Christopher Columbus was Sephardic Jew from Western Europe, forensic expert says

As Americans celebrated Columbus Day this week, a new documentary presented DNA evidence that the famous explorer was a Sephardic Jew from Western Europe, Fox News reported.

“Columbus DNA: The True Origin,” which aired on Spain’s national network, showcases the research of a 22-year investigation led by forensic expert Miguel Lorente, The team tested samples of remains buried at Seville Cathedral, long believed to be Columbus’ final resting place, although the claim has been contested. Researchers compared the DNA with those of known relatives and descendants of the navigator who led trans-Atlantic expeditions for the Spanish crown from the 1490s onward, inducing European exploration and colonization of the Americas.

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

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Reuters reported that approximately 300,000 Jews lived in Spain before the “Reyes Catolicos,” in which Catholic monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand, compelled Jews and Muslims to convert or face exile. The expulsion of Jews from Spain took place in 1492, the same year as Columbus’ famed first voyage. The word Sephardic is derived from Sepharad, or Spain, in Hebrew.

Columbus traditionally was believed to have come from Genoa, Italy, although historians also had theorized him as being a Spanish Jew or perhaps Greek, Basque, Portuguese or British. Lorente’s study analyzed 25 possible locations but ultimately could only conclude that Columbus was born in Western Europe, Reuters said.

Columbus died in Valladolid, Spain, in 1506. His remains were brought to the island of Hispaniola — currently home to the Dominican Republic and Haiti — where he wanted to be buried and later to Cuba in 1795. Authorities long believed Columbus’ remains were ultimately taken back to Spain, to Seville in 1898.

Lorente said his research confirmed that the remains at Seville Cathedral are indeed those of Columbus. “The outcome is almost absolutely reliable,” he said.

–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice