The carousel’s name comes from ‘little war’ or ‘battle’, and came about, like jousting, as an Arabic or Turkish war training exercise. It started with horsemen galloping and tossing perfumed balls at each other. Catch or everyone will know you didn’t. 
By the 1600s, riders speared hanging rings with their swords.
A device was created with legless horses suspended from a central pole. Animals or people would turn it with a crank or pull rope.
Sound familiar? Sound fun? Others thought so too.
The game was used to entertain visiting dignitaries, and perhaps, test their mettle.
Commoners got to try these chained, centrifugal, flights of fancy at European fairgrounds.
Steam engines were not just a great idea for factories and ships. In 1861, the year my latest story takes place, an enterprising Englishman, Thomas Bradshaw, applied steam engine power to the flying-type carousel, giving the wildest of rides.
Shortly thereafter, the magic came to the carousel, with elaborately carved horses and other beasts.
Bonus Tuesday trivia fact: carousels in Europe tend to go clockwise. In America, we are a counter-clockwise people.
Pics from my recent ride on a serval (I think) cat.