Tudor Ships and Sailors

1. The Tudor period was the great age of the sailing ship.

2. Tudor ships were increasingly large and heavily-armed, multiple-masted vessels.

3. Tudor ship design was changing as warfare moved from grappling and boarding to fighting from a distance with artillery.

4. As the use of cannons evolved, places had to be found to house them.

5. Initially, the cannons were put on tall, wooden castle-like structures known as the forecastle and the sterncastle.

6. These also served as protection from enemy cannon-balls and defensive positions in the event of the ship being boarded.

7. Placing the cannons high in fore and sterncastles contributed greatly to instability of the ships.

8. In Elizabethan times, England led the world in shipbuilding technology.

9. More streamlined and seaworthy vessels began to be built.

10. Gun-ports were created in the hull, which resulted in a reduction in the height of the fore and stern castles.

11. This made Elizabethan ships much more stable.

12. A fighting formation was developed which involved sailing in a line past the enemy, firing all cannons.

13. Tudor sailors were well-trained and very good at firing cannon quickly and the ships were smaller and faster.

14. A variety of specialised ammunition and guns to be used on ships were developed.

15. The use of fire-ships was very effective, when an old burning ship was sent into the midst of the enemy fleet.

16. Life at sea was hard, Tudor sailors had one set of clothes, slept on the decks and were subjected to harsh discipline.

17. The discipline included, whipping and tarring and feathering.

18. Diet for Tudor sailors was mainly bread, beer, salted fish and meat and hard biscuits.

19. Hygiene on board Tudor ships was poor and disease was rife, especially scurvy.

20. It was not unusual to lose half the crew on a long voyage.