too bad the ship was not built for battle.
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May 17, 2021 2:29 am
May 17, 2021 6:05 am
I am actually not sure if Filipinos used Karakoa ships to ram another ship which a Galleon is designed to do. The article states that some Karakoa ships did have lantaka (small portable cannons) which means they had ballistic weapons which a Galleon would also have. Karakoa ships were mainly used for trade, transportation, piracy, raids or sieges, and migration.
Karaokoa
Panday Piray of Pampanga, Philippines was also known for forging heavy bronze lantaka to be mounted on Lakan's (Naval Chief/Commander) ships called 'caracoas'
Like balangay, they can be used for both trade and war. Their main use, however, were as warships and troop transports during the traditional seasonal sea raids (mangayaw) or piracy (especially against European trade ships).
May 18, 2021 7:13 pm
In general it was peaceful throughout Philippines at the time but there were some invasions by Majapahit, a Hindu-Buddhist civilization originating in Java.
Philippines part of Majapahit?
According to the Nagarakretagama (Desawarñana) written in 1365, Majapahit was an empire of 98 tributaries, stretching from Sumatra to New Guinea; consisting of present-day Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, southern Thailand, East Timor, southwestern Philippines (in particular the Sulu Archipelago) although the ...
How long did Majapahit last?
The Majapahit was a Javanese Hindu thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia that was based on the island of Java. It existed from 1293 to circa 1527 and reached its peak of glory during the era of Hayam Wuruk, whose reign from 1350 to 1389 was marked by conquests that extended throughout Southeast Asia.
May 20, 2021 10:08 pm
Every ship has a canyon for defense against Pirates and man eating sharks 
May 17, 2021 11:41 pm
What about other south east asians boats?
May 18, 2021 6:25 pm
Aug 30, 2021 6:58 pm
The karakoa are like Viking ships. They're designed for raids and speed. I don't know if Vikings were involved in piracy much, but the karakoa appears to be designed for piracy also.
With regards to galleon ships being more advanced and overpowering a karakoa. That may be true if they battle it out on the open sea, but in my opinion, the galleon is not designed for raids. The karakoa can quickly sail or row to its destination and beach itself on virtually any type of shoreline. When the raid is done, they can simply push the karakoa back onto the water. The galleon on the other hand cannot beach itself on most shorelines. From my understanding, the galleon has to anchor itself a distance away from the shore, and then send a little rowboat to bring people on shore. That to me is not the best way to do raids.
The galleon also requires your village or town to have a harbor. It requires more infrastructure. People also have to load up on plank or bridge to get on the galleon. It's not a quick fast load and unload system.
The karakoa with its sleek design and various areas for paddlers or rowers is really designed for speed. Speed is important in doing raids. You have the element of surprise on your side if you have speed, and even if the invasion is expected, just reaching certain positions faster and earlier is always an advantage. Also, defensive preparations or escape requires time, and the raiders want to limit that time that people can prepare defenses or escape.
Speed is also important in catching up to your opponent's ship and pirating it. Or running away from it.
Hopefully I'm not taking away too much from the galleon. The galleons were used for several centuries, so obviously they were very useful for the purposes they were meant to be used for.
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