New York City’s Columbus Circle is named for the explorer and houses his monument in the center.
Christopher Columbus, the 15th-century explorer whose voyages to the New World changed the course of global history, was neither Genoese nor Italian.
Spanish scientists say he was actually a Sephardic Jew from Western Europe
These findings overturn conventional historical wisdom.
This means that the explorer who played a major role in the creation of the Spanish Empire descended from his patrons King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in 1492 (a date every American student knows by heart). years) were expelled from the kingdom.
The news was announced on Saturday evening during a documentary program broadcast on the RTVE network to coincide with Spain’s National Day, commemorating Columbus’s arrival in the Americas on October 12, 1942.
The documentary is titled “Colón: ADN: Su Vedadero Origen” or “Columbus DNA: The True Origins.”
José Antonio Lorente, a forensic expert at the University of Granada who has led the research over the past two decades, told the program that his analysis revealed the truth about Columbus’ legacy and background.
“We have the DNA of Christopher Columbus, partial but enough,” Llorente said in Spanish, adding that the researchers also obtained the DNA of the explorer’s son, Hernando Colon.
RTVE said the research ends 500 years of speculation about the explorer’s birthplace and nationality.
“Hernando has characteristics consistent with Jewish ancestry in his Y chromosome and in his mitochondrial DNA,” Llorente said, referring to the Mediterranean coast or the Balearic Islands, which are part of the Kingdom of Aragon. time.
While Llorente admits he cannot be sure where Columbus was born, he says he likely came from the Mediterranean region of Spain.
“DNA suggests the origin of Christopher Columbus in the western Mediterranean,” the researchers said. “If there were no Jews in Genoa in the 15th century, it’s very unlikely that he came from there. There also wasn’t a significant Jewish presence in other parts of the Italian peninsula, which makes things very fragile.”
Llorente added that the search was further narrowed given that there were no solid theories or clear indications that Columbus might have been French:
“We’re left with the Spanish Mediterranean, the Balearic Islands and Sicily. But Sicily would be weird because Christopher Columbus’ writings may have some traces of Italian or Sicilian. All that means is that he has the most The possible origin is the Spanish Mediterranean region or the Balearic Islands, which were then owned by the Aragonese royal family.”
The study has been criticized by some researchers for not being peer-reviewed, but Llorente said he is not yet ready to publish the full study because more work needs to be done.
Llorente defended his actions to El Pais, saying: “Our team and the university have always considered this study of Christopher Columbus and his family to be a single, joint and indivisible unit “Nothing will be published until the investigation is completed.”
(Photo: Acura Media Group)
