There are many theories regarding the national origin of Christopher Columbus. It's taken for granted by many that he was of Genovese origin but many scholars who have dedicated their studies to Columbus have concluded that he most certainly must have come from elsewehre. Of all the theories I've heard the one that appeals to me most is a rather obscure one that claims he was one Salvador Fernandes Zarco. Here's some material on said theory:

Salvador Fernandes Zarco


Salvador Fernandes Zarco, according to a theory developed by Manuel Luciano da Silva, M. D., is the Portuguese birth name of Christopher Columbus (October 30?, 1448 – 20 May 1506), the man widely credited with discovering the "New World" in 1492.

Although several documents state that Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy, several facts suggest a different origin for the explorer. Out of many theories of his origin (none fully demonstrated) several state that Columbus may have been born Portuguese (rather than arrived in Portugal in his early teens). This theory is supported by a number of scholars, while far from being widely accepted even in the Academia due to lack of investigation and humility.

Salvador Fernandes Zarco
Author Augusto Mascarenhas Barreto has done genealogical research that suggests Columbus' given name was Salvador Fernandes Zarco. Salvador's mother was Isabel Gonçalves Zarco, daughter of João Gonçalves Zarco, a Portuguese noble of the House of Prince Henry the Navigator. The surname Zarco was actually a nickname derived from the Arabic "zarka" meaning "one with blue eyes." His family may have been of converso origin. On the patrilineal side, Zarco was first cousin of King John II, the half-brother of Queen Dona Leonor and King Manuel I, and grandnephew of Prince Henry the Navigator. Joao Zarco discovered the island of Madeira, and the family held important mercantile concessions there. Zarco's Portuguese royal connections may also be reflected in his frequent use of Portuguese place-names in the New World ("Cuba" is a small town in Alentejo, Portugal, and the quite, peaceful village of Vila Ruiva is theorized to have been SFZ birthplace).

Barreto's theory strongly claims that Zarco had a secret mission to distract Spanish royalty away from the true route to India, which Prince Henry was navigating around the Cape of Good Hope. Also Manuel Luciano da Silva points out that Columbus was on several occasions offered private investments to go on his expedition, but he refused for seven years until he had full approval from the Spanish Crown. This, he claims, would have fit in with King John's master plans.

Papal bulls
The origins of Da Silva's hypothesis were founded in 1988, when he read a book by Portuguese author Augusto Mascarenhas Barreto titled (in English) The Portuguese Christopher Columbus: Secret Agent of King John II.

In 1994, Da Silva traveled to the Vatican to look at papal bulls related to the discovery of the New World in the late 15th century. In two inscriptions dated May 4, 1493, there are articles regarding the discovery of the new world by one "Cristofõm Colon". The manuscripts, written by Pope Alexander VI, have Columbus' name written in the Portuguese style. This spelling is inconsistent with Columbus' name in other possible nationalities, such as Italian and Spanish. The Spanish spelling is Cristobal Colón and the Italian is Cristoforo Colombo. This discovery is notable because at the time the manuscript was written, the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope together held great secular authority and proclaimed what was considered the final word.

Columbus' sigla and monogram


Christopher Columbus always signed his documents with his sigla instead of his name. The ambiguity of symbols allows for many different theories regarding the deeper meanings and representations of each symbol. Mascarenhas Barreto deciphers the sigla to support his belief that Columbus was in fact Portuguese. At the bottom of the sigla he finds evidence of the name Salvador Fernandes Zarco hidden among the symbols. The top part of the sigla proclaims Columbus' religious ties, but the author believes Columbus would mix well-known information in with more secretive double meanings.

The conclusion that the bottom section of Columbus' sigla reveals his true identity, Salvador Fernandes Zarco, is based on interpretations of the language. is a Greek abbreviation for Christ(o), who is recognized in Christianity as the Savior of the world. "Salvador" is the Portuguese word for "savior". The sigla is thought to refer to a given name and not to Christ, because references to Christ were routinely capitalized . It is interesting that Zarco named his first New World landfall "San Salvador". While an outward expression of Christian piety, it was also his own given name, an arcane fact that would fit in well with the hidden meanings of the "sigla" and Columbus' habits toward self-aggrandizement. is, according to Da Silva, the abbreviation of the name Fernandes in Portuguese.

