Origin theories of Christopher Columbus
Encyclopedia
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
(his national or ethnic background) has been a source of speculation since the 19th century. However, it is generally agreed upon by historians that Columbus' family was from Liguria
Liguria
Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...
, that he spent his boyhood and early youth in Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, in Vico Diritto, and that he subsequently lived in Savona
Savona
Savona is a seaport and comune in the northern Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea....
, where his father Domenico moved in 1470. Much of this evidence derives from data concerning Columbus' immediate family connections in Genoa and opinions voiced by contemporaries concerning his Genoese origins, which few dispute.
Documents
In a 1498 deed of primogeniture, Columbus writes:Many historians, including a distinguished Spanish scholar, Altolaguirre, affirm the document's authenticity; others believe it apocryphal. The fact that it was produced in court, during a lawsuit among the heirs of Columbus, in 1578, does not strengthen the case for its being genuine.
A letter from Columbus, dated 2 April 1502, to the Bank of Saint George, the oldest and most reputable of Genoa's financial institutions, begins with the words:
Although a few people consider this letter suspect, the vast majority of scholars believe it genuine. The most scrupulous examination by graphologists testifies in favour of authenticity. The letter is one of a group of documents entrusted by Columbus to a Genoese friend, after the bitter experiences of his third voyage, before setting out on his fourth.
In the spring of 1502, the Admiral collected notarized copies of all the writings concerned with his rights to the discovery of new lands. He sent these documents to Nicolo Oderico, ambassador of the Republic of Genoa. To this same Oderico he handed over the letter to the Bank of Saint George, in which he announced that he was leaving the bank one-tenth of his income, with a recommendation for his son Diego. Oderico returned to Genoa and delivered the letter to the bank, which replied, on 8 December 1502 lauding the gesture of their "renowned fellow-citizen" towards his "native land" (hardly surprising in view of the bequest). The reply, unfortunately, never reached its destination; the Admiral, back in Castile after his fourth voyage, complained about this in another letter to Ambassador Oderico, dated 27 December 1504, and promptly annulled the bequest.
So we have four documents: the first preserved in the archives of the Bank of Saint George until, when it was taken over by the municipality of Genoa, the other three in the Oderico family archives until 1670, then donated to the Republic of Genoa
Republic of Genoa
The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....
. After the fall of the Republic, they passed to the library of one of its last senators, Michele Cambiaso, and in they were finally acquired by the city of Genoa. The documents are so obviously linked that it is absurd to suppose they are faked. In any case, as mentioned, handwriting experts have contradicted this theory.
Even more important and definitive are the public and notarial acts (more than a hundred) — original copies of which are conserved in the archives of Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
and Savona
Savona
Savona is a seaport and comune in the northern Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea....
— regarding Columbus's father, Columbus himself, his grandfather, and his relatives.In May 2006, the Dr. Aldo Agosto, a noted Columbus scholar and state archivist at Genoa, has collected — for be officially presented to the conference of studies in Valladolid — one hundred and ten notarial documents, largely unpublished; the result of many years hard work, where reconstructs with precision, the family tree of Christopher Columbus, going back as far as seven generations.
Another doubt remains to be settled: can we be sure that all of the documents cited concern the Christopher Columbus who was later to become Cristóbal Colón, admiral of the Ocean Sea in Spanish territory? The list of contemporary ambassadors and historians unanimous in the belief that Columbus was Genoese could suffice as proof, but there is something more. The documents reveal this other information. One of them has been: the document dated 22 September 1470 in which the criminal judge convicts Domenico Colombo
Domenico Colombo
Domenico Colombo was the father of the Christopher Columbus and Bartholomew Columbus. He was also a weaver....
. The conviction is tied to the debt of Domenico — together with his son Christopher (explicitly stated in the document) — toward a certain Girolamo del Porto. In the will dictated by Admiral Christopher Columbus in Valladolid before he died, the authentic and indisputable document of which we have today, the dying navigator remembers this old debt, which had evidently not been paid. There is, in addition, the act drawn in Genoa on 25 August 1479 by a notary, Girolamo Ventimiglia. This act is known as the assereto document, after the scholar who found it in the State Archives in Genoa in 1904. It involves a lawsuit over a sugar transaction on the Atlantic island of Madeira
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
. In it young Christopher swore that he was a 27-year-old Genoese citizen resident in Portugal and had been hired to represent the Genoese merchants in that transaction. Here was proof that he had relocated to Portugal. It is important to bear in mind that at the time when Assereto traced the document, it would have been impossible to make an acceptable facsimile. Nowadays, with modern chemical processes, a document can be "manufactured", made to look centuries old if need be, with such skill that it is hard to prove it is a fake. Fifty years ago this was still impossible.In light of the two acts cited, the tendency to compare, or worse, to confuse or replace the true "Genoese" Columbus family with other similarly named Ligurian, Lombard or foreign families collapses, as does the main argument of the dilettantes who oppose the Genoese documentation and try to maintain that there was indeed a Genoese Christopher Columbus, woolen-weaver, but who was not the discoverer of America.
In addition to the two documents cited, there are others that confirm the identification of the Genoese Christopher Columbus, son of Domenico, with the admiral of Spain. An act dated 11 October 1496 says:
In a fourth notarial act, drawn in Savona
Savona
Savona is a seaport and comune in the northern Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea....
on 8 April 1500, Sebastiano Cuneo, heir by half to his father Corrado, requested that Christopher and Giacomo (called Diego), the sons and heirs of Domenico Colombo
Domenico Colombo
Domenico Colombo was the father of the Christopher Columbus and Bartholomew Columbus. He was also a weaver....
