Renaissance Military Advancement Essay

The Renaissance is known as a period of advancements in trade and art and as a time where people of different backgrounds gathered together, clashing overall ways of life. One aspect that is often overlooked, however, is the effect the Renaissance had on the clashing of swords. Before the Renaissance, soldiers stood on opposites ends of each other and charged like barbarians with swords and sticks, or whatever they could scrounge together to fight. The Renaissance brought a change to the literal concept of how battles were fought. The movement away from barbaric types of warfare and towards more refined ways of fighting is demonstrated through several contributing three key facets. The factors that led to significant military advances for Europe during the Renaissance were the movement towards swifter, more durable ships that could defend themselves on the high seas and the creations that derived from gunpowder, and how it made the military weapons used before it obsolete. Ultimately, the most significant military advancement of the European Renaissance is how the Reformation created the
Caravels allowed for a minimal crew to operate it, with a good amount of cargo room, and with the ability to navigate narrow waters. About 75 feet long, the typical caravel had two or three pole masts that would be lateen-rigged. Later versions like, the Redonda, replaced the main lateen sail which required a large crew by a square sail which also made for more speed when running offshore. Caravels were usually built with a double tower at the stern and a single tower in the bow. Top speed for a caravel was about 8 knots; the average was 4 knots for 90-100 miles in a day. Throughout the 1400s and beyond, hostilities increased among nations at sea over commerce and land. This caused countries to have to look to upgrade offenses and defenses at sea, leading to the creation of