New DNA study reveals Columbus was likely a Jew, may have hidden identity

Explorer Christopher Columbus was likely a Jew from western Europe, a fresh DNA analysis of his 500-year-old remains has reportedly revealed.

Columbus, who famously “found” the American continent during his explorations, was so far believed to be an Italian born in 1451. His origins were traced to a family of wool weavers in Genoa.

However, the theory has been challenged repeatedly, and historians down the years have suggested that Columbus might have been Greek, Basque, Portuguese, or British. However, most of them agreed that he likely came from the Spanish Mediterranean region.

A Sephardic Jew?

But now, Spanish researchers have announced their findings in a new documentary titled Columbus DNA: The True Origin, which was aired on Spain’s national broadcaster TVE.

They say he was actually a Sephardic Jew from western Europe. José Antonio Lorente, professor of forensic medicine at the University of Granada, who led the research, said in the documentary that Columbus’s DNA was “compatible” with Jewish origin.

Columbus’s remains are buried at Seville Cathedral in Spain, though they were moved several times over the years.

Also read: Statue of Columbus taken down in Camden, New Jersey

Escaped persecution?

The term “Sephardic Jew” comes from the Hebrew word “Sepharad” that refers to the Iberian Peninsula, including modern-day Spain and Portugal.

Around 300,000 Jews lived in Spain before Catholic monarchs King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella ordered Jews and Muslims to convert to Christianity or face exile. Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, the same year that Columbus made his first voyage to the Americas.

Researchers believe Columbus either hid his Jewish identity or converted to Christianity to escape religious persecution.

Not likely from Genoa

He made three more voyages across the Atlantic Ocean for Spain, sponsored by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.

Lorente said in the documentary that the DNA indicates Columbus’s origin lay in the western Mediterranean.

“If there weren’t Jews in Genoa in the 15th century, the likelihood that he was from there is minimal,” he added, saying that there was no big Jewish presence in the rest of the Italian peninsula either.