It’s not clear if he said selichos from Rosh Chodesh Elul until Yom Kippur, but Spanish scientists say that Christopher Columbus, the 15th-century explorer known for his voyages to the Americas, may have been of Sephardic Jewish descent. This conclusion was reached after a 22-year DNA analysis of Columbus’ remains, according to a documentary aired on Spain’s national broadcaster TVE.
The true origins of Columbus have long been a topic of debate, with various countries, including Italy, Spain, and Portugal, laying claim to his heritage. Traditionally believed to have been born in Genoa, Italy, Columbus’ origins have been questioned by many historians. Theories have ranged from him being a Spanish Jew or a Basque to even Portuguese or British.
To finally solve the mystery, forensic expert Miguel Lorente led a team of researchers who conducted a detailed investigation, testing samples from remains believed to be those of Columbus, buried in Seville Cathedral. The team compared the DNA from these remains with those of known relatives and descendants of Columbus.
“We have DNA from Christopher Columbus, very partial, but sufficient. We have DNA from Hernando Colón, his son,” Lorente said during the documentary. “Both in the Y chromosome (male) and in the mitochondrial DNA (transmitted by the mother) of Hernando, there are traits compatible with Jewish origin.”
The findings suggest that Columbus may have been a Sephardic Jew. Before the infamous decree by Spain’s Catholic monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand in 1492, which ordered Jews and Muslims to convert to Catholicism or leave the country, around 300,000 Jews lived in Spain. Many Jews, including Sephardim, fled or were forced to convert, spreading across Europe and the world.
While the research confirmed that Columbus was from Western Europe, the exact location of his birth remains unclear. Lorente stated that they had ruled out numerous possibilities and their conclusion was based on highly reliable DNA results. “The outcome is almost absolutely reliable,” he said.
Columbus died in 1506 in Valladolid, Spain, and expressed his wish to be buried in Hispaniola, the island that is today shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti. His remains were moved to Hispaniola in 1542, then to Cuba in 1795, and finally believed to be brought to Seville in 1898, where they have rested since.
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9 Responses
We’ve been saying this for years:
In 1492, Columbus was a Jew…
Can DNA determine all the mothers for generations were Jewish?
@followmesorah….. can you?
we MUST STOP THIS BIZAYON HAMES asap
Apikores would be more likely. In his line of work (merchant marine) he could travel widely and was under no compulsion to base himself in Spain. If he chose to live in Spain, when he could easily have left (and he apparently had relatives in what is now Italy), it means he was OTD (as we say today, though that might have been the case for multiple generations).
It also should be noted that the DNA that indicates a Jew is Middle Eastern DNA, and a lot of that is found in Spain due both to Phoenician colonists and the Arab occupier.
Columbus set sail on August 3, 1492. He was supposed to leave on August 2nd. August 2 was Tisha b’Av. Inexplicably he pushed it off to the third of August. Some historians suggest that he would not set sail on Tisha b’Av. This information is then congruent then with that theory.
It is well known that the date Columbus set sail on his trip when he discovered America, was Tisha Bav, on the exact day which Jews were expelled from Spain during the Inquisition.
The רפואה always comes before the מכה. Columbus זצ”ל left Spain c/o the Spanish expulsion of Jewry on תשעה ב”אב of 1492, and arrived in America the next haven for Jewry, on הושענא רבה of 1492. This is so absolutely nothing new, telling us that Columbus זצ”ל was Jewish ✡️
Who cares……