The Mysterious Origins of Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus is forever linked with exploration and discovery but historians are focused more than ever with exploring and discovering the man himself more than the voyages he made across the Pacific.

In 1492, Columbus set sail to find a new trade route with India. The Spanish monarchy financed the trip which has led some to believe that Columbus was Spanish. But Italy has claimed the explorer for their own in spite of the controversy around his “discovery” of the New World.

But if you look around, you can find a number of theories linking Columbus to a large number of heritages, countries and religions. 500 years after his famous voyages, historians are still looking to understand where the man came from.

Most everyone agrees that Columbus was born in 1451. It has long been accepted by a large number of academics and historians that Columbus was born in the Liguria region of what is currently the northwest part of Italy. In those days, Genoa was the capital of Liguria. Genoa traded heavily with other countries and it is there that Columbus seems to have learned many languages. While a teen, he took a job with the Portuguese merchant marines and traveled to Ireland, Iceland and West Africa.

While living in Portugal, Columbus married and had a son. When the Portuguese government would not pay for his voyage west, he moved to Spain and eventually convinced the king and queen of Spain to finance the trip in 1492.

If you look at the writings of Columbus, including his will, you will find his claim to be from Genoa. This is enough evidence for those who want to claim Columbus as Italian. The problem is that Genoese officials never claimed that Columbus was from there even after his success and fame. Also, Spanish documents from the period of Columbus’s journeys do not refer to him as a foreigner even though other foreign explorers who were supported by Spain were explicitly identified as such.

Others look at Columbus’s close ties with Portugal and presume that he was from that country. His Portuguese wife was from a noble family and it is unlikely that they would have allowed a foreigner to marry their daughter. A Portuguese engineering professor published a book in 2012 that added additional evidence to the claim that Columbus was Portuguese. According to the book, Columbus was actually Pedro Ataíde, who was thought to have died in a naval battle in 1476. A group of Portuguese researchers feel that Ataíde actually survived and changed his name in order to avoid persecution.

A DNA test was performed on Columbus 2018, to determine the origins of Columbus’ skeleton. Tests were also performed on the skeletons of Ataíde and Columbus’s son. When completed, it should provide a definitive answer to whether Columbus was Portuguese. But if the skeleton of Atraíde is not preserved enough to perform the test or if the results are inconclusive, then Columbus will continue to be a source of mystery for historians and researchers.
For More Info: https://www.internationalinside.com/history/christopher-columbus-great-hero-or-arch-villain/