There were always the rumors but now there is evidence Christopher Columbus was a Sephardic Jew although I must say that Jewish men are usually not named Christopher which I think means Christ bearer. (This has been edited from what I originally wrote)
EDIT and UPDATE: I think that I figured it out. Columbus probably had no idea he had Jewish genes. He was probably raised a Catholic. DNA proves him to be a Sephardic Jew but in today's world. He was born and raised in the 1400's.
It is quite possible. Although the article doesn't say any of the technical details of how the research was done. We all share more than 99% of Christopher Columbus's DNA because we are both the same species... You can only have directly inherited your DNA/chromosomes/genes from no more than 120 ancestors; Older ancestors would have passed pieces of DNA onto the more recent ancestors you inherited your DNA directly from... I don't currently have any way to know whether there is able to be such a thing as pieces of genes or DNA that are found is all or some Jews but not in anybody who isn't Jewish or has no Jewish ancestors... I am a so called "Ashkenazic Jew" (descended from the Jews of East to Central Europe; I still wouldn't be closely related to Christopher Columbus.... Most Ashkenazic Jews are or were related at the level of 5th to 32nd cousins... I used to think that it was special to find out that a celebrity was another Jew, but that may be irrational; they would still be a different person, I didn't do what they did... I suppose that the rulers of Spain in 1492, Isabel and Ferdinand, who started the expulsion of the Jews, would not have financed his voyages if they thought he was Jewish even if he didn't observe any of the religion.
But, did he have a Space Laser?
Better link without tracking
https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/13/world/columbus-origins-western-europe-study-intl
Interesting article and the timing is perfect. We were just on a tour of the Jerónimos Monastery last Sunday and our guide told us the they never confirmed exactly what nationality Columbus was.
If the remains tested were his. That is still open for debate.
The chief investigator of the study, Miguel Lorente, makes a notable comment near the end of the article.
The conclusions drawn about Columbus’ nationality, said Lorente “are ALMOST completely reliable.”
That does not sound like the case is as conclusive as the headline of the article suggests.
I am heading to Barcelona this week to take a Mediterranean Cruise.
There is a beautiful monument to Columbus in Barcelona pointing towards the port although it is not without controversy.
I think that "prove" is a little strong
I saw the program Saturday night. What seems proven with the DNA was that Colon was Sepharic Jew from the western Mediterranean.
Furthermore they said he was from the Valencia area. They eliminated Genoa because there were no jews in the city at that time. They also eliminated Sicily as there was no Italianisms in his writings.
Another supporting arguement was that there were several important conversos in the Aragon court that helped him and also protected him from the Inquisition.
bostonphil7 - Columbus reported to Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand V in Barcelona at Palau Reial facing the Placa del Rei, after his first trip to the new continent. You can still climb the same stairs up to the Palau Columbus also took, with his entourage of exotic birds, gold, and the first Indians in old world.
I think for most of us in Spain we really don't care if Columbus was Spanish Jewish Italian or all three. Though it may be a bit of a shock for the Italian American community who I think celebrate Columbus every year as the first "Italian American."
I agree with Mr. E and Nigel that it's not definitely proven. The article even states that: "[T]he outcome is almost absolutely reliable.” (emphasis added)
Unfortunately, it's hard to get definitive answers, especially when someone's remains have been moved around so much. Columbus died in Valladolid, but his remains were taken to be buried in Hispaniola in 1542, then transferred to Cuba in 1795 and after that, to Seville in 1898.
In Spain as well many specialists are also doubtful about the new claims.
Arguably the most interesting finding would have been that the remains were genetically closely linked to the remains of his son - suggesting that those claimed to be Colon's in Sevilla catedral actually are his. But even that still seems to be open to dispute. So, in reality, they might not have been testing him or the supposed son at all and what is buried in the catedral could still be someone else.
Also, none of the "science" can explain why contemporaries and everyone for the next 300 years said Colon came from Genoa and nobody questioned that until the concept of nationality became important.
I'd also suggest where he came from isn't that important. It smacks of those academics arguing over whether Shakespeare's plays were written by Shakespeare or by some other bloke who called himself Shakespeare. The result is what matters. And whether Columbus came from here or there, the world influence is what he did in opening a whole new continent to Europe (even if numpty Colon didn't realise it was a new continent) . So, good for Europeans over time - but not so ideal for those already living in the "new world".
