Concept
The Age of Sail is a period that lasted at the latest from the mid-16th (or mid-15th) to the mid-19th centuries, in which the dominance of sailing ships in global trade and warfare culminated, particularly marked by the introduction of naval artillery, and ultimately reached its highest extent at the advent of the analogue Age of Steam. Enabled by the advances of the related Age of Navigation, it is identified as a distinctive element of the early modern period and the Age of Discovery. Especially in context of the latter, it refers to a more particular Eurocentric Age of Sail, while generally the Age of Sail is the culminating period of a long intercontinental history of sailing. Like most periodic eras, defining the age is inexact and serves only as a general description. The term is used differently for warships and merchant vessels. Sailing ships are an ancient technology, making far-reaching trade like the ancient spice trade possible. With the Mongol invasion of Java, cannons started to be used in naval warfare (e.g. Cetbang by the Majapahit), and by the 14th century naval artillery was employed in Europe, documented at the Battle of Arnemuiden (1338). The 15th century, besides the established sea powers of the central Indian Ocean trade, such as the maritime kingdoms of Austronesia, saw a rise in the deployment of oceans voyaging fleets (including carrying naval artillery) from the extreme points of the trade, such as the Ming treasure voyages or the Iberian naval ventures all the way along the African Atlantic coast and across the Atlantic Ocean, starting the Age of Discovery. For warships, the age of sail runs roughly from the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, the last significant engagement in which oar-propelled galleys played a major role, to the development of steam-powered warships. The period between the mid-19th century to the early 20th century, when sailing vessels reached their peak of size and complexity (e.g. clippers and windjammers), is sometimes referred to as the "Golden Age of Sail".
