Final answer:
The ships Columbus used were the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria, and his expedition aimed to establish a direct route to Asia, but he landed in the Caribbean.
Step-by-step explanation:
The names of the three ships that Christopher Columbus used on his first voyage were the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. The goal of his expedition was to find a direct route to Asia by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean. Instead of reaching Asia as he had intended, Columbus landed in the Caribbean Islands, which he mistakenly believed were the East Indies. The exploration led to the discovery of what became known as the New World, although Columbus himself never recognized that he had discovered a continent previously unknown to Europeans.