ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Speedwell (1577 ship)

Speedwell was a very old ship that was around in the year 1577. It was used to travel across the ocean and explore new lands. Just like how you might go on a road trip with your family in a car, people back then used ships like Speedwell to go on long journeys.

Speedwell was a pretty special ship because it was one of the first ones to be fitted with a type of sail called the 'fore-and-aft'. This made it much easier to control the direction of the ship, and it could move much faster than other ships that didn't have this type of sail.

At the time, people didn't have all the fancy technology we do now, so the Speedwell had to rely on things like the wind to move it forward. The sailors on the ship would have to work together to make sure the sail was pointed in the right direction to catch the most wind.

Although Speedwell was an important ship back then, it's no longer around today. However, we can still learn a lot from its history and see how it played an important role in exploring and discovering new parts of the world.