Study finds Christopher Columbus’s DNA ‘compatible’ with Sephardic Jewish origins

A study into the mysterious roots of Christopher Columbus — which began over 20 years ago — suggests that the explorer was of Sephardic Jewish origin, based on an analysis of his DNA. The documentary Colón ADN: Su verdadero origen (Columbus DNA: His True Origins), produced by Spanish broadcaster RTVE and Story Producciones, chronicles the two decades of research led by forensic scientist José Antonio Lorente, a professor of Legal Medicine at the University of Granada.

The study, conducted by Spain’s University of Granada, indicates that “the mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome of his son, Hernando Colón, contain traits compatible with Jewish ancestry.” The documentary — which includes insights from experts in history, genetics, and genealogy — suggests that Columbus’s genetic profile can be traced to the western Mediterranean, specifically “to Sefarad,” the Hebrew name for the Iberian Peninsula. According to the study, approximately 200,000 Jews lived in Spain during the Middle Ages, while the Republic of Genoa — the most widely accepted birthplace of the navigator — had no more than 15,000. In Sicily, about 40,000 Jews resided, but both groups were expelled in the 12th century, and those in Spain were expelled in 1492.

The research — which involved laboratories from the United States, Australia, Spain, Italy, and Mexico — analyzed 25 possible origins of the admiral, including Italy, Sweden, Norway, Portugal, France, England, Scotland, Hungary, Ireland, Croatia, and the Spanish areas of Galicia, Castile, Catalonia, Valencia, Navarre, and Mallorca. Ultimately, the experts narrowed the list of potential birthplaces for Columbus down to just eight.

The investigation began in 2001 when historian Marcial Castro proposed to Lorente that they open the sailor’s tomb in Seville Cathedral to verify whether the remains inside indeed belonged to Columbus. DNA samples taken from the coffin were compared with those of his son Hernando — also buried in the cathedral — and his brother Diego, who is interred at the Cartuja monastery in Seville. The evidence confirmed that the bones belonged to Columbus. However, in 2005, despite positive results, the project was abandoned because DNA technology was not yet advanced enough, and a significant amount of bone material needed to be destroyed to reach definitive conclusions.

The investigation resumed in 2020 when advancements in genetic technology allowed for more conclusive results. The new documentary, directed by Regis Francisco López, details the entire process to conclude that Columbus was a converted Jew. The film combines a suspenseful story with scientific data, gradually eliminating candidate regions or countries until only one remains.

One surprising finding was that Diego Columbus (1468-1515), who was long thought to be the admiral’s younger brother, is actually a relative of the “fifth or sixth degree,” making him Christopher’s second or third cousin rather than Hernando’s uncle, as previously believed. These analyses were conducted by the universities of California and Adelaide. Additionally, the father-son relationship between Christopher Columbus and his son Hernando was fully confirmed.

The specialists began by comparing the confirmed DNA of the three Columbus family members with genetic samples from their supposed relatives in the eight selected locations. The first city chosen was Genoa, Italy, where historical records place the navigator’s birthplace. However, there is no tomb of the discoverer in Genoa, nor are there any known direct descendants or ancestors.

In Spain — where Columbus is known as Colón — the Colón de Carvajal family is notable, with one of its members participating in the documentary aired on TVE. As a result, experts conducted genetic tests on several individuals with the surname Colón in the Genoa area, although the documentary directed by Regis Francisco López does not disclose the exact number of participants. The results, however, were negative: their genetic profiles did not match the DNA found in the tombs in Seville.

The documentary also asserts that Columbus (or “Cristoforo Colombo” in Italian) was a surname given to children abandoned in orphanages, convents, or foster homes in Italy, similar to the practice in Spain with the surname “Expósitos.” This, according to researchers, explains why the current Columbus families in Genoa are not related to the navigator. Additionally, the discoverer of America never wrote in Italian or Genoese, nor did he use expressions from those languages. When he sent letters to Italy, he wrote them in Spanish. “This is something very strange and significant, revealing sequences about his origin,” notes the documentary broadcast by TVE. “It was clear that there was a key fact in his life that he wanted to hide,” states Lorente.

