04-23-2019, 01:38 PM
(04-22-2019, 01:35 PM)Holly70 Wrote: I understand that the differentiation between navy and merchant ships was in large part due to the merchant owner being cost conscious so sail was more economically attractive, rather than slave rowers.
Galley slaves is a late Medieval/Renaissance practice, due to manpower problems, while in Antiquity, rowers were freemen: citizens in ancient Athens and military personnel in the Roman Empire.
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