Text: Pages 171 and 172

Sea voyages became further evidence that the world was not flat, and that creation was not ordered and complete. As the Silk Road became more dangerous for European trade, there was a need to find a different way to Asia. Sea voyage began to change cultural perspectives. Between 1492 and 1503, Christopher Columbus (1451–1506) completed four roundtrips between Spain and the Americas, even though he believed that he had reached part of the Asian continent. Because of his readings of the conquests of Marco Polo, Columbus always believed that he found a new way to Asia. He never accepted the fact that he discovered the American continents. The continents were named America after the Florentine explorer Amerigo Vespucci, rather than Columbus. This was because Amerigo believed that the new land was not part of Asia but a totally new continent.

The ships were rich in symbolism. Named the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria, they became symbols of discovery and of something totally new. During this time, ships took the name of women saints, hoping their feminine and spiritual energy would provide protection for safe journeys.