The remaining bodies analyzed by the researchers — including Princess Leonor de Aviz (Portugal), Juan de Colón (Poio, Pontevedra), Aldonza de Mendoza (Espinosa de Henares, Guadalajara), and Don Tello de Castilla (Palencia) — also did not match the family DNA. This presumably left only one possibility, as proposed by Francesc Albardaner, former president of the Center for Columbian Studies in Barcelona: Columbus was a Sephardic Jew who passed himself off as a Christian to evade the Inquisition.

The consistency of the analysis results across all laboratories, according to the researchers, supports Albardaner’s assertion that Hernando Colón’s mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome “are compatible” with Jewish ancestry. The experts believe this connection was crucial in enabling Columbus to approach the Catholic Monarchs. The convert Luis Santángel — who worked as escribano de ración (akin to a finance minister) under the Catholic monarchs — facilitated Columbus’s access to Queen Isabella I. Columbus presented his project to her, and after years of waiting, the queen finally accepted it.

The Royal Academy of History describes the situation as follows: “Both Santángel’s personal friendship and his political and financial support were essential to Christopher Columbus. In partnership with Francisco Pinelo [a Genoese], he granted the visionary navigator a loan of 1,140,000 maravedís at a modest interest rate of 1.5% — one-third of the rate applicable to the censuses issued by the kingdom’s administrative agencies — charging this amount to the general accounts of the Crusade and the Subsidy.”

Albardaner points out that all Italian historians who support the theory of Columbus’ Genoese origins “have written in black and white” that he was not Jewish. “The entire theory of Columbus being Genoese collapses if it is accepted that he was Jewish. This notion is untenable in Italy, as Jews were expelled from Genoa in the 12th century; there was no community, no people, no synagogue or anything left. They could only stay for three days before being forced to leave.”

However, the documentary contends that the theory of a Jewish Columbus “answers all the questions concerning his life. Why did he write in Spanish with no trace of Italian in his writings? Sephardic Jews spoke the languages of the Iberian Peninsula, so Columbus must have learned Spanish at home.” The documentary emphatically states that the sailor was “Jewish by race, religion, nation, and, above all, by heart, because this man exudes Judaism in his writings.”

Forensic sources consulted by this newspaper explain that while DNA can indicate a person’s ethnic and geographic origins, it cannot determine their actual birthplace. They illustrate this point with the example of a Spanish immigrant who has a child in Germany: “It can be established that their genetics are Spanish, but not that they were born in Berlin; in other words, that they are a Berliner.” Therefore, in the case of Columbus, he could be a Jew from anywhere who emigrated to Spain. Or not.

According to the documentary, Columbus concealed his origins because, at that time, Jews faced severe persecution in the Iberian Peninsula, which forced some to seek refuge in Portugal, where the discoverer lived for several years. (The theory that Columbus was the Portuguese pirate Pedro Ataide was also ruled out through genetic testing.) During his time in Portugal, the navigator unsuccessfully pitched his project to King John II. “Columbus had to pretend throughout his life to be a Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman Christian. If he had slipped up, he would have ended up on the pyre in an auto-da-fé, although he was somewhat shielded by the Catholic Monarchs, who respected him despite the Inquisition,” the program notes.

The researchers assert that the DNA analysis indicates Columbus was born “in the western Mediterranean.” The absence of Italian characteristics in his writings further diminishes the likelihood of his having been born in the Spanish Mediterranean or the Balearic Islands. “From this point onward, given the objective data, it will be up to others to investigate and start from scratch or decide to turn the page,” concludes Lorente. The researchers from the University of Granada hope their findings will be published in a reputable scientific journal to disseminate the technical data that does not appear in the documentary, as it is aimed at the general public.

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