Notice what he later wrote in describing his efforts to find a new route to India:

"It was the Lord who put into my mind (I could feel his hand upon me) the fact that it would be possible to sail from here to the Indies. All who heard of my project rejected it with laughter, ridiculing me. There is no question that the inspiration was from the Holy Spirit . . .

"For the execution of the journey to the Indies, I did not make use of intelligence, mathematics or maps. It is simply the fulfillment of what Isaiah had prophesied . . . No one should fear to undertake any task in the name of our Savior if it is just and if the intention is purely for His holy service" (quoted by Bob Gingrich, Founding Fathers vs. History Revisionists: In Their Own Words, 2008, p. 17).