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Columbus was Jewish

Columbus was Jewish

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vivify
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https://www.reuters.com/science/columbus-was-sephardic-jew-study-finds-2024-10-13/

The 15th-century explorer Christopher Columbus was a Sephardic Jew from Western Europe, Spanish scientists said on Saturday, after using DNA analysis to tackle a centuries-old mystery.

Columbus may have been covertly Jewish. Very interesting since he was a Catholic, who at that time persecuted Jews.

The Knights of Columbus, an Italian-Catholic organization, first advocated for Columbus being celebrated in an American holiday to show that Italians (who were looked down on by the rest of white America) had great historical figures. Of course, we now know a lot more about Columbus showing otherwise, and the propaganda used to promote Columbus.

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@vivify

Spain under Ferdinand and Isabella was not nice to Jews.

quote:
Conversos who did not fully or genuinely embrace Catholicism, but continued to practise Judaism in secrecy, were referred to as judaizantes "Judaizers" and pejoratively as marranos....
end quote

and were persecuted by the Spanish Inquisition under Torquemada.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Converso

further reading:

https://www.britannica.com/topic/converso

https://blog.oup.com/2012/03/ferdinand-isabella-order-expulsion-jews-spain/

AThousandYoung
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@vivify said
https://www.reuters.com/science/columbus-was-sephardic-jew-study-finds-2024-10-13/

The 15th-century explorer Christopher Columbus was a Sephardic Jew from Western Europe, Spanish scientists said on Saturday, after using DNA analysis to tackle a centuries-old mystery.

Columbus may have been covertly Jewish. Very interesting since he was a Catholic, who at th ...[text shortened]... e now know a lot more about Columbus showing otherwise, and the propaganda used to promote Columbus.
Your link does not work.

https://www.reuters.com/science/columbus-was-sephardic-jew-western-europe-study-finds-2024-10-13/

"And both in the Y chromosome (male) and in the mitochondrial DNA (transmitted by the mother) of Hernando there are traits compatible with Jewish origin."


That does not sound like guaranteed Jewish ancestry of Cristobal Colon. I’d like to see the paper except my Spanish is very weak.

AThousandYoung
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@moonbus said
@vivify

Spain under Ferdinand and Isabella was not nice to Jews.

quote:
Conversos who did not fully or genuinely embrace Catholicism, but continued to practise Judaism in secrecy, were referred to as judaizantes "Judaizers" and pejoratively as marranos....
end quote

and were persecuted by the Spanish Inquisition under Torquemada.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C ...[text shortened]... ca.com/topic/converso

https://blog.oup.com/2012/03/ferdinand-isabella-order-expulsion-jews-spain/
Spain had just won an 800 year long war with Muslims and some of the abuse of Jews was a result of this. Uniting around Catholicism was central to that victory and non Christian Semites were usually Muslim enemies.

AThousandYoung
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@vivify said
https://www.reuters.com/science/columbus-was-sephardic-jew-study-finds-2024-10-13/

The 15th-century explorer Christopher Columbus was a Sephardic Jew from Western Europe, Spanish scientists said on Saturday, after using DNA analysis to tackle a centuries-old mystery.

Columbus may have been covertly Jewish. Very interesting since he was a Catholic, who at th ...[text shortened]... e now know a lot more about Columbus showing otherwise, and the propaganda used to promote Columbus.
Many Jews converted to Catholicism to avoid persecution.

When discussing Columbus and propaganda we should keep in mind that we are using English language sources and translations which have been affected by Black Legend.

no1marauder
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@AThousandYoung said
Your link does not work.

https://www.reuters.com/science/columbus-was-sephardic-jew-western-europe-study-finds-2024-10-13/

"And both in the Y chromosome (male) and in the mitochondrial DNA (transmitted by the mother) of Hernando there are traits compatible with Jewish origin."


That does not sound like guaranteed Jewish ancestry of Cristobal Colon. I’d like to see the paper except my Spanish is very weak.
https://www.reuters.com/science/columbus-was-sephardic-jew-western-europe-study-finds-2024-10-13/

vivify
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@AThousandYoung said
Many Jews converted to Catholicism to avoid persecution.

When discussing Columbus and propaganda we should keep in mind that we are using English language sources and translations which have been affected by Black Legend.
By propaganda I mean Columbus discovering America, proving the world was round, etc.

Based on DNA testing, it's possible He wasn't even Italian.

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@no1marauder said
https://www.reuters.com/science/columbus-was-sephardic-jew-western-europe-study-finds-2024-10-13/
Yes, that's the same address I posted in the post you responded to.

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@AThousandYoung said
Yes, that's the same address I posted in the post you responded to.
Ok.

Columbus may or may not have been a Jew, but it's not mere English propaganda that he was a douchebag. He was stripped of his New World governorship and he and his brothers imprisoned by the Spanish Crown for their incompetence and brutality in Hispaniola https://historycollection.com/columbus-scandalous-treatment-native-peoples-reaped-wrath-spain/.

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@vivify said
By propaganda I mean Columbus discovering America, proving the world was round, etc.

Based on DNA testing, it's possible Colonizers wasn't even Italian.
Columbus did successfully discover the trade routes to and from the Americas across the Atlantic and Magellan's crew found the routes across the Pacific. Whether this counts as "discovering America" is semantics. Yes I know the indigenous people, Pacific Islanders and Lief Ericson made it to the continent before he did.

