THE AGE OF SAIL

By the end of the Middle Ages, when the Renaissance had sparked scientific inquiry and classical thought once more, great sailing vessels crisscrossed the seas, seeking faster routes, delivering the riches and wonders of far distant lands with greater and greater speed. Foreign treasure fueled exploration and wars, but these vessels were limited by one necessity: they relied upon the wind. The race was on to find the best way to harness nature’s tempestuous resource, for to control the seas was to control the world.