| Santa Maria (ship) |
Article Index for Santa Maria |
Website Links For Santa |
Information AboutSanta Maria (ship) |
|
The ''Santa María'' was the largest of the three Ship s used by Christopher Columbus in his first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492 . The ''Santa María'' was a "Nao" (ship), probably a Carrack -type vessel and was used as the flag ship for the expedition. In 1492, in the middle of the expedition, the ship was shipwrecked in a storm. The other ships of the Columbus expedition were the Caravel -type ships ''Santa Clara'', remembered as the '' Niña '' ("The Girl" – a pun on the name of her owner, Juan Niño) and '' Pinta '' ("The Painted" – this might be a reference to excessive Makeup or perhaps Prostitution ). All these ships were second-hand (if not third or more) vessels and were never meant for exploration The ''Santa María'' was originally named ''La Gallega'' ("The Gallician"), probably because she was built in Galicia, (but it was also a euphemism to design a Prostitute , it seems the ship was known to her sailors as ''Marigalante'', literally "Dirty Mary".). Bartolomé De Las Casas never used ''La Gallega, Marigalante'' or ''Santa María'' in his writings, preferring to use ''la Capitana'' or ''La Nao''. The ship was about 70 feet (18 Metre s) long, had a deck and three Masts . She was the slowest of Columbus' vessels but performed well in the Atlantic crossing. The ship ran aground off Haiti on December 25 , 1492 , and was lost. A replica of the ship was built in Columbus, Ohio and rests on the Scioto River . An attraction replica was built in Parque del Este at Caracas, Venezuela . SEE ALSO
|
|
|