, be summoned to court and sentenced to pay the price for two lands located in Legine. This document confirms Christoforo and Diego's absence from the Republic of Genoa with these exact words: "dicti conventi sunt absentes ultra Pisas et Niciam.""The summoned parties are absent and beyond Pisa and Nice."
A fifth notarial act, drawn in Savona on 26 January 1501, is more explicit. A group of Genoese citizens, under oath, said and say, together and separately and in every more valid manner and guise, that the Christopher, Bartholomew and Giacomo Columbus, sons and heirs of the aforementioned Domenico, their father, have for a long time been absent from the city and the jurisdiction of Savona, as well as Pisa and Nice in Provence, and that they reside in the area of Spain, as was and is well known.
Finally, there is a very important sixth document from the notary of Bartolomeo Oddino, drawn in Savona on 30 March 1515. With this notarial act, Leon Pancaldo
Leon Pancaldo
Leon Pancaldo, also called Leone Pancaldo was a Genoese explorer.Pancaldo was born in Savona in 1488 or 1490. He participated in the first circumnavigation of the globe led by Ferdinand Magellan...
, the well-known Savonese who would become one of the pilots for Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer. He was born in Sabrosa, in northern Portugal, and served King Charles I of Spain in search of a westward route to the "Spice Islands" ....
's voyage, sends his own father-in-law in his place as procurator for Diego Columbus, son of Admiral Christopher Columbus. The document demonstrates how the ties, in part economic, of the discoverer's family with Savona survived even his death.
The Life of Admiral Christopher Columbus by his son Ferdinand
A biography written by Columbus's son Ferdinand (in SpanishSpanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and translated to Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
), Historie del S. D. Fernando Colombo; nelle quali s'ha particolare, et vera relatione della vita, et de' fatti dell'Ammiraglio D. Christoforo Colombo, suo padre; Et dello scoprimento, ch'egli fece delle Indie Occidentali, dette Nuovo Mondo ("The life of the Admiral Christopher Columbus by his son Ferdinand"), exists.
In it Ferdinand claimed that his father was of Italian aristocracy. He describes Columbus to be a descendant of a Count Columbo of the Castle Cuccaro (Montferrat
Montferrat
Montferrat is part of the region of Piedmont in Northern Italy. It comprises roughly the modern provinces of Alessandria and Asti. Montferrat is one of the most important wine districts of Italy...
). Columbo was in turn said to be descended from a legendary Roman General Colonius. It is now widely believed that Christopher Columbus used this persona to ingratiate himself to the good graces of the aristocracy, an elaborate illusion to mask a humble merchant background. Ferdinand dismissed the fanciful story that the Admiral descended from the Colonus mentioned by Tacitus. However, he refers to "those two illustrious Coloni, his relatives." According to Note 1, on page 287, these two "were corsairs not related to each other or to Christopher Columbus, one being Guillame de Casenove, nicknamed Colombo, Admiral of France in the reign of Louis XI". At the top of page 4, Ferdinand listed Nervi
Nervi
Nervi is a former fishing village 12 miles Northwest of Portofino, now a seaside resort in Liguria, in northwest Italy. Once an independent comune, it is now a quartiere of Genoa. Nervi is 7 km east of central Genoa.-Geography:...
, Cogoleto
Cogoleto
Cogoleto is a comune in the Province of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about 25 km west of Genoa. Its territory extends from the sea to the Ligurian Apennines; it is part of the Natural Regional Park of Monte Beigua....
, Bogliasco
Bogliasco
Bogliasco is a comune in the Province of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about 11 km southeast of Genoa. Together with the comuni of Camogli, Recco, Pieve Ligure and Sori, it is part of the so-called Golfo Paradiso...
, Savona
Savona
Savona is a seaport and comune in the northern Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea....
, Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
and Piacenza
Piacenza
Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...
(all inside the former Republic of Genoa
Republic of Genoa
The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....
)The city of Piacenza was part of the Duchy of Milan
Duchy of Milan
The Duchy of Milan , was created on the 1st of may 1395, when Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Lord of Milan, purchased a diploma for 100,000 Florins from King Wenceslaus. It was this diploma that installed, Gian Galeazzo as Duke of Milan and Count of Pavia...
; the Republic of Genoa
Republic of Genoa
The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....
was the latter's satellite. as possible places of origin. He also stated:
In chapter ii, Ferdinand accuses Agostino Giustiniani
Agostino Giustiniani
Agostino Giustiniani was an Italian Catholic bishop, linguist and geographer.-Biography:Giustiniani was born at Genoa into a noble family...
of telling lies about the discoverer:
In chapter v, writes:
He also says (chapter xi), that his father, before he was declared admiral, used to sign himself "Columbus de Terra rubra," that is to say, Columbus of Terrarossa
Terrarossa
Terrarossa is a frazione of the comune of Licciana Nardi in the Province of Massa-Carrara in the Italian region of Tuscany.In recent years there has been a substantial increase in the population...
, a village or hamlet near Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
. In another passage Ferdinand says, that his father went to Lisbon, and taught his brother Bartholomew to construct sea charts, globes, and nautical instruments; and sent this brother to England to Henry VII to make proposals to make proposals to this king, of his desired voyage. Finally, incidentally (chapter lxxii), Ferdinand says that Christopher's brother, Bartholomew Columbus named the new settlement Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...
in memory of their father, Domenico
Domenico Colombo
Domenico Colombo was the father of the Christopher Columbus and Bartholomew Columbus. He was also a weaver....
