Just in time for the long weekend.
Genetic testing has finally confirmed the official burial place of Christopher Columbus, and the scientists who announced the discovery say they also know his ethnic origins, although they have not yet revealed them.
Some human bones housed in an elaborate catafalque in Spain’s Seville Cathedral do indeed belong to the controversial explorer, forensic expert José Antonio Lorente announced Thursday.
Lorente and other members of a team of scientists from the University of Granada used samples taken from Columbus’ son Fernando and one of his brothers to identify the remains.
It is now the official mausoleum of Christopher Columbus in Seville, Spain. Reuters Christopher Columbus died in 1506 in what is now Spain. Universal Images Group (Getty Images)
“Today, thanks to new technology, we have conclusively confirmed the previously partial theory that the remains of Seville are those of Christopher Columbus,” Lorente said at a press conference.
Columbus died in what is now Spain in 1506, but it is said that he wanted to be buried on the island of Hispaniola, which is now part of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
His remains are said to have been brought there in 1542. It is believed that all or at least some of the remains were then moved to Cuba in 1795, and then to Seville in 1898, when Spain lost control of Cuba in the Spanish-American War.
For the past century, experts have debated whether Columbus’ complete remains were taken to Seville as his official final resting place, or whether some or all of them still remain in the DR unofficially.
Recent research has confirmed that some of the remains in a Seville church belong to the famous explorer. Reuters
In 1877, excavations at the Cathedral of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic uncovered a small lead box containing an incomplete bone fragment labeled as belonging to Columbus.
These remains are now buried at the so-called Lighthouse of Columbus in Santo Domingo Este, but Lorente said it is possible that these remains also belong to the explorer, as the set of remains in Seville is also incomplete. Ta.
It is unclear whether any tests will be carried out on the bodies in the DR.
When asked what DNA tests revealed about Columbus’ genetic background, the scientist appeared coy.
Columbus famously sailed to Spain in 1492, but historians debate whether the original story that he was from Genoa, Italy is actually true.
Madrid’s Plaza Columbus is home to the famous statue of Christopher Columbus, which stands atop the plaza that bears his name. Reuters
For years, experts have suggested that Columbus may actually have been a Spanish Jew, Greek, Basque, or Portuguese.
These findings will be shared in the documentary “Columbus DNA: The True Origin,” which will air on Spanish national broadcaster TVE on Saturday.
Lorente teased the eventual revelation, saying the investigation was “very complex.”
“There are some very important results,” he said, according to the Guardian. “They lend themselves to multiple studies and analyzes that should be evaluated by historians.”
The United States celebrates Columbus as a federal holiday on the second Monday of October each year, but it’s not without controversy.
For centuries, he was credited with having “discovered America,” but that account has since been largely debunked by historians, and he is believed to have “discovered America” in other parts of the Bahamas and Caribbean. It claims to have reached the location, but not what is now known as the United States. Critics also claim that he forced indigenous people to work as slaves and that his travels introduced devastating diseases to the population.
Still, some Italian Americans argue that his dangerous expedition opened the door to European settlement of the Americas and should be celebrated as such.
In an effort to balance the two, the United States currently celebrates Indigenous Peoples Day on the same day as Columbus Day.
with post wire
