A polacca (or ''polacre'') is a type of seventeenth- to nineteenth-century sailing vessel, similar to the

xebec A xebec ( or ), also spelled zebec, was a Mediterranean sailing ship that originated in the barbary states (Algeria), it was used mostly for trading. Xebecs had a long overhanging bowsprit and aft-set mizzen mast. The term can also refer to a ...

. The name is the feminine of "Polish" in the

Italian language Italian (, , or , ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family. It evolved from the colloquial Latin of the Roman Empire. Italian is the least divergent language from Latin, together with Sardinian language, Sardinian. It is ...

. The polacca was frequently seen in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

. It had two or three single-pole masts, the three-masted vessels often with a

lateen A lateen (from French ''latine'', meaning "Latin") or latin-rig is a triangular sail set on a long Yard (sailing) , yard mounted at an angle on the mast (sailing) , mast, and running in a fore-and-aft direction. The Settee (sail), settee can be ...

hoisted on the

foremast The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the median line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, giving necessary height to a navigation light ...

(which was slanted forward to accommodate the large lateen

yard The yard (symbol: yd) is an English units, English unit of length in both the British imperial units, imperial and US United States customary units, customary systems of measurement equalling 3 foot (unit), feet or 36 inches. Sinc ...

) and a

gaff Gaff may refer to: Ankle-worn devices * Spurs in variations of cockfighting * Climbing spikes used to ascend wood poles, such as utility poles Arts and entertainment * A character in the ''Blade Runner'' film franchise * Penny gaff, a 19th- ...

or lateen on the

mizzen The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the median line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, giving necessary height to a navigation light ...

mast. The

mainmast The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the median line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, giving necessary height to a navigation light ...

was square-rigged after the European style. Special polaccas were used by Murat Reis, whose ships had lateen sails in front and

fore-and-aft rig A fore-and-aft rig is a sailing ship rig with sails set mainly in the median plane of the keel, rather than perpendicular to it, as on a square-rigged vessel. Description Fore-and-aft rigged sails include staysails, Bermuda rigged sails, g ...

behind. Some polacca pictures show what appears to be a ship-rigged vessel (sometimes with a lateen on the mizzen) with a

galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...

-like

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

and single-pole masts. Thus, the term "polacca" seems to refer primarily to the masting and possibly the hull type as opposed to the type of rig used for the sails. Two-masted polaccas were referred to as brig-polaccas with square sails on both masts. Three-masted polaccas were called ship-polaccas or polacca-settees. Captain

Jack Aubrey John "Jack" Aubrey , is a fictional character in the Aubrey–Maturin series of novels by Patrick O'Brian. The series of novels portrays his rise from lieutenant to rear admiral in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. The twenty (and o ...

in HMS ''Sophie'' captures a French polacre laden with corn and general merchandise in

Patrick O'Brian Patrick O'Brian (12 December 1914 – 2 January 2000), born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series. These sea novels are set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and ...

's first Aubrey-Maturin novel, '' Master and Commander'' (1969). Image:Oluf Eigilsson Murat Reis 1627-1628.jpg, Polacca of Murat Reis the Younger File:Polacre San Nicolo-Antoine Roux-p17.jpg, The Graeco-Ottoman polacre ''San Nicolo'', by

Antoine Roux Ange-Joseph Antoine Roux, "Antoine Roux" (1765–1835) was a French fine art painter who specialised in maritime painting, sometimes referred to as marine art. Career Roux came from a family of artists and primarily worked in Marseille. Ear ...

File:Antoine Roux-557346.jpg, The Graeco-Ottoman polacre ''Bella Aurora '', by

References

External links

Polacras
(Spanish) {{Sailing Vessels and Rigs Sailboat types 17th-century ships category:18th-century ships category:19th-century ships Tall ships Merchant ships Pirate ships