Rubuta ci gaba don wannan sakin layi - Ci gaban manyan jiragen ruwa, jiragen ruwa da ke dauke da bindigogi sun haifar da saurin fadada jiragen ruwa na Turai, musamman jiragen ruwa na Spain da Portugal wadanda suka mamaye karni na 16 da farkon karni na 17, kuma sun taimaka wajen bunkasa shekarun bincike da mulkin mallaka. Rushewar Armada ta Spain (1588) ta rundunar jiragen ruwa na Ingila ta sauya yakin basasa ta hanyar nasarar dabarun bindigogi kawai kuma ya haifar da babban gyare-gyare na Sojojin Ruwa na Spain, a wani ɓangare tare da Lines na Turanci, wanda ya haifar da rinjaye mafi girma daga Mutanen Espanya. Tun daga farkon ƙarni na 17, 'yan Holland sun cinye Daular Fotigal a Gabas kuma, da wadata mai yawa da suka samu, suka ƙalubalanci ikon mallakar Spain a teku. Daga 1620s, 'yan fashi na Dutch sun damu sosai game da jigilar kayayyaki na Mutanen Espanya kuma, bayan wasu yaƙe-yaƙe da suka tafi duka hanyoyi, sojojin ruwa na Dutch a ƙarshe sun karya ikon mulkin Mutanen Espanya a cikin Yaƙin Downs.
(1639), kuma Ingila ta fito a matsayin babbar rundunar sojan ruwa a tsakiyar karni na 17 a yakin farko na Anglo-Dutch tare da nasarar fasaha. Nasara mai nasara ta Dutch a cikin yaƙe-yaƙe na biyu da na uku na Anglo-Dutch ya tabbatar da ikon Dutch na tekuna a lokacin Zamanin Zinare na Dutch, wanda aka ba da kuɗin ta hanyar fadada Daular Dutch. Rundunar sojan ruwa ta Faransa ta sami nasarori masu mahimmanci a ƙarshen ƙarni na 17, amma mayar da hankali kan sojojin ƙasa ya haifar da watsi da sojojin ruwan Faransa, wanda ya ba da damar Royal Navy ta fito da ci gaba mai girma a cikin girma da inganci, musamman a cikin dabaru da gogewa daga 1695. A matsayin martani ga karuwar tasirin jiragen ruwa na jiragen ruwa na Fotigal, sarkin mayaƙin Marathas, Shivaji ya kafa tushen jirgin ruwan Maratha a shekara ta 1654.