Spanish researchers claim that DNA and other analyzes indicate that Christopher Columbus likely came from a Jewish family in Spain.
Traditionally, the 15th century man credited with discovering the Americas was an Italian from the Republic of Genoa who sailed under the Spanish flag, but research over the past 20 years led by a professor at the University of Granada has revealed that Ta. Miguel Lorente Acosta claims to have overturned the origin story of the “Marine Admiral.”
A Spanish research team analyzed DNA taken from the bones of Christopher Columbus and his son Hernando, who were buried in Seville Cathedral, and found that both men had “characteristics consistent with Jewish origin.” claimed to have been shown. telegraph paper report.
DNA also indicated a “Western Mediterranean” origin, but it was inconclusive as to which Mediterranean country the Columbus family came from.
But the findings, released in a prime-time documentary on Saturday to coincide with Spain's National Day, asserted that Columbus was almost certainly not of Italian origin.
In addition to the DNA evidence, Professor Lorente Acosta pointed to the results of an analysis of around 40 letters signed by the explorers, which researchers claim show no signs of Italian influence. did. The researchers focused on the fact that Columbus' letters to banks in Genoa were still written in Castilian Spanish rather than Italian.
Therefore, he argued, Columbus probably came from the Spanish Mediterranean or the Balearic Islands off the east coast of the Iberian Peninsula.
“What do we have left? Spain's Mediterranean arc, the Balearic Islands, Sicily. But Sicily is also strange. If that's the case, then Christopher Columbus would have had the characteristics of an Italian or a Sicilian.” Therefore, his origin is most likely in the Mediterranean arc of Spain or the Balearic Islands, ”said the forensic scientist.
Spanish historian Francis Albaldaner has long maintained that Columbus was from the Catalonia region of eastern Spain, but his research shows that Columbus came from a family of Jewish silk workers from the Valencia region of Spain. He said that it shows that.
“According to the laws of the time, Jews could only stay in Genoa for three days at a time,” Albardaner pointed out. The historian said that in the time of Columbus, about 200,000 Jews lived in Spain, but only about 10,000 to 15,000 lived in Italy.
Alvardaner argued that Columbus likely chose to hide his heritage and beliefs to avoid the religious persecution of Jews common in Europe at the time, such as during the Spanish Inquisition. .
During this period, in 1492, orders were issued for the forced conversion of Jews to Christianity and the expulsion of those who refused to convert, and in that year Columbus set sail from Spain on a voyage that would lead to the discovery of the New World. Discovery of Viking Lief Eriksson Nevertheless, it failed to create broader awareness of the existence of the Americas.
“Christopher Columbus had to pretend he was a Roman Catholic all his life. If he had made one mistake, this man would have been on the stake,” Alvardaner said, adding that the explorer could subvert contemporary leftist narratives that label the United States as a symbol of colonial oppression.
There has long been a suggestion that Columbus was Jewish. Tobias Brinkman is a professor of Jewish studies and history at Penn State University. noticed Traditionally Jewish names such as Abraham and Jacob were common among members of his maternal line. Brinkman also pointed to evidence that the Columbus family business had ties to the Jews of Spain at the time.
Columbus is also said to have recruited many Jews and people forced to convert to Christianity, known as “conversos,” to serve as astrologers, navigators, and translators on his crew. . other people too guessed It is believed that the true purpose of his exploration may have been motivated by a desire to find new lands where Jews could settle free from persecution.
