Researchers have conducted a study on the genetic material from 12 individuals interred in the family crypt of the Counts of Helves in Spain, where direct descendants of the discoverer are laid to rest. The findings raise doubts about the long-held theory of Columbus’s Genoese origins. Experts are now considering an alternative hypothesis: that the explorer hailed from a prominent noble family located in northwestern Spain.
The debate surrounding his birthplace has spanned more than five centuries. Historically, the prevailing theory suggested Columbus was born in 1451 within the Republic of Genoa to a family of modest means. However, several other hypotheses exist, including one pointing to Galician roots for the conqueror of the New World. (Galicia is a region situated in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula.) Nevertheless, none of these concepts had previously secured rigorous scientific validation.
A preprint of a study supporting the Galician origin theory for Columbus has been published on the BioRxiv server by a collective of researchers from the Citogen laboratory and the Complutense University of Madrid.
The genetic scrutiny detected a consistent kinship with Pedro Álvarez de Sotomayor—an influential Galician nobleman of the 15th century, also known as Pedro Madruga. Furthermore, Columbus’s descendants exhibit a genetic link to the powerful Zúñiga lineage from Navarre, a region closely bordering Galicia in Northern Spain.
Regarding Pedro Madruga, he stood as one of Galicia’s most powerful feudal lords during the 15th century. However, records mentioning him vanish from historical documents around 1486, the very year Columbus first presented himself at the court of the Spanish monarchs, Isabella and Ferdinand.
In addition, historians point to several other corroborating parallels, but they are currently hesitant to declare definitively that Madruga and Columbus were the same individual.
There is also a crucial caveat to the current investigation: the evidence obtained is indirect, as it relies on the DNA of descendants rather than that of Columbus himself.
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