Christopher Columbus

These are the ships used by Christopher Columbus in 1492 when he left Spain.  They were named la Santa Clara, la Pinta, la Santa Maria/Gallega. On the sails you can see the same Red Cross that was used by The Knights Templars.

"In Portugal the Order (Knights Templar) was cleared by an inquiry and simply modified its name, becoming Knights of Christ. Under this title they functioned well into the sixteenth century, devoting themselves to maritime activity. Vasco da Gama was a Knight of Christ, and Prince Henry the Navigator was a Grand Master of the Order. Ships of the Knights of Christ sailed under the familiar red pattee cross. And it was under the same cross that Christopher Columbus's three caravels crossed the Atlantic to the New World. Columbus himself was married to the daughter of a former Knight of Christ, and had access to his father-in-law's charts and diaries." - The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln Pg.66

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Christopher Columbus flag which  he planted when he was credited for opening up the Americas to European colonization. Notice it is  not the flag of Spain.

The original documents of Columbus’ expedition describe a banner, white with a green cross and the crowned initials F and Y, which stood for Fernando and Ysabel, the Catholic Monarchs. It is known that it was a Captain’s Ensign (“La Capitana”). It was used to distinguish the ships under Columbus’ command. It was not a personal, private flag belonging to him, but a sign of the fleet under his authority. The symbols the flag contains (the crowned F and the crowned Y separated by a green cross) are engraved in what is claimed to be Columbus’ burial mound in the Cathedral of Seville, but no flag shape is described.