New Study Reveals Christopher Columbus’s Hidden Sephardic Jewish Roots in Western Europe

New Study Reveals Christopher Columbus’s Hidden Sephardic Jewish Roots in Western Europe

Edited by: Fern Sidman

A groundbreaking 20-year genetic investigation into the remains of Christopher Columbus has cast doubt on long-standing historical assumptions, suggesting that the explorer who set sail for the New World may have been of Spanish Jewish descent, rather than a native of Genoa, Italy. This discovery challenges the traditional narrative of Columbus’s origins and raises the compelling possibility that the man who played a pivotal role in establishing Spain’s global empire came from a community that was expelled from Spain in 1492, the same year he made his historic voyage. According to The Guardian of the UK, this research offers a new perspective on a figure central to global history, whose background has long been debated by scholars.

15th-century explorer Christopher Columbus was a Sephardic Jew from Western Europe, according to Spanish scientists who used DNA analysis to tackle a centuries-old mystery.

Several countries have argued over the origins of the man who “discovered the New World”.

Source: Reuters pic.twitter.com/If9VrfoyNk

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) October 13, 2024

The findings, revealed in a special broadcast by Spain’s national television network RTVE, were timed to coincide with the nation’s celebration of Columbus’s arrival in the Americas on October 12, 1492. Leading the research was José Antonio Lorente, a forensic expert from the University of Granada, who confirmed that DNA analysis suggested Columbus had Jewish ancestry. As The Guardian of the UK reported, Lorente explained that his team’s examination of DNA from Columbus’s son, Fernando Colón, showed “traces compatible with a Jewish origin” in both the Y chromosome (passed through the male line) and mitochondrial DNA (inherited from the mother). These findings offer a fresh lens through which to view Columbus’s identity, suggesting a connection to the Spanish Mediterranean region rather than Genoa.

Lorente was cautious to clarify that, while the DNA provided compelling evidence of Jewish ancestry, it did not definitively pinpoint Columbus’s birthplace. Nonetheless, the report in The Guardian of the UK noted that the DNA strongly suggested that Columbus’s origins lay in the western Mediterranean. This conclusion has wide-reaching implications, as the lack of a significant Jewish population in 15th-century Genoa weakens the claim that Columbus was from there, while the limited Jewish presence in other parts of Italy further complicates the case for an Italian origin. As Lorente told The Guardian of the UK, “The likelihood that he was from there is minimal.”

Given that other theories of Columbus’s origins — such as a French or broader Italian background — have been found wanting, the research team has narrowed the field to Spain’s Mediterranean coast and the Balearic Islands, regions under the rule of the Crown of Aragón at the time. According to The Guardian of the UK report, Lorente explained that Sicily, another area with potential ties to Columbus, was also unlikely due to linguistic factors, as any Sicilian origin would likely have been reflected in Columbus’s name or language. The Balearic Islands, however, offer a plausible link, particularly given the region’s Jewish presence during that era.

Spanish scientists claim to have found DNA proof that Christopher Columbus was a Sephardic Jew.

Emergency Nick Fuentes statement when???? pic.twitter.com/e4f5rQijjn

— Drew Pavlou 🇦🇺🇨🇾🇺🇸🇺🇦🇹🇼 (@DrewPavlou) October 13, 2024

For centuries, historians have proposed various origins for Columbus, suggesting he could have been Genoese, Basque, Catalan, Galician, Greek, Portuguese, or even Scottish.

This investigation into Columbus’s Jewish ancestry not only reframes his personal history but also sheds light on the broader historical context of Spain’s Jewish community during the late 15th century. As The Guardian of the UK report pointed out, Columbus’s potential Jewish background places him among a community that faced exile or forced conversion under Ferdinand and Isabella’s 1492 Alhambra Decree, which expelled Jews from Spain. This connection between Columbus and the very community that was expelled at the dawn of Spain’s imperial expansion adds a complex layer to the legacy of both the explorer and his patrons.

.@Columbia, DNA analysis revealed that Christopher Columbus was a Sephardic Jew from Western Europe.

How do you feel about the fact that your antisemitic University was named after a Jew?

How do your antisemitic, Hams-supporting students feel about it?

— Olia (@OliaOnX) October 13, 2024

The revelation also invites further scrutiny of the broader implications of Columbus’s identity for our understanding of the Age of Exploration.

According to RTVE, Lorente’s conclusions are the result of two decades of research into the remains of Columbus and his family. Nonetheless, not all experts are convinced. Antonio Alonso, a geneticist and former director of Spain’s National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences, voiced concerns over the lack of transparency in the presentation of the data. In an interview with El País, Alonso remarked, “Unfortunately, from a scientific point of view, we can’t really evaluate what was in the documentary because they offered no data from the analysis whatsoever.” As reported by The Guardian of the UK, this absence of publicly available data has led to doubts over the validity of the findings, as many researchers believe that scientific conclusions should undergo rigorous scrutiny by the academic community before being presented to the public.

Rodrigo Barquera, an archaeogenetics expert at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, echoed similar concerns about the process through which the findings were revealed. As per the information provided in report in The Guardian of the UK, Barquera emphasized the importance of peer review in validating such significant claims. He told El País, “Normally, you send your article to a scientific journal. An editor is then assigned to the piece and at least three independent reviewers examine the work and decide whether it’s scientifically valid or not. If it is, it gets published and so the rest of the scientific community can say whether they agree with it or not.” Barquera criticized the decision to share the findings via a media broadcast, noting that this bypassed the traditional scientific review process and prevented other scholars from properly evaluating the research.