Anybody who knows the real story of Columbus knows he already knew the Earth was round. He was using Tuscanelli's maps not making up new ones. The idea that he discovered the Earth was round is a strawman.

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@no1marauder said
Ok.

Columbus may or may not have been a Jew, but it's not mere English propaganda that he was a douchebag. He was stripped of his New World governorship and he and his brothers imprisoned by the Spanish Crown for their incompetence and brutality in Hispaniola https://historycollection.com/columbus-scandalous-treatment-native-peoples-reaped-wrath-spain/
That does not seem consistent with the idea that the Spanish Crown was actively and deliberately abusing the indigenous people of the Americas which is also part of the "evil Spanish imperialists" line of arguments.

In any case the source you quote does not agree with your claims:

Instead of dealing firmly with the rebels, Columbus, who was tired and sick, tried to pacify them by giving them land grants and allowing them to enslave native Americans.

In the summer of 1500 the Spanish Monarchs sent Francisco de Bobadilla to Hispaniola to investigate. Bobadilla was given full authority to do whatever he deemed necessary to bring order to the island. An over-zealous government appointee, Bobadilla took full advantage of his new powers on arriving at Hispaniola. He ordered Columbus and his two brothers sent back to Spain in chains to stand trial (Phillips and Phillips 225). Thus, Christopher’s third return to Spain contrasted strikingly with the glorious homecoming he experienced after the first voyage, only seven years previous. This third voyage found him in the depths of humiliation and shame, and the experience was definitely a low point in Columbus’ life.

The king and queen were shocked when they learned that their Admiral had been humiliated and sent home in shackles. They had Columbus and his brothers released,


So the Spanish Crown sent Francisco de Bobadilla with full authority TO BRING ORDER TO THE ISLAND . de Bobadilla put Columbus in chains and the Catholic Monarchs released him immediately as soon as they saw that he had done so.

Any claims that Columbus encouraged slavery really requires a careful study of the original Spanish sources. As it turns out what Anglo translators call "slavery" is often a Spanish phrase that means "Christian". It's kind of how Muslims "submit to the will of Allah" which could be maliciously translated as "slavery".

As an aside it is clearly nonsense to claim the Spanish brough civilization to the Americas. The Inca and Mexica were already highly civilized people somewhat similar to Classical Greece.

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One thing that Anglos often call "slavery" in the Spanish Empire was how Spain co-opted the Inca system of taxation by labor. What is called "taxes" when applied to the Inca becomes "slavery" when applied to the Spanish but it was the same exact thing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mit%27a

Mit'a was effectively a form of tribute to the Inca government in the form of labor, i.e. a corvée. Tax labor accounted for much of the Inca state tax revenue;[3] beyond that, it was used for the construction of the road network, bridges, agricultural terraces, and fortifications in ancient Peru. Military service was also mandatory.

All citizens who could perform labor were required to do so for a set number of days out of a year (the basic meaning of the word mit'a is a regular turn or a season).

no1marauder
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@AThousandYoung said
That does not seem consistent with the idea that the Spanish Crown was actively and deliberately abusing the indigenous people of the Americas which is also part of the "evil Spanish imperialists" line of arguments.

In any case the source you quote does not agree with your claims:

[quote]Instead of dealing firmly with the rebels, Columbus, who was tired and sick, ...[text shortened]... cas. The Inca and Mexica were already highly civilized people somewhat similar to Classical Greece.
Sorry, I don't see such a passage in https://historycollection.com/columbus-scandalous-treatment-native-peoples-reaped-wrath-spain/

I do see this:

"The new settlements in Hispaniola were in disarray. Violence was everywhere and hunger was becoming a serious issue. Columbus continued to explore and even embarked on a third voyage while he was Viceroy and Governor, leaving his family members in charge. In 1499, the inept governor sent a dispatch to the King and Queen of Spain, requesting more assistance for governing the new settlement in Hispaniola.

His plea arrived too late. By 1500, word of the tyrannical ways in which Columbus and his brothers governed had reached Ferdinand and Isabella. They removed the Columbus family from their governmental positions and ordered them back to Spain. Upon their arrival, the men were imprisoned. The monarchs stripped Columbus of his rank of Admiral of the Ocean Sea, his Viceroy and Governorship, and refused to provide him with any of the agreed-upon monetary claims."

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@no1marauder said
https://www.reuters.com/science/columbus-was-sephardic-jew-western-europe-study-finds-2024-10-13/
^^^ This is the source for the excerpt I quoted

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@no1marauder said
Sorry, I don't see such a passage in https://historycollection.com/columbus-scandalous-treatment-native-peoples-reaped-wrath-spain/

I do see this:

"The new settlements in Hispaniola were in disarray. Violence was everywhere and hunger was becoming a serious issue. Columbus continued to explore and even embarked on a third voyage while he was Viceroy and Governor, le ...[text shortened]... s Viceroy and Governorship, and refused to provide him with any of the agreed-upon monetary claims."
There's a lot to unpack when we hear about "the tyrannical ways in which Columbus and his brothers governed".

Keep in mind that the Confederacy considered the Union government "tyrannical". Preventing Spaniards from abusing indigenous people is likely the "tyranny" being referred to.

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