Study finds Christopher Columbus was a Sephardic Jew from Western Europe

Researchers analyze DNA fragmented remains believed to be world-shaping explorer’s; they say any further narrowing down of his origins remains elusive

Portrait of a man thought to be Christopher Columbus by Sebastiano del Piombo, 1519.(public domain)
Portrait of a man thought to be Christopher Columbus by Sebastiano del Piombo, 1519.(public domain)

MADRID (Reuters) – The 15th-century explorer Christopher Columbus was a Sephardic Jew from Western Europe, Spanish scientists said on Saturday, after using DNA analysis to tackle a centuries-old mystery.

Several countries have argued over the origins and the final burial place of the divisive figure who led Spanish-funded expeditions from the 1490s onward, opening the way for the European conquest of the Americas.

Many historians have questioned the traditional theory that Columbus came from Genoa, Italy. Other theories range from him being a Spanish Jew or a Greek, to Basque, Portuguese or British.

To solve the mystery researchers conducted a 22-year investigation, led by forensic expert Miguel Lorente, by testing tiny samples of remains buried in Seville Cathedral, long marked by authorities there as the last resting place of Columbus, though there had been rival claims.

They compared them with those of known relatives and descendants and their findings were announced in a documentary titled “Columbus DNA: The true origin” on Spain’s national broadcaster TVE on Saturday.

“We have DNA from Christopher Columbus, very partial, but sufficient. We have DNA from Hernando Colón, his son,” Lorente said in the program.

A statue of Christopher Columbus on the Columbus Memorial Fountain in front of Union Station, in Washington, July 6, 2020. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

“And both in the Y chromosome (male) and in the mitochondrial DNA (transmitted by the mother) of Hernando there are traits compatible with Jewish origin.”

Around 300,000 Jews lived in Spain before the “Reyes Catolicos,” where Catholic monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand ordered Jews and Muslims to convert to the Catholic faith or leave the country. The word Sephardic comes from Sefarad, or Spain in Hebrew.

The 1492 Edict of Expulsion in Spain forced Sephardic Jews to convert to Christianity or leave, prompting a dispersion to locations including the Americas and the Middle East. Within Spain and its newfound American colonies, some conversos, or Jewish converts, kept their original faith in secret, under threat of discovery and punishment from the Inquisition.

After analyzing 25 possible places, Lorente said it was only possible to say Columbus was born in Western Europe.

On Thursday, Lorente said they had confirmed previous theories that the remains in Seville Cathedral belonged to Columbus.

People visit the tomb of Christopher Columbus at the Cathedral of Seville on October 11, 2024. (CRISTINA QUICLER / AFP)

Research on Columbus’s nationality was complicated by a number of factors including the large amount of data. But “the outcome is almost absolutely reliable,” Lorente said.

Columbus died in Valladolid, Spain, in 1506, but wished to be buried on the island of Hispaniola which is today shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti. His remains were taken there in 1542, then moved to Cuba in 1795 and then, it had been long thought in Spain, to Seville in 1898.

Times of Israel Staff contributed to this report.

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