Superb: New evidence proves Christopher Columbus was a Sephardic Jew who (unsurprisingly) hid his Jewishness because of rampant antisemitism. So not only American exceptionalism but the Renaissance and European and Catholic wealth is all thanks to Jewish ingenuity. Oh the irony.

— Rowan Dean (@rowandean) October 13, 2024

In response to these criticisms, Lorente defended his methodology and the manner in which the findings were shared. Speaking to El País, Lorente explained that his team at the University of Granada views the investigation into Columbus’s DNA as a “single, joined-up and inseparable unit,” adding that no formal publication would be made until the research was fully completed. Despite the backlash from some peers, Lorente stood by his decision to present the results in a public forum, according to The Guardian of the UK.

One of the most significant moments in the investigation came just days before the documentary aired, when Lorente’s team claimed to have definitively confirmed that the partial skeleton housed in Seville Cathedral belonged to Christopher Columbus. By comparing the DNA from the remains of Columbus, his son Fernando, and his brother Diego, Lorente’s team concluded that the bones interred in the cathedral were indeed those of the famed explorer. This discovery, as reported by The Guardian of the UK, adds another layer of intrigue to the ongoing debate about Columbus’s origins, and could serve as a foundation for future genetic research into his ancestry.

While Lorente’s findings have reignited the age-old question of Columbus’s true birthplace, the skepticism voiced by some members of the scientific community highlights the need for greater transparency and peer-reviewed validation in studies of this magnitude. The report in The Guardian of the UK noted that until the full dataset is made available and subject to external analysis, doubts will likely linger about the conclusiveness of Lorente’s conclusions. Nonetheless, the investigation has brought renewed attention to one of history’s most enduring mysteries, and could potentially reshape our understanding of the man who changed the course of world history.

Columbus, who died in Valladolid, Spain in 1506, famously requested to be buried on the island of Hispaniola, which today is divided into Haiti and the Dominican Republic. His remains were transferred there in 1542, then moved to Cuba in 1795, and ultimately brought to Seville in 1898 following Spain’s loss of control over Cuba in the Spanish-American War.

Columbus’s possible Sephardic Jewish identity would have been something he likely kept secret, given the deeply rooted anti-Semitism of 15th-century Spain. During this period, Spain was under the rule of Ferdinand and Isabella, whose concerns about racial purity and religious homogeneity led to the forced exile, conversion, or execution of Jews through the infamous Alhambra Decree of 1492. As the report in The Guardian of the UK indicated, the decree culminated centuries of anti-Semitic pogroms, regional expulsions, and social ostracization, driving the country’s Jewish population into exile unless they converted to Catholicism or faced execution by burning at the stake. Columbus’s voyages to the Americas, which ushered in Spain’s imperial era, coincided with this violent chapter of Spanish history, adding a deeply ironic twist if Columbus himself had been of Jewish descent.

The historical context makes the possibility of Columbus’s Sephardic roots all the more significant. His voyages not only paved the way for Spain’s American empire but also occurred in a time of fervent national identity-building that actively excluded Spain’s Jewish population. The Guardian of the UK highlights how the Spanish Inquisition and the persecution of Jews were driven by fears about maintaining racial purity and Catholic orthodoxy. Thus, Columbus’s Jewish heritage, if proven, would contradict the very ideology promoted by his royal patrons, making it a fact that he would have been eager to conceal.

In a gesture of reconciliation, Spain has, in recent years, attempted to address the injustices of its past. In 2015, the Spanish government passed a law that allowed descendants of Sephardic Jews to reclaim Spanish citizenship. This was described as an effort to rectify what was termed a “historic mistake,” acknowledging the grave injustices inflicted upon Spain’s Jewish population at the end of the 15th century. The Guardian of the UK also reported that this law remained open until October 2019 and saw applications from approximately 132,000 people of Sephardic descent, primarily from Latin American countries such as Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, and Argentina, among others. This law reflects a growing recognition of the historical wrongs perpetrated during that era, offering a symbolic pathway for reconciliation and acknowledgment of Spain’s once-vibrant Jewish community.

The resurgence of interest in Columbus’s potential Jewish ancestry dovetails with the story of Sephardic Jews and their enduring connection to Spain. While many Sephardic Jews were scattered across Europe and the Middle East following their expulsion from Spain, their descendants have maintained a cultural and historical link to the Iberian Peninsula. As the report in The Guardian of the UK explained, the 2015 citizenship law was one way of acknowledging this connection, enabling descendants of those expelled to reclaim a place in the nation that their ancestors were forced to leave.

If Columbus was indeed Sephardic, his story would not only reshape how we understand his personal identity but also how we contextualize Spain’s broader imperial ambitions during the 15th century. His success in navigating to the New World laid the foundations for Spain’s rise to global prominence, at the same time that his sponsors were orchestrating the exclusion of one of Spain’s oldest communities. As The Guardian of the UK report underscores, this investigation into Columbus’s origins continues to provoke questions about how history remembers both individuals and nations and highlights the complex intersections between identity, power, and historical legacy.