Is it the Phoenicians who built the first ship in history?

Question

Who do Historians refer to as the masters of the sea? Phoenicians or Vikings or Britons?

Answer 1

The Phoenicians were formidable navigators and marine traders (as were the Vikings), transporting tin from Cornwall, but the first sea-worthy ships were built long before them, maybe used in the migration of the first settlers of Australia and America, and for whaling.

Answer 2

The Phoenicians were master traders and went just about everywhere in the Mediterranean, perhaps beyond, Africa, maybe even North and South America.

The Egyptians were adventurous people in their own right, and may have traded with people in the Americas. I cannot give you specific sources, but some Egyptian mummies were found to have traces of nicotine and caffiene in them, when subjected to forensic tests, and at the time of the Pharaoahs, the only places you could get coffee and tobacco were in the Americas.

The Vikings were traders who went to North America, around Nova Scotia, tried to settle, were not the best of neighbors to the people living there, so the constant fighting eventually proved too much even for them, and they died off or evacuated. They went all over the Mediterranean, not just northern Europe, and if they didn't do business, they hired themselves out as mercenaries. Their ships were well built and fast, they were good seamen, and fearless.

The British only became masters of the seas after defeating the Spanish, Dutch and French in various wars throughout the late fifteenth century through the eighteenth century. I think the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 where 27 British warships defeated a combined French/Spanish fleet of 33 ships cemented Britain's place as the number one naval power. Today, the US has replaced Britain as the supreme naval power on the planet, but that's a long time later.

It can be argued that the Chinese were master seamen, without equal, and I would recommend you read the book by Gavin Menzies, "1421: The Year China Discovered The World" or you can google 1421 and see what comes floating up.

Answer 3

The Phoenicians where the first to use the Galley to navigate the Mediterranean Sea. The Phoenicians, Vikings, and Britons have all been the "Masters of the Sea" in their respective ages.

Answer 4

Also the Dutch, Portuguese and Spanish have been named masters of the sea. The Brits became so after the battle at Trafalgar when they beat the Spanish.