![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2a/Battle_of_Scheveningen_%2528Slag_bij_Ter_Heijde%2529%2528Jan_Abrahamsz._Beerstraten%2529.jpg/640px-Battle_of_Scheveningen_%2528Slag_bij_Ter_Heijde%2529%2528Jan_Abrahamsz._Beerstraten%2529.jpg&w=640&q=50)
Age of Sail
Historical era when sailing ships dominated global trade and warfare / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the video game, see Age of Sail (video game).
The Age of Sail is a period in European history that lasted at the latest from the mid-16th (or mid-15th)[1] 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[2] and the Age of Discovery. [1]
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2a/Battle_of_Scheveningen_%28Slag_bij_Ter_Heijde%29%28Jan_Abrahamsz._Beerstraten%29.jpg/640px-Battle_of_Scheveningen_%28Slag_bij_Ter_Heijde%29%28Jan_Abrahamsz._Beerstraten%29.jpg)
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/Warship_diagram_orig.jpg/640px-Warship_diagram_orig.jpg)