.
The publication of Historie has been used by historians as providing indirect evidence about the Genoese origin of Columbus.
The testimony of the ambassadors
It is significant that no one protested at the court of Spain when in April 1501, in the feverish atmosphere of the great discovery, Nicolò Oderico, ambassador of the Genoese Republic, after praising the Catholic Sovereigns, went on to say that they "discovered with great expenditure hidden and inaccessible places under the command of Columbus, our fellow-citizen, and having tamed wild barbarians and unknown peoples, they educated them in religion, manners and laws". Furthermore, two diplomats from Venice — no great friend of Genoa, indeed, a jealous rival — added the appellation "Genoese" to Columbus's name: the first, Angelo Trevisan, in 1501, the second, Gasparo Contarini, in 1525. In 1498, Pedro de AyalaPedro de Ayala
Don Pedro de Ayala was a 16th-century Spanish diplomat employed by Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile at the courts of James IV of Scotland and Henry VII of England. His mission to Scotland was concerned with the King's marriage and the international crisis caused by the pretender...
, Spanish ambassador to the English court, mentioned John Cabot
John Cabot
John Cabot was an Italian navigator and explorer whose 1497 discovery of parts of North America is commonly held to have been the first European encounter with the continent of North America since the Norse Vikings in the eleventh century...
, "the discoverer, another Genoese, like Columbus". All these references were published, along with reproductions of some of the original documents, in the City of Genoa volume of 1931.
Confirmation of the Genoese origin from contemporary European writers
The historian Bartolomé de las CasasBartolomé de Las Casas
Bartolomé de las Casas O.P. was a 16th-century Spanish historian, social reformer and Dominican friar. He became the first resident Bishop of Chiapas, and the first officially appointed "Protector of the Indians"...
, whose father traveled with Columbus on his second journey and who personally knew Columbus' sons, writes in chapter 2 of his Historia de las Indias:
The historian Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés, writes that Domenico Colombo
Domenico Colombo
Domenico Colombo was the father of the Christopher Columbus and Bartholomew Columbus. He was also a weaver....
was the Admiral's father; and in chapter 2, book 3 of his Historia general y natural de las Indias:
Every other contemporary writer, without exception, agrees that the discoverer was Genoese:
- The PortuguesePortuguese peopleThe Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
Rui de PinaRui de Pina-Biography:Rui de Pina was a native of Guarda. He acted as secretary of the embassy sent by King John II of Portugal to Castile in the spring of 1482, and in the following September returned there as sole envoy. He was present at the execution of Fernando II, Duke of Braganza at Évora in 1483,...
wrote two works, Chronica d'El Rey, dom Affonso and Chronica d'El Rey, dom João II. It has been ascertained that the manuscripts had been completed before 1504, although they were published in the Eighteenth century. Chapter 66 in the second manuscript, "Descubrimiento das Ilhas de Castella per Collombo," explicitly states, "Christovan Colombo italiano." - In the 1513 edition of the Map of the New World from Ptolemy, it says: "This land with the adjacent islands was discovered by the Genoese Columbus, sent by the King of Castile."
- The TurkishTurkish peopleTurkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
geographer Piri Ibn Haji Mehmed, known as Piri ReisPiri ReisPiri Reis was an Turkish Ottoman admiral, geographer and cartographer born between 1465 and 1470 and died in 1554 or 1555....
, in his map of 1513, writes: "These coasts are called the coasts of the Antilles. They were discovered in the year 896 of the Arabic calendar. It is said that a Genoese infidel, Columbus by name, discovered the place." - Hernando Alonso de Herrera, in his anti-Aristotelian dissertation, completed in Salamanca in 1516, and published in LatinLatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
and SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, wrote: "Xristoval Colon ginoves." - In a Portuguese map of 1520,Also in K. Kretschmer's Die Entdeckung Amerikas, plate XII. it is said: "Land of the Antipodes of the King of Castile, discovered by Christopher Columbus Genoese."
- The GermanGermansThe Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
Peter von Bennewitz writes, in 1520, in the Typus Orbis Universalis: "In the year 1497 (sic) this land (America) with the adjacent islands was discovered by Columbus, a Genoese by mandate of the King of Castile." - The German Johannes SchönerJohannes SchönerJohannes Schöner was a renowned and respected German polymath...
states in the Globus of 1520: "This (island) produces gold, mastic, aloes, porcelain, etc. and ginger — Latitude of the island 440 miles — Longitude 880 — discovered by Christopher Columbus Genoese, captain of the King of Castile in the year of Our Lord 1492." - The SpaniardSpanish peopleThe Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
Francisco López de GómaraFrancisco López de GómaraFrancisco López de Gómara was a Spanish historian who worked in Seville, particularly noted for his works in which he described the early 16th century expedition undertaken by Hernán Cortés in the Spanish conquest of the New World...
writes: "Christopher Columbus was originally from Cogurreo or Nervi, a village of Genoa, a very famous Italian city." - The Portuguese Garcia de ResendeGarcia de ResendeGarcia de Resende was a Portuguese poet and editor. He served John II as a page and private secretary, and later became a knight in the Order of Christ...
, poet and editor, writes: "Christouao Colombo, italiano." - The Swiss Heinrich GlareanHeinrich GlareanHeinrich Glarean was a Swiss music theorist, poet and humanist. He was born in Mollis and died in Freiburg....
