At the end of 1862, Spain sent a scientific expedition to South American waters, with the covert purpose of reinforcing the financial and legal claims of Spanish citizens residing in the Americas. The expedition was under the command of Admiral Luis Hernández Pinzón – a direct descendant of the Pinzón brothers who had accompanied Christopher Columbus on his voyage that resulted in the modern European discovery of America.[citation needed] Pinzón's squadron was composed of three warships: the twin steam frigates Triunfo and Resolución and the schooner Virgen de Covadonga.[citation needed]