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Christopher Columbus may have been a Spanish Jew, according to a new documentary
In Columbus’ DNA, his true origin, Lorente uses DNA from Hernando Colón, son of Christopher Columbus, and distant cousin Diego Colón to verify that the few bones that were housed at the Cathedral of Seville are indeed the true remains of the sailor.
Lorente’s conclusion is unequivocal: Christopher Columbus was of Jewish descent. That led to a process of deduction based on historical evidence. The documentary states that during Columbus’ time there were only an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 Jewish people living on the Italian peninsula. By contrast, there were about 200,000 Jewish people living in what is now Spain, an estimate that may be low, since tens of thousands of Jewish people had converted to Catholicism over the previous century, victims of constant persecution.
Also in the documentary, Albardaner, the Catalan architect, says Genoa had expelled its Jewish population in the 12th century. There were virtually no Jewish people living in Genoa in the times of Columbus, who lived from 1451 to 1506, and Jewish people doing business were only allowed to enter the city for three days at a time.
If the DNA evidence studied by Lorente suggests Columbus was a Jewish man, then it becomes highly improbable that he was from Genoa, according to Albardaner.
Lorente’s conclusion is unequivocal: Christopher Columbus was of Jewish descent. That led to a process of deduction based on historical evidence. The documentary states that during Columbus’ time there were only an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 Jewish people living on the Italian peninsula. By contrast, there were about 200,000 Jewish people living in what is now Spain, an estimate that may be low, since tens of thousands of Jewish people had converted to Catholicism over the previous century, victims of constant persecution.
Also in the documentary, Albardaner, the Catalan architect, says Genoa had expelled its Jewish population in the 12th century. There were virtually no Jewish people living in Genoa in the times of Columbus, who lived from 1451 to 1506, and Jewish people doing business were only allowed to enter the city for three days at a time.
If the DNA evidence studied by Lorente suggests Columbus was a Jewish man, then it becomes highly improbable that he was from Genoa, according to Albardaner.
https://www.npr.org/2024/10/16/g-s1-28462/christopher-columbus-spanish-jew-documentary