(Loriti) writes: "To the west there is a land they call America. Two islands, Hispaniola and Isabella: which regions were travelled, along the coast, by the Spaniards, by the Genoese Columbus and by Amerigo Vespuzio." - The Spaniard Hieronymo Girava, who lived in the first half of the 16th century, writes: "Christoval Colon Genoese, great seaman and mediocre cosmographer."
- The Portuguese João de BarrosJoão de BarrosJoão de Barros , called the Portuguese Livy, is one of the first great Portuguese historians, most famous for his Décadas da Ásia , a history of the Portuguese in India and Asia.-Early years:...
writes: "As all men declare, Christovão Colom was of Genoese nation, a man expert, eloquent and good Latinist, and very boastful in his affairs"; and: "As in this kingdom came Christopher Columbus Genoese, who had just discovered the western islands that now we call Antilles." - The German known as Giovanni Boemo Aubano, of the first half of the 16th century, writes: "Christoforo Palombo, Genoese, the year 1492."
- The FlemishFlemish peopleThe Flemings or Flemish are the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Belgium, where they are mostly found in the northern region of Flanders. They are one of two principal cultural-linguistic groups in Belgium, the other being the French-speaking Walloons...
Abraham OrteliusAbraham Orteliusthumb|250px|Abraham Ortelius by [[Peter Paul Rubens]]Abraham Ortelius thumb|250px|Abraham Ortelius by [[Peter Paul Rubens]]Abraham Ortelius (Abraham Ortels) thumb|250px|Abraham Ortelius by [[Peter Paul Rubens]]Abraham Ortelius (Abraham Ortels) (April 14, 1527 – June 28,exile in England to take...
, writes: "It seems to surpass the bounds of human wonder that all this hemisphere (that today is called America and, because of its immense extent, the New World) remained unknown to the ancients until the Christian year 1492, in which it was first discovered by Christopher Columbus, Genoese." - The Portuguese Damião de GóisDamião de GóisDamiao de Góis , born in Alenquer, Portugal, was an important Portuguese humanist philosopher. He was a friend and student of Erasmus. He was appointed secretary to the Portuguese factory in Antwerp in 1523 by King John III of Portugal...
, writes: "The Genoese Columbus, a man expert in nautical arts" ; and, in the index: "Columbi genuen- sis, alias Coloni commendatio." - The Spaniard Nicolás MonardesNicolás MonardesNicolás Bautista Monardes was a Spanish physician and botanist.The genus Monarda was named for him.Monardes published several books of varying importance. In Diálogo llamado pharmacodilosis , he examines humanism and suggests studying several classical authors, principally Pedanius Dioscorides...
, writes: "In the year 1492 our Spaniards were led by don Christoval Colon, native of Genoa, to discover the West Indies." - The German Laurentius SuriusLaurentius SuriusLaurentius Surius, translating to Lorenz Sauer, was a German Carthusian hagiologist and church historian.-Biography:...
, writes: "There was at the court of the King of Spain a certain Christopher Columbus whose homeland was Genoa." - In 1579, for the Cristoph Pantin's edition, the yearbooks of the Genoese Senate were published, in Antwerp, edited by Petro Bizaro: Senatus Populique Genuensis rerum domi forisque gestarum historiae atque annales. Among what is written to celebrate many industrious Genoese men, you can read that: "cum Christophoro Columbo navalis scientiae absolutissima peritia apud omnem venturam posteritatem, juro optima aliqua ex parte conferri vel comparari possit."
- The Portuguese Fernão Vaz DouradoFernão Vaz DouradoFernão Vaz Dourado was a Portuguese cartographer of the sixteenth century, belonging to the third period of the old Portuguese nautical cartography, which is characterised by the abandonment of Ptolemaic influence in the representation of the Orient and introduction of better accuracy in the...
in the Atlante of 1580, notes: "Land of the Antipodes of the King of Castile discovered by Christopher Columbus Genoese." - The Spaniard Alvaro Gomez, writes: "Thanks to the eager industry of Christopher Columbus Genoese, word was brought to our Sovereigns of an unknown world."
- The FrenchmanFrench peopleThe French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
Gilbert GénebrardGilbert GénebrardGilbert Génebrard was a French Benedictine exegete and Orientalist.In his early youth he entered the Cluniac monastery of Mausac near Riom, later continued his studies at the monastery of Saint-Allyre in Clermont, and completed them at the College de Navarre in Paris, where he obtained the...
, writes: "Ferdinand, at the urging of his wife Isabella, Queen of Castile, Leòn and Aragon, sent Christopher Columbus Genoese to seek new land." - The Swiss Theodor ZwingerTheodor ZwingerTheodor Zwinger the Elder was a Swiss physician and humanist scholar. He made significant contributions to the emerging genres of reference and travel literature...
, who died in 1588, was the author of the Theatrum Humanae Vitae, Basle 1604. In the index we read: "Cristoforo Colono, or Colombo Genoese." - On an unspecified date, certainly prior to 1591, the Turk Basmagi Ibrahim published a book, written by a Turkish author who has remained anonymous, entitled Turich-i-Hind-i garbi iachod hadis-i-nev (History of the West Indies, in other words the New Story). The third chapter of this book dedicated to the discoverer of the "New World or New Land," states: "From the village of Nervi, which is among the Genoese possessions, a man who was born who had the name Christopher and the surname Columbus. Since he had completed journeys by land and by sea [...] he stayed on an island by the name of Madeira [...] under the domain of the wretched (sic) Portugal."
- The Flemish Theodor De Bry, writes: "From everything it can be stated with certainty that it was first discovered by Christopher Columbus Genoese."
