Christopher Columbus was Sephardic Jew from western Europe, forensic analysts find

Researchers challenge traditional view that famous explorer was from Italy

Columbus landed in the present-day Bahamas in 1492 and is credited with the discovery of the New World. Getty Images

Christopher Columbus was a Sephardic Jew from western Europe, according to latest research that challenges previously held beliefs of his origins.

The traditional view that the explorer came from Genoa in Italy has been questioned by historians.

To solve the mystery, researchers conducted a 22-year investigation, led by Spanish forensic expert Miguel Lorente, by testing tiny samples of remains buried in Seville Cathedral.

The cathedral is officially designated as the last resting place of Columbus, though this has been disputed.

The researchers compared the samples with those of known relatives and descendants, and their findings were revealed in a TV documentary called Columbus DNA: The true origin on Spain's national broadcaster TVE on Saturday.

"We have DNA from Christopher Columbus, very partial, but sufficient. We have DNA from Hernando Colon, his son," Mr Lorente said in the programme.

He said in the male Y chromosome and the mitochondrial DNA, which was transmitted by the mother of Hernando, “there are traits compatible with Jewish origin”.

Columbus died in Valladolid, Spain, in 1506, but wished to be buried on the island of Hispaniola that is today shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

His remains were taken there in 1542, moved to Cuba in 1795 and then, it had been long thought in Spain, to Seville in 1898.

About 300,000 Sephardic Jews lived in Spain before the 'Reyes Catolicos', Catholic monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand. The word Sephardic comes from Sefarad, or Spain, in Hebrew.

Along with Muslims, they were ordered convert to the Catholic faith or leave the country when Isabella and Ferdinand came power.

Historian Francesc Albardaner, who has researched the origins of Columbus, said if the explorer was Jewish, that casts doubt on him being from Genoa.

“Jews could only spend three days at a time in Genoa by law at that time,” said Mr Albardaner.

Columbus landed in the present-day Bahamas in 1492 and is credited with the discovery of the New World.

But his legacy has become increasingly controversial in recent years, with his voyages seen as the starting point of colonisation and genocide against indigenous groups in the Americas.

In particular the Columbus Day holiday, first proclaimed by US president Franklin D Roosevelt in 1934, has been opposed.

Italian-American communities used the holiday to highlight their heritage and accomplishments in honour of the explorer. Some US state and local governments are, however, choosing instead to recognise an Indigenous Peoples' Day.

In 2020, protesters mobilised by the death of George Floyd at the hands of police, pulled down a statue of Columbus and threw it into Baltimore harbour.

Statues of Columbus were also vandalised in other cities, including Boston, where one was decapitated.