The caravel emerged in the Iberian Peninsula as one of the defining ships of the Age of Exploration. Its origins stretched back to coastal fishing boats of the thirteenth century, when small, open vessels of around 20 tons, rigged with a single lateen sail, operated off Galicia and Portugal. By the fourteenth century, caravels had grown larger, sometimes reaching 30 tons, and their use spread along the coasts of Spain and Portugal. These early vessels, influenced by Mediterranean craft and possibly Islamic qârib boats introduced into Al-Andalus, were light and agile, suited for coastal navigation and river travel. During the fifteenth century, the design evolved into a more versatile and ocean-capable ship. Caravels now carried two or three masts and could be rigged with either lateen sails for maneuverability or square sails for speed across open waters. Their shallow draft and narrow frame gave them the ability to sail close to shore and even up rivers, while still being seaworthy enough for long voyages. Measuring 12 to 18 meters in length and averaging 50 to 60 tons in capacity, they were smaller than the larger carracks but prized for their agility and efficiency. Portuguese navigators, including Diogo Cão and Bartolomeu Dias, relied on them in their explorations down the African coast, and Columbus himself used the Niña and Pinta—both caravels—in his voyage across the Atlantic in 1492. Caravels were central to the exploratory phase of Iberian expansion, though less suited for the bulk trade that followed. Their limited cargo space meant they could not transport the profitable volumes of spices or other goods that drove the economies of empire. For that role, larger carracks, or naus, became the standard merchant vessel. Still, caravels remained indispensable in mapping coastlines, probing unknown waters, and establishing early routes of contact. Their economy of crew and speed under sail made them the preferred choice for the daring voyages that defined the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. The design of the caravel continued to adapt. By the late fifteenth century, Portuguese shipbuilders created the caravela redonda, or round caravel, a larger, more heavily armed type with a square-rigged foremast and lateen sails on the remaining masts. It retained a low forecastle and sterncastle, unlike the towering structures of the carrack, which made it more stable in heavy seas. These ships were used for coast-guard patrols near the Strait of Gibraltar, as escorts on the Brazil route, and in voyages along the Cape Route to Asia. They bridged the gap between exploration vessels and the fighting galleons that would dominate naval warfare in the following century. The cultural and linguistic roots of the caravel reflected centuries of maritime exchange. Its name derived from the Portuguese caravela, which likely came from the Arabic qârib, itself possibly tracing back to the Greek karabos or Latin carabus. This etymology suggests continuity in shipbuilding practices across the Mediterranean and into the Atlantic. Artistic depictions, such as those in the Retábulo de Santa Auta from the sixteenth century, provide some of the clearest images of lateen-rigged caravels, while archaeological remains continue to fill gaps in understanding a vessel once so central to world history. Though soon surpassed by larger ships, the caravel symbolized the transition from medieval coastal navigation to global oceanic exploration. Its adaptability and speed allowed Iberian sailors to push into unknown waters, from the West African coast to the Caribbean. In this sense, the caravel was less a merchant ship and more an instrument of discovery—an agile tool that carried the explorers of Portugal and Spain into a new age of global connection.