Christopher Columbus Likely Spanish and Jewish, Genetic Study Suggests

This study challenges the traditional view of Columbus as Italian, suggesting he concealed his Jewish heritage to escape persecution.

A groundbreaking genetic study by Spanish researchers has proposed that Christopher Columbus, known for his 1492 voyage that initiated European contact with the Americas, was likely of Spanish and Jewish descent. The study, which analyzed DNA samples from the remains believed to belong to Columbus and his family, suggests he was probably from the city of Valencia. This finding challenges the long-held belief that Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy, and reframes his history by suggesting he may have hidden his Jewish identity or converted to Catholicism to avoid persecution during a tumultuous period when Jews in Spain faced forced conversion or expulsion. The research, led by José Antonio Lorente of Granada University, builds on two decades of investigation, including the exhumation of Columbus's supposed remains from Seville Cathedral. These insights have emerged amid historical debates over Columbus's origins, with many regions historically claiming ties to the explorer. The study's results, nearly conclusive according to Professor Lorente, aired in a documentary on Spain's National Day, commemorating Columbus's Atlantic crossing. As this re-evaluation of Columbus's origins unfolds, it alters the narrative of the famed explorer, presenting him as a figure navigating cultural and religious complexities of his time.