Acalchimalli

An Acalchimalli was a type of large sailing ship used to carry cargo and later becoming the primary type of armed naval vessel in use by the people of southern Oxidentale, particularly Zacapican. They were built with three or more masts typically lateen-rigged, although some examples are known to have used a square rigged sail plan. With multiple decks and a greater capacity for cargo, long guns and carronades, these quickly replaced the older Acalihuica ship plan and became the new mainstay of Zacapitec trade and naval expeditions from their advent in the 16th century to the early 18th century. Acalchimallis were carvel built and required a variety of wood types, including whole araucaria trunks for the masks, oak for the keel and various other hardwoods for the rest of the ship. Sufficient supplies of wood usable in building ships of this type were limited to the west coast of Zacapican, making the port city of Tecolotlan the center of acalchimalli construction for the Zacapitec wartime and merchant fleets. Building an acalchimalli required the work of over a hundred skilled laborers and craftsmen for a period of months, and is credited with bringing about the boom of Tecolotlan as an economic center due to the large amount of manufacturing and trade required for shipbuilding tasks there. An acalchimalli, while roughly similar in shape to a acalihuica hull, sat taller in the water and had a prominent rectangular stern. In some examples, armed acalchimallis would be fitted with one or more mortars in this rear section and would be used as bomb ships specialized in attacking land-based targets such as harbor fortifications and island defenses.