Christopher Columbus wasn’t Italian or even originally Catholic but instead a Sephardic Jew likely from Spain who hid his heritage to avoid persecution, a new genetic study suggests.
And new DNA evidence pulled from some of the bones of Columbus’ corpse in Spain’s Seville Cathedral seems to prove them right.
“We have DNA from Christopher Columbus, very partial but sufficient,” forensic expert and investigation leader Miguel Lorente said in a documentary called “Columbus DNA: The true origin,” which aired in Spain on Saturday.
And both in the Y [male] chromosome and in the mitochondrial DNA [from the mother] of Hernando there are traits compatible with Jewish origin,” Lorente said.
Although researchers weren’t positive where Columbus was actually born, they believe it was likely Western Europe, possibly the Spanish city of Valencia.
A new genetic study indicates that Christopher Columbus was not Italian or even originally Catholic, but rather a Sephardic Jew, probably from Spain, who concealed his ancestry to survive persecution.
According to the BBC, a multi-decade inquiry by Spanish scientists into the controversial explorer’s past aimed to resolve the long-running dispute about the explorer’s true birthplace, which dates back to the 15th century.
Conventional wisdom maintained that Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, an independent republic on the northwest coast of Italy, in 1451. Columbus was sailing for Spain when he crossed the Atlantic in 1492, igniting European interest in the Americas.
But a lot of historians disagreed with that. Their assertion appears to be supported by fresh DNA evidence derived from a few of Columbus’s corpse’s bones found in Spain’s Seville Cathedral.
“Columbus DNA: The true origin,” a documentary that aired in Spain on Saturday, featured forensic expert and investigation leader Miguel Lorente saying, “We have DNA from Christopher Columbus, very partial but sufficient.”.
We possess DNA from his son, Hernando Colón. Additionally, Hernando’s mother’s mitochondrial DNA and the Y [male] chromosome both exhibit characteristics consistent with a Jewish heritage, according to Lorente.
Though the exact location of Columbus’ birth is unknown, researchers surmise that it was in Western Europe, most likely in Valencia, Spain.
In order to evade religious persecution, they think that Columbus either changed his religion to Catholicism or concealed his Jewish identity.
The results are based on nearly 22 years of research, which started in 2003 when historian Marcial Castro and forensic medicine professor Lorente excavated some of Columbus’s remains from the cathedral.
Countries have been debating his origins for centuries, with dozens of opposing theories claiming he was born in Scandinavia, Great Britain, Greece, Portugal, Hungary, or Poland.
These theories, however, seem to have been false, including the intriguing notion of a Viking Columbus.
According to Lorente, the results of the DNA-driven approach are “almost absolutely reliable.”.
The outcomes align with historical documents from that era, which indicate that approximately 300,000 Jews resided in Spain prior to the orders of Catholic monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand for Jews and Muslims to either convert to Catholicism or depart.
Instead of giving up their religion, many departed and settled in vast stretches of the globe.
Sefarad, which means Spain in Hebrew, is the root of the word Sephardic.
Spanish monarchs seeking a new route to Asia funded four of Columbus’ expeditions to the Americas, which are largely responsible for his notoriety.
The New World was settled and conquered as a result of his collision with the Caribbean islands, but he also killed millions of native peoples due to European diseases and conflicts with European invaders. This marked the beginning of a new era of exploration.
Despite his desire to be buried on the island of Hispaniola, which is currently shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti, Christopher Columbus passed away in Valladolid, Spain, in 1506.
They removed his remains in 1542; at least part of them were subsequently transferred to Cuba in 1795, and finally to Seville in 1898.
Apart from the controversies surrounding his origins, the main cause of Columbus’ legacy has been his brutal treatment of the native Americans who inhabited the Americas prior to his arrival.
According to the Washington Post, his men would cut off the hands of natives in Haiti and the Dominican Republic if they did not provide gold every three months.
Along with helping with the sex trafficking of 9 and 10-year-old girls, his crews also chopped off the legs of Native children who attempted to flee.
Many are now advocating for the renaming of the explorer’s holiday, which is observed on the second Monday in October, to “Indigenous People’s Day,” as a result of these altered perceptions of the explorer. “.
employing post wires.
