A DNA study of the remains of Christopher Columbus has upended one of the great theories about the navigator.
Christopher Columbus is the most famous explorer. With his three caravels, the man who thought he was heading towards Asia by crossing the Atlantic discovered in 1492 a continent hitherto unknown to Europeans, America. Since his death in 1506, mysteries have persisted around the explorer’s life. A new investigation led by forensic scientist José Antonio Lorente, from the University of Granada, looked into the DNA of someone who lived more than 500 years ago. The results were revealed in a documentary broadcast on RTVE, Columbus’ DNA, his true origin.
The latter first attested that the skeleton in Seville Cathedral was indeed that of the navigator. Samples were taken from the tomb and compared to those of the explorer’s brother Diego and one of his sons Fernando. Christopher Columbus died in the Spanish city of Valladolid but wanted to be buried on the island of Hispaniola. If his remains were sent there, they were then transferred to Cuba and finally brought back to Seville.
This analysis did not stop there and led to other discoveries about Christopher Columbus. According to the most widespread theory, the navigator was born in Genoa in 1451. His father was a weaver in the Italian city and texts written by the navigator’s hand ordered that his Genoese property remain in the hands of his family since he was born there, were found.
However, in recent years this assertion has been called into question. For José Antonio Lorente, the origin of Christopher Columbus is, in fact, quite different. With the analysis of the DNA and Y chromosome of the explorer and his relatives, he would rather be of Spanish origin and from a Sephardic Jewish family. “What is most likely is that its origin is located in the Spanish Mediterranean arc or in the Balearic Islands, which at that time belonged to the Crown of Aragon,” assured José Antonio Lorente, recalling that the explorer always been discreet about his origins.
The navigator could have wanted to hide its true origin in view of the political context, since Spain was undergoing religious unification under Catholicism at the time. The Jews were then persecuted: they had to either convert or leave the country. Christopher Columbus would then have hidden his origins, or even converted in order to be able to carry out his journeys, supported by the Kingdom of Spain. Not yet shared in a scientific journal, these conclusions must be confirmed.