- The Portuguese Gaspar FrutuosoGaspar FrutuosoGaspar Frutuoso was a Portuguese priest, historian and humanist from the island of São Miguel, in the Azores...
, in a sixteenth century manuscript entitled As Saudades da terra,Printed by Alvaro Rodriguez Azevedo in 1873 in Funchal (Madeira). writes in the Anales of Porto Santo: "On this island the great Christovao Colombo, the Genoese, resided for some time" ; and: "A man of Italian nation, Genoese, called Christovao Colombo, a native of Cogoleto, or Nervi, a village of Genoa..." - The German David ChytraeusDavid ChytraeusDavid Chytraeus or Chyträus was a German Lutheran theologian and historian.His real surname was Kochhafe, which in Classical Greek is χυτρα, from where he derived the Latinized pseudonym "Chyträus".Chytraeus was professor of the University of Rostock and one of the co-authors of the Formula of...
writes: "Primum Novum Orbem in occidente, omnibus antea ignotum et inaccessam... pervestigare et aperire... Christophorus Columbus Genesis, admirand ad omnen posteritatem ausu et industria coeperat." - In the volume published by the City of Genoa the testimony is cited of the historian Andres Bernaldez, who died in 1513. He was the author of a Historia de los Reyes Catolicos don Fernando y dona Isabel. In this work, belatedly published in Seville in 1869, it is written: "In the name of Almighty God, a man of the land of Genoa, a merchant of printed books who was called Christopher Columbus." Actually, in the original text of Bernaldez, it says "land of Milan". However, this is merely lack of precision. In the 15th century, the Republic of GenoaRepublic of GenoaThe Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....
was alternately fully and legally dependent on the Duchy of MilanDuchy of MilanThe Duchy of Milan , was created on the 1st of may 1395, when Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Lord of Milan, purchased a diploma for 100,000 Florins from King Wenceslaus. It was this diploma that installed, Gian Galeazzo as Duke of Milan and Count of Pavia...
and the latter's satellite. The editor rightly interpreted the Milanese reference in the sense of Genoese origin.
Columbus's Genoese birth is also confirmed by the works of the English Hakluyt (1601), of the Spaniard Antonio de Herrera (1612), the great Spanish dramatist Lope de Vega (1614), a paper manuscript dated 1626, conserved in Madrid's National Library, the works of the German Filioop Cluwer (1677), the German Giovanni Enrico Alsted (1649), the French Dionisio Petau (1724), and the Spaniard Luigi de Marmol (1667). This list represents the early writings of non-Italians. There were sixty-two Italian testimonies between 1502 and 1600. Of these fourteen are from Ligurian writers. It may be obvious, but not useless, to underline that the Venetians' (e.g. Trevisan's and Ramusio's) recognition of Columbus's Genoese birth constitutes a testimony as impartial as that of the Spaniards, French, and Portuguese.
Conformable to the testament in Seville (3 July 1539) is the evidence of Ferdinand Columbus, who states that his father was conterraneo (of the same country) with Mons. Agostino Giustiniani, who was, beyond all doubt, born at Genoa:
Other information
Other testimony of contemporary or succeeding authors include:- A reference, dated 1492 by a court scribe Galindez, referred to Columbus as "Cristóbal Colón, genovés."
- The historian Peter Martyr d'AnghieraPeter Martyr d'AnghieraPeter Martyr d'Anghiera was an Italian-born historian of Spain and its discoveries during the Age of Exploration...
, was the earliest of Columbus's chroniclers and was in Barcelona when Columbus returned from his first voyage. In his letter of May 14, 1493, addressed to Giovanni Borromeo, he referred to Columbus as Ligurian,"Christophorus Colonus quidam ligur vir" or "a certain Christopher Columbus, man of Liguria" LiguriaLiguriaLiguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...
being the Region where Genoa is located.Peter Martyr d'Anghiera uses the two words, "Ligurian" and "Genoese", interchangeably. In the first Decade of his De Orbe Novo, book I: "homo ligur". In the second Decade, book I: "Christophorum Colonum ligurem" and book VII: "Christophoro Colono Genuensi" (NRC, VI, 1988). - Michele da Cuneo from Savona, a friend of Columbus' (possibly from childhood), sailed with Columbus during the second voyage and wrote: "In my opinion, since Genoa was Genoa, there was never born a man so well equipped and expert in the art of navigation as the said lord Admiral."
- Battista Fregoso, a former doge of GenoaDoge of GenoaThe Republic of Genoa, in what is now northern Italy, was technically a communal republic in the early Middle Ages, although it was actually an oligarchy ruled by a small group of merchant families, from whom were selected the Doges of Genoa.- History :...
, noted in his Chronicle of Memorable Words and Deeds for 1493 that Christophorus Columbus natione Genuensis had safely returned from India, having reached it in 31 days from CadizCádizCadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
, as he proposed to do. - Giambattista Strozzi, a Florentine merchant, reported in a letter sent from Cadiz on March 19, 1494: "On the 7th of this month there arrived here in safety twelve caravels which came from the new islands found by Columbus Savonese, Admiral of the Ocean, for the king of Castile, having come in twenty-five days from the said islands of the Antilles."
