Christopher Columbus was convinced that China and Japan were relatively close to Europe and that consequently it was easy to reach them by navigating towards the west. The expedition, financed by Isabella of Castile, left on 3rd August 1492 with three caravels and reached land on 12th October on San Salvador in the Bahamas. During his subsequent voyages, Columbus discovered some of the Greater and Lesser Antilles, the Orinoco Delta and finally the shores of Central America. He died in 1506 without ever suspecting that he had discovered a new continent.