Sorry, but Batavia is not a galleon. Retourship, a name is there only from the 18th century for such vessels.
Yes I agree that she is a Retourship, however, retourships ARE simply defined/classified as - a type of galleon - just as are most man-o-war built during this era.
For classification purposes and in the "English" language, the Batavia most certainly IS a galleon. In my dozens of published sources in English it is classified thus.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galleon
Specifically what attributes of the Batavia and other "retourschips" - (not an English term) - are so particularly distinguishing to make her something other than a galleon?
Cite specific attributes please.
I remember having a similar argument once with an old Portuguese mariner who insisted that Naos/Naus are not Carracks/Kraak - when according to all English sources and experts, they are...... I kind of look at this as someone arguing that wolves, coyotes or dingos are not canines......or that Asians are not homo-sapiens. I got in another argument with a Portuguese student who didn't have any understanding of ship classification that simply argued that the word Nau is quite simply their word for.....ship. LOL! I had to laugh......
I've also had arguments with others that insist that the carrack is a type of galleon. The design differences are so dramatic, that this is not a hard argument to win when you show someone visually.
Once again, we simply run up against issues with language differentiation and with small, often minor and indistinguishable design differences in a specific nationalities version of that ship-type/classification. If you ask English speaking maritime experts who are attempting to classify maritime architecture.....Batavia IS a galleon.
What is Batavia not??? *She is not a fluyt - she does not have a rounded stern or the thin upper decks. *She is not a manowar (although most manowar of the era are classified as galleons as well) - despite her type being used in time of war, she was not specifically built for war - she is not large enough, nor possess enough guns to be a manowar. *She is not a Fregatte/Oorlogsfrigat - although many will still classify the Fregatte as a galleon, they usually had a single armed deck, sleeker sweeping raked lines, and were built for fast aggressive attacks and raiding. *She is not a carrack/nao - this obsolete design exhibits similarities and was still being built in the Mediterranean, but is a much different type of ship. *She is not a hulk - the old hulk still in some rare use - an obsolete design similar to the carrack with its giant bulbous bow, was often galleon rigged - but that doesn't make her a galleon. *She is not a patache/urca - although this type was common during the era and is similar in appearance and rig, it was much too small to be considered a galleon. They were favored as tenders and couriers and used more prominently to the south. *She is not a bus - though some fishing busses were galleon-rigged, they had no armaments and were double-enders in hull design . *She is not a galleass - although many galleasses came to have a very galleon looking design and rig by the 17th century, she was still pierced for oars and usually had a prominently rounded front fighting castle and was specifically built for warfare in the med. *She is not a galliot - don't even need to explain. *She is not a galley. She IS a TYPE of galleon.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galleon
gal·le·on (g
l
-
n, g
l
y
n)
n.
A large three-masted sailing ship with a square rig and usually two or more decks, used from the 15th to the 17th century, especially by Spain as a merchant ship or warship.
[Spanish galeon, from Old Spanish, augmentative of galea,
galley, from Old French galie; see
galley.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by
Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
galleon [ˈgælɪən]
n
(Transport / Nautical Terms)
Nautical a large sailing ship having three or more masts, lateen-rigged on the after masts and square-rigged on the foremast and mainmast, used as a warship or trader from the 15th to the 18th centuries
[from Spanish
galeón, from French
galion, from Old French
galie galley]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003
gal•le•on (ˈgæl i ən, ˈgæl yən)
n.
a large sailing vessel of the 15th to the 17th centuries used as a fighting or merchant ship, square-rigged on the foremast and mainmast and generally lateen-rigged on one or two after masts.
[1520–30; < Sp
galeón, augmentative of
galea galley]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
