Study suggests Columbus may have been Galician nobleman, not Italian

A new scientific study has, for the first time, presented genetic evidence suggesting that Christopher Columbus may have descended from Galician nobility in Spain, specifically linked to the Sotomayor lineage. The findings were first reported Monday by Euronews and come from a research team at the Citogen laboratory and the Complutense University of Madrid, which published a preprint on the bioRxiv server detailing the third phase of a study that began with an exhumation in March 2022.

Genetic evidence

The research began with a discrepancy identified during DNA analysis of 12 individuals exhumed from the Counts of Gelves' family crypt, where two individuals were found to share genetic material despite no historical records indicating a connection. One was Jorge Alberto de Portugal, the third Count of Gelves and a descendant of Columbus. The other was Maria de Castro Giron de Portugal, a 17th-century countess of Galician origin.

Pedro Madruga link

Shared DNA indicated an unknown common ancestor, which researchers identified—using a 16-generation computational model—as the 15th-century Galician nobleman Pedro Alvarez de Sotomayor, known as Pedro Madruga. A virtual "knock-out" test showed that removing him from the reconstructed family tree eliminated the genetic link.

Historical overlaps

Supporters of the hypothesis point to several historical overlaps: Pedro Madruga disappears from records around 1486, the same year Columbus appears at the Catholic court. Columbus' writings show Galician-Portuguese linguistic traits, and his coat of arms includes elements linked to Sotomayor heraldry.

Caveats

However, the researchers stressed that the evidence remains indirect—based on descendants rather than Columbus' own DNA—and still requires independent verification. Most historians continue to support the Italian origin theory, citing Columbus' 1498 will naming Genoa as his birthplace.