c. 1200-c. 1500", pp. 69-79
  • Glete, Jan, "Naval Power and Control of the Sea in the Baltic in the Sixteenth Century", pp. 215-32
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  • Runyan, Timothy J., "Naval Power and Maritime Technology During the Hundred Years War", pp. 53-67
• Hutchinson, Gillian, Medieval Ships and Shipping. Leicester University Press, London. 1997. ISBN 0-7185-0117-9
• Lehmann, L. Th., Galleys in the Netherlands. Meulenhoff, Amsterdam. 1984. ISBN 90-290-1854-2
• Morrison, John S. & Gardiner, Robert (editors), The Age of the Galley: Mediterranean Oared Vessels Since Pre-Classical Times. Conway Maritime, London, 1995. ISBN 0-85177-554-3
  • Alertz, Ulrich, "The Naval Architecture and Oar Systems of Medieval and Later Galleys", pp. 142-62
  • Bondioli, Mauro, Burlet, René & Zysberg, André, "Oar Mechanics and Oar Power in Medieval and Later Galleys", pp. 142-63
  • Casson, Lionel, "Merchant Galleys", pp. 117-26
  • Coates, John, "The Naval Architecture and Oar Systems of Ancient Galleys", pp. 127-41
  • Dotson, John E, "Economics and Logistics of Galley Warfare", pp. 217-23
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  • Morrison, John, "Hellenistic Oared Warships 399-31 BC", pp. 66-77
  • Rankov, Boris, "Fleets of the Early Roman Empire, 31 BC-AD 324", pp. 78-85
  • Shaw, J. T., "Oar Mechanics and Oar Power in Ancient Galleys", pp. 163-71
  • Wachsmann, Shelley, "Paddled and Oared Ships Before the Iron Age", pp. 10-25
• Morrison, John S. & Coates, John F., The Athenian Trireme: the History and Reconstruction of An Ancient Greek Warship. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 2000. ISBN
• Template:Sv Norman, Hans (editor), Skärgårdsflottan: uppbyggnad, militär användning och förankring i det svenska samhället 1700-1824. Historiska media, Lund. 2000. ISBN 91-88930-50-5
• Pryor, John H., Geography, technology and war: Studies in the maritime history of the Mediterranean 649-1571. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 1992. 0-521-42892-0[5]
• Pryor, John H. & Jeffreys, Elizabeth M., The Age of the ΔΡΟΜΩΝ: The Byzantine Navy ca. 500–1204. Brill Academic Publishers, Leiden. 2006. ISBN 978-9004151970
• Rodgers, William Ledyard, Naval Warfare Under Oars, 4th to 16th Centuries: A Study of Strategy, Tactics and Ship Design. United States Naval Institute, Annapolis, Maryland. 1939.
• Unger, Richard W. The Ship in Medieval Economy 600-1600 Croom Helm, London. 1980. ISBN 0-85664-949-X (SU, VA)

KB

• Pryor, John H. & Jeffreys, Elizabeth, The Age of the Dromon: The Byzantine Navy ca. 500-1204. Brill, Leiden. 2006. 90-04-15197-4
• Casson, Lionel, The Ancient Mariners: Seafarers and Sea Fighters of the Mediterranean in Ancient Times. Princeton University Press, Princeton. 1991. ISBN 978-0691014777 (SUB)
• Casson, Lionel, Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World Johns Hopkins University Press, . 1995.. ISBN 978-0801851308
• Friel, Ian, The Good Ship: ships, shipbuilding and technology in England, 1200-1520. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. 1995. ISBN 0-7141-0574-0
• Lane, Frederic Chapin, Venetian ships and shipbuilders of the Renaissance, (New edition), Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. 1992 [1934]. ISBN 0-8018-4514-9[6]
• Mallett, Michael E., The Florentine Galleys in the Fifteenth Century: With the Diary of Luca di Maso degli Albizzi, Captain of the galleys 1429-1430. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 1967.

SU

• Westerdahl, Christer, Crossroads in ancient shipbuilding: proceedings of the sixth International symposium on boat and ship archaeology, Roskilde 1991. Oxbow, Oxford. 1994. ISBN 0-946897-70-0

SH

VA

• Michael Wedde, "On the alleged connection between the early Greek galley and the watercraft of the Nordic rock art" (pp. 57-71) in European Association of Archaeologists. Meeting, The Aegean Bronze Age in relation to the wider European context: papers from a session at the eleventh annual meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists, Cork, 5-11 September 2005. Archaeopress, Oxford. 2008. ISBN 978-1-4073-0187-7
• Casson, Lionel, Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World. Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, Baltimore, Md, 1995[1971] ISBN 0-8018-5130-0
• Gardiner, Robert, The archaeology of medieval ships and harbours in northern Europe: papers based on those presented to an International symposium on boat and ship archaeology at Bremerhaven in 1979. Oxford, 1979. ISBN: 0-86054-068-5

SSM

• Gardiner, Robert & Unger, Richard W. (editors), Cogs, Caravels and Galleons: The Sailing Ship 1000-1650. Conway Maritime Press, London. 1994. ISBN 0-85177-560-8
• Symonds, Craig L., New aspects of naval history: selected papers presented at the fourth Naval history symposium, United States Naval academy, 25-26 October 1979 Naval Inst. P., Annapolis. 1981. ISBN 0-87021-495-0 (ALB)

GU

UU

• Anderson, Roger Charles, Oared Fighting Ships: From classical times to the coming of steam. London. 1962.

previous

• George F. Bass, ed., A History of Seafaring, Thames & Hudson, 1972
• L.Basch & H. Frost Another Punic wreck off Sicily: its ram International journal of Nautical Archaeology vol 4.2, 201-228, 1975
• Lionel Casson, Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World, Princeton University Press, 1971
• H.Frost et al. Lilybaeum supplement to Notizae Scavi d'Anichita 8th ser vol 30 1981 (1971)
• Brian Lavery, Maritime Scotland, B T Batsford Ltd., 2001, ISBN 0-7134-8520-5
• Michael E. Mallett, The Florentine Galleys in the Fifteenth Century, Oxford, 1967

External links

• John F. Guilmartin, "The Tactics of the Battle of Lepanto Clarified: The Impact of Social, Economic, and Political Factors on Sixteenth Century Galley Warfare". A very detailed discussion of galley warfare at the Battle of Lepanto
• Rafael Rebolo Gómez - "The Carthaginian navy"., 2005, Treballs del Museu Arqueologic d'Eivissa e Formentera.
• "Some Engineering Concepts applied to Ancient Greek Trireme Warships", John Coates, University of Oxford, The 18th Jenkin Lecture, 1 October 2005.
• The Boccalama's galley in Venice