Spanish scientists said they will reveal details of the nationality of 15th-century explorer Christopher Columbus tomorrow, after using DNA analysis to tackle a centuries-old mystery. Some have suggested that Columbus could even be Mallorcan.
Countries have argued over the origins and the final resting place of the divisive figure who led Spanish-funded expeditions from the 1490s onward, opening the way for the European conquest of the Americas.
Many historians have questioned the traditional theory that Columbus hailed from Genoa, Italy. Other theories range from him being a Spanish Jew or a Greek, to Basque or Portuguese.
Researchers led by forensic expert Miguel Lorente have been testing tiny samples of remains buried in Seville Cathedral, long marked by authorities there as the last resting place of Columbus, though there had been rival claims.
They had compared them with those of known relatives and descendants and their findings are due to be announced in a documentary titled “Columbus DNA: The true origin” on Spain’s national broadcaster TVE on Saturday.
Gabriel Verd from Montuiri has spent fifty of his 68 years researching Christopher Columbus and in seeking to prove that the explorer was born in Mallorca and not in Genoa. This research started because, when he was young, he used to hear people say that Columbus had been born in Felanitx. If so, where was the evidence?
This initially came from two researchers who, at the end of the 1950s, maintained that Columbus was from Mallorca – Manuel López Flores from Seville and a Venezuelan, Hermano Nectario MarÃa.
One of the many indications, according to Gabriel, comes from an island off Venezuela. Columbus called it Margalida, and Margalida was a Mallorcan name. It was the name of Cristòfor Colom’s mother – Margalida Colom. Why would Columbus (Colom) have used Margalida rather than Margarita or Margaretta, which would have been in keeping with the Genoa origins?