Extremely uncomfortable, unhealthy and dangerous. On average, for every three ships that left Portugal in the 16th and 17th centuries, one sank. About 40% of the crew died on the voyages, victims not only of shipwrecks, but also of pirate attacks, diseases and clashes with natives of the places visited. Those who survived still had to put up with the unbearable stench on board and the precarious accommodations. “On the lower decks (where people slept), air and light were scarce, being provided only by cracks between the woods, which also let sea water pass, making the cellars stuffy, hot and humid”, says the historian Fábio Pestana Ramos, from the Bandeirante University of São Paulo (Uniban). If the housing was bad, the diet was even worse. The caravels never carried the ideal amount of food, which stimulated a black market on board. The most senior officers controlled the business, selling products, such as fruit, for example, to whoever paid the most.
Those who had no money and saw food running out hunted rats and cockroaches, which infested the ships, to survive. In this environment of struggle for survival, riots became commonplace and were brutally repressed by officers, who carried sword, dagger and pistols. The lack of safety was further aggravated by the poor maintenance of the boats, which on many occasions had rotten hulls and worn out sails. Even with so many problems these vessels were worth fortunes. “In the mid-16th century, a caravel equipped for 120 crew cost around 75 kilos of gold, the equivalent of buying 758,000 African slaves”, says Fábio. The caravel became the most famous type of ship used in the journeys of discovery, but there was also the nau, a slower vessel, but with a greater load capacity and could carry a greater number of cannons and crew.
SEE TOO:
+ What were the great navigations?
+ What are the biggest mistakes committed by great explorers?
+ What is the first known text in Portuguese?
Nightmare on the high seas
In a ship from the 16th century, about 500 people lived together without a bathroom, there were rapes and children slept on the deck
1. VIP cabin
In general, the space to accommodate crew and passengers on a ship was only 50 cm2 per person! The ship’s captain was normally entitled to an individual cabin, measuring 2.2 m2. Officials and members of the high nobility did not have this privilege, although they could count on a space larger than the very tight 50 cm2
2. Infernal muvuca
One ship held about 500 people. Crew and passengers slept in the same space, in narrow bunks with up to four floors. The cabin boys, children between 7 and 16 years old who made up the bulk of the crew, had the worst trip. Forcibly enlisted by their parents (because of wages), apprentice seamen slept on deck
3. Dangerous bathroom
Hygiene on board was quite precarious. Bath, no way, which made fleas, lice and bedbugs proliferate. The richest used chamber pots, emptied into the sea by servants. Most men and women, however, had to relieve themselves in plain sight, leaning over the side of the vessel, with the risk of even falling into the sea.
4. Health adrift
Having a doctor on board was a rarity and the sick were treated on the spur of the moment — mainly with bloodletting, which could turn an indisposition into deadly anemia. The lack of vitamin C in the diet caused scurvy, a disease that rotted the gums and made teeth fall out. Dysentery, typhoid and smallpox were common
5. To pass the time
The capacity of the boat, its poor conditions and the excess of free time caused tensions to arise among the travelers. To relieve them, the officials organized, with the help of religious, masses, processions and staging of plays recounting the lives of the saints. But the sailors’ favorite entertainment was a good game of cards for money.
6. Forced sex
There was an average ratio of one woman to every 50 men on a vessel. Groups of sailors lay in wait and, when an opportunity arose, would rape some women, even married ones. Sometimes prostitutes boarded, even so homosexuality used to be frequent among sailors.
7. Knowledge is power
Installed in a chair at the stern (back of the ship), the pilot was the one who really commanded the vessel and his technical authority was not contested even by the captain, who had a more political command of the crew. The pilot worked alongside the helmsman, making navigational calculations with instruments such as astrolabes and primitive compasses.
8. Restricted diet
The amount of food was reduced and the diet low in vitamins. A cook made bread and prepared salted meat, which was served sporadically. Provisions included crackers, cod, lentils, garlic, onions, sugar, flour, water (often contaminated) and wine. To ensure something fresh, a few live animals were taken, generally chickens.