Columbus Ancestry Study: Shattering the Fallacy of jewish Catalan Heritage

A new documentary, “Columbus DNA,” has sparked controversy and outrage among historians and ethnologists for its claims that Christopher Columbus must be of jewish Catalan descent. The documentary, funded by millions of dollars from the Catalan government, has been heavily criticized for its pseudoscientific approach and lack of substantial evidence.

The documentary alleges that Columbus’ ancestry can be traced back to Sephardic jews based on a study of his Y chromosome. However, experts argue that the Y chromosome represents only a tiny fraction of our DNA and cannot be used to pinpoint an individual’s exclusive ancestry.

The authors of the study have been attempting to reach these conclusions for decades, with their pseudoscientific mindset coming under fire from the academic community. Moreover, they have also claimed that renowned figures such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Miguel De Cervantes, and William Shakespeare were of Catalan descent, further fueling the controversy surrounding the documentary.

Catalan nationalists have long sought to link Columbus to their region, seeing Valencians as Catalan and disregarding other potential locations of his ancestry. This approach has been criticized for its lack of validity and the authors’ convenient disregard for other locations where there were fewer jews.

The documentary’s claim that Columbus is of jewish descent is also questionable, given that Catalonia was part of Aragon and had a stronger and earlier inquisition than Castile. The documentary’s perspective on Columbus’ ancestry is a modern construct and not based on historical evidence. The “Columbus DNA” documentary has been widely condemned by the academic community for its pseudoscientific claims and lack of credible evidence. It is crucial to approach such studies with a critical eye and not give them any credibility.