abstract
| - The Corvette was a lightly armed warship smaller than a Frigate, which just so happens to be the ship that they protect. The Corvettes were great at raiding as well as protecting, leading some pirates to use them as their main mode of transport. The term "corvette" first appeared in France, and was intended to describe a warship that was smaller than a Frigate, but larger and more powerful than a brig or a sloop. Such warships were ideal for the French, especially in the seas of the English Channel because of the unpredictable weather conditions. Over the course of roughly two centuries, corvettes eventually grew in size and strength, being able to carry more guns than most smaller ships but only so ever outclassed (or in British terms, out-rated) by Frigate-type vessels. Towards the end of the Age of Sail, Corvettes briefly disappeared after the Napoleonic Wars before reappearing once more, this time as hybrid steam-and-sail warships.
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