Study results show that Columbus was a Sephardic Jew from Western Europe

MADRID (Reuters) – 15th-century explorer Christopher Columbus was a Sephardic Jew from western Europe, Spanish scientists said on Saturday, after using DNA analysis to solve a centuries-old mystery.

Several countries disputed the origins and final burial place of the divisive figure who led Spanish-funded expeditions beginning in the 1490s and paved the way for the European conquest of the Americas.

Many historians have questioned the traditional theory that Columbus came from Genoa, Italy. Other theories range from his origins as a Spanish Jew or Greek to Basque, Portuguese or British.

To solve the mystery, researchers led by forensic scientist Miguel Lorente conducted a 22-year investigation, examining tiny samples of remains buried in Seville Cathedral, long considered a final resting place by authorities there by Columbus, although there were competing claims.

They compared them with those of known relatives and descendants and their results were announced Saturday in a documentary called “Columbus DNA: The true origin” on Spanish state broadcaster TVE.

“We have DNA from Christopher Columbus, very incomplete but sufficient. We have DNA from Hernando Colón, his son,” Lorente said on the show.

“And in both the Y chromosome (male) and mitochondrial DNA (transmitted from the mother) of Hernando, there are features consistent with Jewish ancestry.”

About 300,000 Jews lived in Spain before the Reyes Catolicos, the Catholic monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand, ordered Jews and Muslims to convert to the Catholic faith or leave the country. Many settled around the world. The word Sephardic comes from Sefarad, which means Spain in Hebrew.

After analyzing 25 possible locations, Lorente said one could only say that Columbus was born in Western Europe.

On Thursday, Lorente said they had confirmed previous theories that the remains in Seville Cathedral belonged to Columbus.

Research into Columbus' nationality has been complicated by a number of factors, including the large amount of data. But “the result is almost completely reliable,” Lorente said.

Columbus died in Valladolid, Spain, in 1506, but wanted to be buried on the island of Hispaniola, now located between the Dominican Republic and Haiti. His remains were brought there in 1542, then to Cuba in 1795 and then, as was long believed in Spain, to Seville in 1898.

(Reporting by Graham Keeley; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)