- Portuguese chroniclers, from eyewitness Rui de PinaRui de Pina-Biography:Rui de Pina was a native of Guarda. He acted as secretary of the embassy sent by King John II of Portugal to Castile in the spring of 1482, and in the following September returned there as sole envoy. He was present at the execution of Fernando II, Duke of Braganza at Évora in 1483,...
on, all call Columbus "Italian" or "Genoese." - The testimony of Pedro de Arana, brother of Beatriz Enríquez, the mother of Ferdinand and intimate friend of the Admiral,Pedro was close enough to Columbus to have commanded a vessel on his third voyage across the Atlantic. that "... he had heard Columbus say he was a Genoese ..."
- In 1507 Martin WaldseemüllerMartin WaldseemüllerMartin Waldseemüller was a German cartographer...
published a world map, Universalis Cosmographia, which was the first to show North and South America as separate from Asia and surrounded by water. Below the island of Hispaniola, near the coast of Paria (Central AmericaCentral AmericaCentral America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
) he inserted the words: "Iste insule per Columbum genuensem almirantem ex ma[n]dato regis Castelle invent[a]e sunt" or "these islands have been discovered by the Genoese admiral Columbus by order of the king of Castile." - Jerónimo Zurita y CastroJeronimo Zurita y CastroJerónimo de Zurita y Castro was a Spanish historian of the sixteenth century who founded the modern tradition of historical scholarship in Spain....
, historian of the kingdom of AragonKingdom of AragonThe Kingdom of Aragon was a medieval and early modern kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day autonomous community of Aragon, in Spain...
, writes: "Christopher Columbus, man, as he said, whose company had always been for the sea and its predecessors, so that was foreign born and raised in poverty and the banks of Genoa." - The historian António GalvãoAntónio GalvãoAntónio Galvão , known in English as Antonio Galvano, was a Portuguese soldier and administrator in the Maluku islands, and a Renaissance historian, the first to present a comprehensive report of all the leading voyages and explorers up to 1550, either by Portuguese and by other nationalities...
in his The Discoveries of the World from Their First Original Unto the Year of Our Lord, first published in 1563, writes: "In the yeere 1492, in the time of Don Ferdinando king of Castile, he being at the siege of Granada, dispatched one Christopher Columbus a Genoway with three ships to goe and discouer Noua Spagna." - Other works that confirm Columbus's Genoese origin are those of the Portuguese Gaspar Barreiros,"Duce Christophoro Colono Ligure." of the historian Jerónimo Osório"Christophorus ergo Columbus, prouincia Ligur, vrbe, vt aiunt, genuensis, qui Maderam inhabitabit." and of the cartographer Jorge ReinelJorge ReinelJorge Reinel born Lisbon renown Portuguese cartographer and instructor in cartography, son of the well-known cartographer Pedro Reinel. In 1519 in Seville he participated in the maps designed for the trip of his countryman Ferdinand Magellan, and his depiction of the Maluku Islands served as a...
.In his map of 1519, writes: "Xpoforum cõlombum genuensem." - The bishop Alessandro GeraldiniAlessandro GeraldiniAlessandro Geraldini was a Renaissance humanist scholar at the Spanish court of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. He is known for his support of Christopher Columbus. He served as tutor to the royal children and later accompanied the Infanta Catharine of Aragon to England, as her confessor...
, a personal friend of Columbus, in his Itinerarium writes: "Christopher Columbus, of Italian nationality, had his origins in the city of Genoa, in Liguria."
A legend marking the approximate site of his landfall in 1498 declares:
Historians
Scholars from all over the world agree that Columbus was Genoese.Samuel Eliot Morison
Samuel Eliot Morison
Samuel Eliot Morison, Rear Admiral, United States Naval Reserve was an American historian noted for his works of maritime history that were both authoritative and highly readable. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1912, and taught history at the university for 40 years...
, in his book Christopher Columbus: Admiral of the Ocean Sea, notes that many existing legal documents demonstrate the Genoese origin of Columbus, his father Domenico, and his brothers Bartolomeo and Giacomo (Diego). These documents, written in Latin by notaries, were legally valid in Genoese courts. The documents, uncovered in the 19th century when Italian historians examined the Genoese archives, form part of the Raccolta Colombiana. On page 14, Morison writes:
On the topic of Columbus' being born somewhere besides Genoa, Morison states "Every contemporary Spaniard or Portuguese who wrote about Columbus and his discoveries calls him Genoese. Three contemporary Genoese chroniclers claim him as a compatriot. Every early map on which his nationality is recorded describes him as Genoese. Nobody in the Admiral's lifetime, or for three centuries after, had any doubt about his birthplace" and that "There is no more reason to doubt that Christopher Columbus was a Genoese-born Catholic Christian, steadfast in his faith and proud of his native city, than to doubt that George Washington was a Virginia-born Anglican of English race, proud of being an American."
Paolo Emilio Taviani
Paolo Emilio Taviani
Paolo Emilio Taviani was an Italian political leader, economist and historian of the career of Christopher Columbus....
, in his book Cristoforo Colombo: Genius of the Sea discusses "the public and notarial acts - original copies of which are conserved in the archives of Genoa and Savona - regarding Columbus's father, Columbus himself, his grandfather, and his relatives." In Columbus the Great Adventure he further claims that Columbus named the small island of Saona "to honor Michele da Cuneo, his friend from Savona."
