Jesus Ships
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The Jesus Ships (Senrian: iesu-sen) was the name given by the Senrians to the first recorded instance of a diplomatic mission sent by Euclean nations to Senria in 1531. The name referenced the fact that the Euclean mission was orchestrated by the Solarian Catholic Church, and was primarily an attempt to evangelise on the islands.
Euclean activity in the Bay of Bashurat had intensified dramatically at the start of the 16th century, owing to improvements in nautical technology and ship-design that better suited long voyages. Historically, the Solarian Empire had been aware of the Shangeans through an embassy in Yuanjun, and intermittent embassies were maintained by the Verliquoian Empire, and various Euclean polities had begun to trade with Satrian states.
In 1527 Gaullican missionaries and merchants sailing the Rangyoku strait were blown off course westerly, and were cast adrift on Tousuu for several weeks. They made contact with the local population, but left without establishing any further contact. Upon arrival in Euclea by 1528, news of their discovery prompted the sending of an official mission. To facilitate this endeavour, the Catholic Church sponsored the Austral mission, in which a coalition of vessels from southern Euclea under the command of Evangelist Gianfrancesco Acerbi were tasked with the official establishment of a Sotirian mission.