<P> Despite the huge loss of men and material after the loss of the Spanish Armada in 1588 Spain maintained four permanent galley squadrons . Together they formed the largest galley navy in the Mediterranean in the early 17th century . They formed the backbone of the Spanish war fleet and were used for ferrying troops, supplies, horses and munitions to Spain's Italian and African possessions . The Ottoman Turks attempted to contest the Portuguese rise to power in the Indian Ocean in the 16th century with Mediterranean - style galleys, but were foiled by the formidable Portuguese carracks . Even though the carracks themselves were soon surpassed by other types of sailing vessels, their greater range, great size and high superstructures, armed with numerous wrought iron guns easily outmatched the short - ranged, low - freeboard Turkish galleys . The Spanish used galleys to more success in their colonial possessions in the Caribbean and the Philippines to hunt pirates and were used sporadically in the Netherlands and the Bay of Biscay . </P> <P> Galleys had been synonymous with warships in the Mediterranean for at least 2,000 years, and continued to fulfill that role with the invention of gunpowder and heavy artillery . Though early 20th - century historians often dismissed the galleys as hopelessly outclassed with the first introduction of naval artillery on sailing ships, it was the galley that was favored by the introduction of heavy naval guns . Galleys were a more "mature" technology with long - established tactics and traditions of supporting social institutions and naval organizations . In combination with the intensified conflicts this led to a substantial increase in the size of galley fleets from c. 1520--80, above all in the Mediterranean, but also in other European theatres . Galleys and similar oared vessels remained uncontested as the most effective gun - armed warships in theory until the 1560s, and in practice for a few decades more, and were actually considered a grave risk to sailing warships . They could effectively fight other galleys, attack sailing ships in calm weather or in unfavorable winds (or deny them action if needed) and act as floating siege batteries . They were also unequaled in their amphibious capabilities, even at extended ranges, as exemplified by French interventions as far north as Scotland in the mid-16th century . </P> <P> Heavy artillery on galleys was mounted in the bow, which aligned easily with the long - standing tactical tradition of attacking head on, bow first . The ordnance on galleys was heavy from its introduction in the 1480s, and capable of quickly demolishing the high, thin medieval stone walls that still prevailed in the 16th century . This temporarily upended the strength of older seaside fortresses, which had to be rebuilt to cope with gunpowder weapons . The addition of guns also improved the amphibious abilities of galleys as they could make assaults supported with heavy firepower, and were even more effectively defended when beached stern - first . An accumulation and generalizing of bronze cannons and small firearms in the Mediterranean during the 16th century increased the cost of warfare, but also made those dependent on them more resilient to manpower losses . Older ranged weapons, like bows or even crossbows, required considerable skill to handle, sometimes a lifetime of practice, while gunpowder weapons required considerably less training to use successfully . According to a highly influential study by military historian John F. Guilmartin, this transition in warfare, along with the introduction of much cheaper cast iron guns in the 1580s, proved the "death knell" for the war galley as a significant military vessel . Gunpowder weapons began to displace men as the fighting power of armed forces, making individual soldiers more deadly and effective . As offensive weapons, firearms could be stored for years with minimal maintenance and did not require the expenses associated with soldiers . Manpower could thus be exchanged for capital investments, something which benefited sailing vessels that were already far more economical in their use of manpower . It also served to increase their strategic range and to out - compete galleys as fighting ships . </P> <P> Atlantic - style warfare based on heavily armed sailing ships began to change the nature of naval warfare in the Mediterranean in the 17th century . In 1616, a small Spanish squadron of five galleons and a patache was used to cruise the eastern Mediterranean and defeated a fleet of 55 galleys at the battle of Cape Celidonia . By 1650, war galleys were used primarily in the wars between Venice and the Ottoman Empire in their struggle for strategic island and coastal trading bases and until the 1720s by both France and Spain but for largely amphibious and cruising operations or in combination with heavy sailing ships in a major battle, where they played specialized roles . An example of this was when a Spanish fleet used its galleys in a mixed naval / amphibious battle in the second 1641 battle of Tarragona, to break a French naval blockade and land troops and supplies . Even a purely Mediterranean power like Venice began to construct sail only warships in the latter part of the century . Christian and Muslim corsairs had been using galleys in sea roving and in support of the major powers in times of war, but largely replaced them with xebecs, various sail / oar hybrids, and a few remaining light galleys in the early 17th century . </P>

A building in athens damaged by venetian cannons in 1600s