The evidence supporting the Genoese origin of Columbus is also discussed by Miles H. Davidson. In his book Columbus Then and Now: A Life Reexamined, he writes:
Language
Although Columbus wrote almost exclusively in Spanish, there is a small handwritten Genoese gloss in an 1498 Italian (from Venice) edition of Pliny's Natural History that he read after his second voyage to America: this shows Columbus was able to write in Italian and understand it. There is also a note in Italian in his own Book of PropheciesBook of Prophecies
The Book of Prophecies is a compilation of apocalyptical religious revelations written by Christopher Columbus towards the end of his life, probably with the assistance of his friend the Carthusian monk Gaspar Gorricio...
exhibiting, according to historian August Kling, "characteristics of northern Italian humanism in its calligraphy, syntax, and spelling". Phillips and Phillips point out that 500 years ago, the Latinate languages had not distanced themselves to the degree they have today. Bartolomé de las Casas
Bartolomé de Las Casas
Bartolomé de las Casas O.P. was a 16th-century Spanish historian, social reformer and Dominican friar. He became the first resident Bishop of Chiapas, and the first officially appointed "Protector of the Indians"...
in his Historia de las Indias claimed that Columbus did not know Spanish well and that he was not born in Castile.
Valiant scholars have dedicated themselves to the subject of Christopher Columbus's language. They have conducted in-depth research both on the ship's log and on other of his writings that have come down to us. They have analyzed the words, the terms, and the vocabulary, as well as rather frequent variations often bizarre in style, handwriting, grammar, and syntax. Christopher Columbus's language is Castilian punctuated by noteworthy and frequent Lusitanian, Italian, and Genoese influences and elements.
Catalan hypothesis
Since the early 20th century, researchers have attempted to connect Columbus to the CatalanCatalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
-speaking areas of Europe, usually based on linguistic evidence. The first of them was Luis Ulloa, a historian from Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
who wrote a book in 1927, originally in French, defending the Catalan origin of Columbus. Some more recent studies also state Columbus had Catalan origins, based on his handwriting, though these have been disputed.
Throughout Columbus's life, he referred to himself as Christobal Colom; his contemporaries and family also referred to him as such. It is possible that Colom is the shortened form of Columbus used for the Italian surname Colombo (which means "dove"). Colom can also be a Portuguese, French, or Catalan name. There was a wealthy mercenary and merchant noble named Joan Colom i Bertran living in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
in the 15th century, who has been proposed as the real Christopher Columbus.
According to Charles J. Merrill, a Doctor in medieval literature and associate professor of foreign languages, the analysis of Columbus's handwriting indicates that it is typical of someone who would be a native Catalan, and Columbus's phonetic mistakes in Castilian are "most likely" those of a Catalan, with examples such as "a todo arreo" (a tot arreu), "todo de un golpe" (tot d'un cop), "setcentas" (set-centes), "nombre" (instead of número), "al sol puesto" (el sol post). Merrill states that the Genoese Cristoforo Colombo was a modest wool carder and cheese merchant with no maritime training and whose age does not match the one of Columbus. Merrill's book Colom of Catalonia was published in 2008.
Also, that he married a Portuguese noblewoman can be presented as evidence that his origin was of nobility rather than the Italian merchant class, since it was uncommon during his time for nobility to marry outside their class. This same theory suggests he was the illegitimate son of a prominent Catalan sea-faring family, which had served as mercenaries in a sea battle against Castilian forces. Fighting against Ferdinand and being illegitimate were two reasons for hiding his origins. Furthermore, the disinterment of his brother's body shows him to be a different age, by nearly 10 years, than the "Bartolome Colombo" of the Genoese family.
However, Samuel Eliot Morison
Samuel Eliot Morison
Samuel Eliot Morison, Rear Admiral, United States Naval Reserve was an American historian noted for his works of maritime history that were both authoritative and highly readable. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1912, and taught history at the university for 40 years...
has cast no doubts regarding Columbus's marriage to the Portuguese noblewoman Filipa Perestrello.
Greek hypothesis
The theory that Columbus was a Byzantine Greek nobleman was proposed in scholarly fashion, for the first time, by the Greek Seraphim G. Canoutas, a lawyer and independent scholar, in 1943. The hypothesis rested mainly (but by no means exclusively) on statements attributed to the Admiral by his first biographer (son Ferdinand), particularly that the Admiral had sailed for many years with Colombo the Younger, a famous seaman “of his name and family.” Canoutas pointed out that other scholars (particularly Harrisse, Salvagnini, Vignaud, and Gonzales de la Rosa) had convincingly identified Colombo the Younger as Georges Paléologue de Bissipat (also known as Georges le Grec), an exiled Byzantine nobleman who by 1460 was living in France and rendering valuable service to the French king. But these scholars rejected Columbus’s claim of kinship with de Bissipat.Accepting the kinship claim as true, Canoutas established (through references in works by Du Cange and Renet) that Georges de Bissipat was in fact Georgios Palaiologos Dishypatos, scion of an ancient and illustrious Byzantine noble family, who fled to France sometime after the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and, until his death in 1496, rendered important service to French kings Louis XI (1423-1483) and Charles VIII (1470-1498), including as vice-admiral. According to Canoutas, accepting that Dishypatos and Columbus were noble kinsmen and longtime sailing companions helped explain the many anomalies that either had to be ignored or attributed at best to error and at worst to imposture in order to square Cristoforo Colombo the wool-worker with Cristóbal Colón the Admiral.
Canoutas did not identify Columbus’s parents or place of birth. Nor did he explicate Columbus’s claimed kinship bond with Dishypatos. But Canoutas observed that the Byzantine imperial house of Palaiologos
Palaiologos
Palaiologos , often latinized as Palaeologus, was a Byzantine Greek noble family, which produced the last ruling dynasty of the Byzantine Empire. After the Fourth Crusade, members of the family fled to the neighboring Empire of Nicaea, where Michael VIII Palaiologos became co-emperor in 1259,...