Well said, Nick
Hello Carlos,
I grew up in Boston and in Boston as well as some other U. S cities, there are huge celebrations or there were for Columbus Day. He was / is seen as Italian which was fine with me.
Today is still Columbus Day in some U S cities.
But I have long lived in Austin, TX which has a very small Italian population if at all. There is a very large Mexican and Latin American population here. And today is Indigenous People Day.
It is a holiday of sorts but I am not aware of any celbrations.
Getting ready to go to the airport flying to Barcelona, finally.
Thank you Nigel, Mardee and others for your thoughtful input
I have edited the title and opening statement / paragraph.
I am packing it up and heading to airport so as to fly out tomorrow for Barcelona. I am planning to visit the Columbus Monument. Actually, I don't know how you can miss it. It looks magnificent in the pictures that i have seen.
To all who replied,
Thank you for your valuable input. I would respond individually but I am packing it up to go to the airport. I am flying to Barcelona early morning.
I plan to post on R S during my vacation assuming I have decent wi fi
@bostonphil7 Best wishes for your cruise, hoping it all goes well for you.
Well maybe, but this happens all the time -- that is, new "discoveries" about the origins of Cristoffa Corombo (to give him his probable Genoese name). These "discoveries" always sound so persuasive when presented by their proponents and their advocates, but they just keep coming and going. Allowing for the possibility than an authentic new discovery might have been made in the past 25 years, I'm just going to quote with no further comment, the historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto, a renowned authority on Columbus (as we usually call him) and on the age of exploration: "The Catalan, French, Galician, Greek, Ibizan, Jewish, Majorcan, Polish, Scottish, and other increasingly silly Columbuses concocted by historical fantasies are agenda-driven creations, usually inspired by a desire to arrogate a supposed or confected hero to the cause of a particular nation or historic community...."
[from "1492: The Year the World Began" (2009)]
This is a brand new DNA study. It’s not true that this ‘happens all the time’. The study took 20 years to complete and the results are very convincing.
It’s interesting to me that people don’t want to believe this. Is it just because anything that upends long held beliefs is hard to accept?
I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Columbus were found to be Spanish and/or of Jewish ancestry.
I have read that the conclusions of this study have yet to be peer-reviewed by other academics in the field of forensics. The methodology and details of the study have yet to be shared with other scientists who were not part off the project and this is generally the protocol in Academia when a researcher has a new scientific finding from a study.
It’s interesting to me that people don’t want to believe this. Is it
just because anything that upends long held beliefs is hard to accept?
Nope, it's because they said they aren't positive it was his body they tested.
Personally I think the alien being theory is as likely.
They also tested the bodies of his sons so the family line would have been clear through dna.
Shall I remind some that SPAIN didn't exist during Columbus time? It was the Crown of Castille and the Crown of Aragon, each one a separate entity at all levels -except dynastically, due to the marriage of Ferran d'Aragó and Isabel de Castilla.
The Crown of Aragon, in turn, was formed by several independent and semi-independent territories working in a sort of 'modern' confederacy: the Principality of Catalonia, the Kingdom of Aragon, the Kingdom of Valencia, the Kingdom of Majorca, the Kingdom of Sicily, Malta, the Kingdom of Naples and the Kingdom of Sardinia. For brief periods the Crown of Aragon also controlled Montpellier, Provence, Corsica, and the twin Duchy of Athens and Neopatras in Latin Greece.
Spain, as such, came to be only after the War of Succession (1701-1715) in which the Crown of Castille -alongside the French Bourbons- militarily conquered the territories of the Crown of Aragon and abolished their laws, armies and government bodies, imposing the Castillian ones instead.
Sooo, Columbus can't possibly be "Spanish" no matter what.
This is just to mess with those stubborn Spanish ultra-nationalist folks dead set on making Columbus 'Spanish' at all costs!
Does it really matter who his parents were and where they were when he was born?
Does it really matter who his parents were and where they were when he was born?
My thoughts exactly. Where someone is born, who their ancestors were, what country they represent, makes no difference. What matters is what a person does (good or bad or questionable) that makes them important. The fact that decades and mucho $$ is spent on determining the origin of Columbus says much..
