A 20-year investigation into Christopher Columbus’ origins has concluded that the famous explorer might not have been born in Genoa as traditionally believed. Columbus, known for his four voyages across the Atlantic in the late 15th century and his accidental “discovery” of the Americas in 1492, has long been thought to have been born in 1451 in Genoa, then an independent republic on Italy’s northwest coast. However, new evidence suggests Columbus may have intentionally concealed his true origins, particularly from his patrons, King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile.
These Spanish monarchs, who funded Columbus’ expeditions, issued the Alhambra Decree in the same year he reached the Americas, expelling Jews from Spain unless they converted to Catholicism. New genetic research now hints that Columbus might have been part of the Jewish community that his sponsors sought to expel. The DNA findings suggest that he could have been hiding his Jewish background or had converted to Catholicism in secret to avoid persecution.
The findings were presented during a broadcast on RTVE, a Spanish television network, in a program titled “Columbus DNA: The True Origin,” which marked the 532nd anniversary of his arrival in the New World on October 12, 1492. Led by forensic expert José Antonio Lorente from the University of Granada and historian Marcial Castro, the research examined Columbus’ remains at Seville Cathedral. They found that his DNA, as well as that of his son Fernando, showed signs compatible with a Jewish origin and pointed to a likely origin in the western Mediterranean, rather than Genoa.
Lorente rejected the idea of Columbus being from Sicily, suggesting there would have been traces of the local language if that were the case. Instead, the evidence points to Columbus having origins in the Spanish Mediterranean region or the Balearic Islands, part of the Crown of Aragón. Over the years, there have been around 25 theories about Columbus’ birthplace, including claims that he was from places such as Poland, Britain, Greece, Portugal, Hungary, and Scandinavia, according to the BBC.