, to which Dishypatos was related on his mother’s side, was closely connected by blood or marriage to the ruling families of Italy, including those of Genoa and Montferrat, such as the Doria, Spinola, Centurione, and Gattelusio families. This connection, he argued, might explain why Columbus’s contemporaries and others considered him to be Genoese or Ligurian.
Spanish-Jewish hypothesis
Some researchers have postulated that Columbus was of Iberian Jewish origins. The linguist Estelle Irizarry, in addition to arguing that Columbus was Catalan, also claims that Columbus tried to conceal a Jewish heritage. In "Three Sources of Textual Evidence of Columbus, Crypto Jew," Irizarry notes that Columbus always wrote in SpanishSpanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, and occasionally included Hebrew in his writing, and referenced the Jewish High Holidays in his journal during the first voyage.
Simon Wiesenthal
Simon Wiesenthal
Simon Wiesenthal KBE was an Austrian Holocaust survivor who became famous after World War II for his work as a Nazi hunter....
postulates that Columbus was a Sephardi (Spanish Jew), careful to conceal his Judaism yet also eager to locate a place of refuge for his persecuted fellow countrymen. Wiesenthal argues that Columbus' concept of sailing west to reach the Indies was less the result of geographical theories than of his faith in certain Biblical texts—specifically the Book of Isaiah. He repeatedly cited two verses from that book: "Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them," (60:9); and "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth" (65:17). Wiesenthal claimed that Columbus felt that his voyages had confirmed these prophecies.
Jane Francis Amler argued that Columbus was a converso
Converso
A converso and its feminine form conversa was a Jew or Muslim—or a descendant of Jews or Muslims—who converted to Catholicism in Spain or Portugal, particularly during the 14th and 15th centuries. Mass conversions once took place under significant government pressure...
(a Sephardi Jew who publicly converted to Christianity). In Spain, even some converted Jews were forced to leave Spain after much persecution; it is known that many conversos were still practicing Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
in secret.
Portuguese hypothesis
The first author who claimed Portuguese nationality for Christopher Columbus was Patrocínio Ribeiro in 1916. The same text with some additions was again published in 1927, after his death, with a complementary study by the medical doctor Barbosa Soeiro relating Columbus' signature with the KabbalahKabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
.
In 1988 José Mascarenhas Barreto published a book which claims that Columbus was a Portuguese national and spy who hatched up an elaborate diversion to keep the Spanish from the lucrative trade routes that were opening up around Africa to the Indies. Barreto, through his interpretation of the Kabbalah and other research, suggested Columbus was born in Cuba, Portugal, the son of a nobleman and related to other Portuguese navigators. According to this claim, his real name was concealed, Christopher Columbus being a pseudonym, meaning Bearer of Christ and the Holy Spirit. His real name was supposedly Salvador Fernandes Zarco and he was the son of Dom Fernando, Duke of Beja, Alentejo
Beja (Portugal)
Beja is a city in the Beja Municipality in the Alentejo region, Portugal. The municipality has a total area of 1,147.1 km² and a total population of 34,970 inhabitants. The city proper has a population of 21,658....
and maternal grandson of João Gonçalves Zarco
João Gonçalves Zarco
João Gonçalves Zarco was a Portuguese explorer who established settlements and recognition of the Madeira Islands, and was appointed first captain of Funchal by Henry the Navigator.-Life:...
, discoverer of Madeira
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
. Mascarenhas Barreto, however, has been discredited by Portuguese genealogist Luís Paulo Manuel de Meneses de Melo Vaz de São Paio in his works Carta Aberta a um Agente Secreto, Primeira Carta Aberta a Mascarenhas Barreto and Carta Aberta a um "Curioso" da Genealogia.
Other arguments used by proponents of the Portuguese hypothesis is that in a court a document mentioning Columbus a nationality, they called him "portuguese" and in another Columbus uses the word "homeland" in relation to Portugal.
Polish hypothesis
There is also a theory that Columbus was son to the king of Poland Władysław III, who survived the battle of Warna in 1444 and later lived on Madera. The hypothesis of the Polish origins of Columbus was first published in "COLÓN: La Historia Nunca Contada," published by Manuel da Silva Rosa, an information technology analyst and amateurAmateur
An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....
historian. In that book he claims that Columbus was the son of the exiled Polish King Władysław III, resident in the island of Madeira
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
, and a Portuguese noblewoman. The author believes Columbus would not have been able to marry Filipa Moniz Perestrelo
Filipa Moniz Perestrelo
Filipa Moniz Perestrelo was a Portuguese noblewoman who became the wife of Christopher Columbus in 1479. She was the daughter of Isabel Moniz and Bartolomeu Perestrelo. Prior to marrying Christopher Columbus, Filipa was a Comendadora of the Monastery of All Saints in Lisbon of the Military Order...
, a Portuguese noblewoman, if he were not of noble birth himself. The book also suggests Columbus was a Portuguese secret agent working covertly in Spain and claims similarities exist between Columbus' coat of arms and that of the Polish king.
Other hypotheses
Norwegian Tor Borch Sannes has speculated that Columbus was Norwegian, comparing his coat of arms to that of the Bonde family who fled NorwayNorway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
for Italy in the 15th century.
On 10 March 2009, British newspaper The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
reported that Spanish engineer and amateur historian Alfonso Ensenat de Villalonga claimed that Christopher Columbus was "the son of shopkeepers not weavers and he was baptised Pedro not Christopher" and "his family name was Scotto, and was not Italian but of Scottish origin".