DNA reveals Columbus was Jew from western Europe

A new DNA study on the 500-year-old remains of Christopher Columbus has found that the explorer was actually a Sephardic Jew from western Europe.

- MEREDITH CLARK

Spanish researchers announced their findings in a new documentary, titled Columbus DNA: The true orin, which aired on Spain’s national broadcaster TVE. Since 2003, scientists have tested samples of remains buried at Seville Cathedral in Spain, believed to be the final resting place of the 15th-century explorer.

In the documentary, Jose Antonio Lorente, a professor of forensic medicine, who led the research at the University of Granada, said his analysis revealed that Columbus’s DNA was “compatible” with his being of Jewish origin.

Throughout the 21-year investigation, DNA experts compared samples of the remains with those of Columbus’s known relatives and descendants. “We have DNA from Christopher Columbus, very partial, but sufficient. We have DNA from Fernando Colon, his son,” Professor Lorente said, per CNN. “And both in the Y chromosome (male) and in the mitochondrial DNA (transmitted by the mother) of Fernando, there are traits compatible with Jewish origin.”