New research through advanced DNA analysis has revealed that the skeletal remains buried in the Cathedral of Seville do indeed belong to Christopher Columbus. Professor Miguel Lorente, who was the main researcher, shared the findings in an interview with Reuters. Lorente’s study, which began more than twenty years ago, has made it possible to verify what until now was only a suspicion. Lorente’s work is based on DNA analysis of the skeletal remains of Columbus, his son Hernando, who is also buried in Seville, and his brother Diego, whose bones were kept in La Cartuja, Spain.
The origin of Christopher Columbus has been the subject of speculation for centuries, with multiple theories challenging the traditional version that places him as a Genoese. While many historians defend his Italian provenance, other theories suggest that Columbus may have been of Spanish or Portuguese origin.
The most widely accepted hypotheses include that he could have been a Galician nobleman or a Portuguese buccaneer under the name of Pedro Ataíde. Yet another theory suggests that Columbus hid his Jewish ancestry to avoid expulsion from Spain during the time of the Inquisition.
The research findings were revealed in the documentary Columbus DNA: The True Origin, which aired on October 12th on Spanish television. The documentary sheds light on the deepest unknowns surrounding the navigator. The full scientific results are expected to be presented in November at an event at the University of Granada, and the results will be published in an international scientific journal to ensure their accessibility and serve as a basis for future research.
Christopher Columbus died in Valladolid in May 1506, and his remains were later transferred to Seville. Colon’s wish however was to be buried on the island of Hispaniola (today Dominican Republic and Haiti): the place of his first arrival in the New World on October 12, 1492.
The Spanish-American War of 1898 caused the remains to return to Seville. Not all of them because only a few pieces are preserved in the Cathedral, and authorities in the Dominican Republic assert that the remains were never moved and remain in the country, in the mausoleum built in 1992 for their final resting place.
The new finding does not rule out that the remains of the Dominican Republic are also of Colon’s. “They are not all in Seville, nor are they all in the Dominican Republic,” said Professor Lorente. Spanish researchers have not had access to the Dominican remains for DNA analysis, further complicating the enigma’s final resolution. Therefore, the controversy over where Columbus is buried could remain open.
Despite the expectations that this research will finally clarify the true origin of Columbus, not all experts are convinced that it will put an end to the debate. Eduardo Esteban, president of the Asociación Colón Gallego, expressed his skepticism stating that after the documentary the debate would continue. According to Esteban, the scientific analysis is only one more piece of evidence but many more are still left unanswered.