The S symbol is slightly skewed in the top right corner. This is believed to symbolize the inverted Hebrew letter, lamedh. Lamed in Hebrew means colon, which corresponds to Colon as Columbus' last name. By the rules of Hebrew alphabet, the Lamed as an inverted letter signifies that the Lamed looks like 'Colon' but is intended to be read with its other meaning. The skewed Lamed also stands for the name 'Zarco' in Hebrew, and that concludes how Columbus hides 'Salvador Fernandes Zarco' in his sigla.

The reality of Zarco/Columbus' Jewish roots, far from being mere idle speculation, are further bolstered by his frequent but obscure written references to the "royal blood of Jerusalem" in his veins, his well-documented sympathy for the Iberian Jews who, after 2000-plus years in "Sepharad" were expelled from Spain the day he set sail for "India" (his was a very politically incorrect attitude for his era, and potentially dangerous to him personally), his penchant for keeping company with Marranos, Conversos and Moors, and the fact that so many Jews held important offices on his expedition (Luis de Torres, who colonized Cuba, was his translator, and Master Marco was the expeditionary physician, amongst others).



In fact, Da Silva's wife, Silvia, an expert embroiderer, has noted that the monogram with which Columbus signed his documents—usually to the left of his sigla—can be split into three initials: S. F. Z., for Salvador Fernandes Zarco.

From Genoa definitely ..all the other suggestions have been proved wrong ,,,ask any italian

There's very little evidence to support that. Salvador de Madariaga, one of Columbus' most well known biograopher, concluded thaty he wasn't, along with many, many other eminent scholars. Madariaga leaned toward the catalan origin theory.

or Jew (a good reasons to hide such fact in 1492 Spain)

The Portuguese and Catalan hypothesis both point to possible converso origin for Columbus.

Converso Origins hypothesis :

- The converso origins of Colombus has serious foundations, according to Cecil Roth , "Colombo" is the translation of the Hebrew name "Jonas”.

- According to Thierry Wirth (in a recent book about who really discovered America) ; quoting the spanish Scholar, Don Ramon Menendez Pidal ; Colombus was a descendant of the Spanish jews expelled from Spain in 1391 after a murderous pogrom ( 50000 death) , and whose family took refuge in Italy.

- Menendez thinks that he was a castillan or mayorcan jew. On the over hand, the Dean of Middle Age slavery studies in Europe, the Belgium Charles Verlinden thinks that he was not a converso.

- Many castillan conversos fled from Spain in 1391 , to Italia, France, Turkey and North Africa.

- In 1492 most of them took refuge in Turkey (according to Jean Claude Attali , 93000).

- The conversos in Turkey used to speak in Castillan, because natives ( Turks) could not understand them (Turks understood, Arabic, Turk, Hebrew and Chaldean)

- So according to Wirth and Menendez he was an Italian (Genoan) with a Spanish converse background

- The Spanish and Portuguese conversos are part of the new world story : Hispaniola , Jamaica, Curaçao, Brazil, Surinam, US (Rhode Island) , in Europe : Dutch (they created the Bank of Amsterdam), France ( Gradis family from Bordeaux, Mendes France), The Pintos of England, and Africa ( Sao Tomé , Cabo Verde, Senegal etc) Basically the reproduced new commercial routes between Europe , Africa and the New world.

Before they settled in new world, they had set up for many centuries, commercial routes between France , Spain , Italy , the Levant and the caucasus

Genoese Hypothesis :

The Genoese (with converso background) origin have also serious foundations :

- Italians (Genoese, Venetians, Florentines) were the masters of the seas (before the portuguese and the spanish, who were their pupils )and had colonies in the levant and the black sea

- Italians (Genoese) navigators were already in Castilla at the time of Alfonso el Sabio (Ugo Vento) , and others Italians too like Benedetto zacaria, the Boccanegra brothers

- Italians (skilled cartographers) and conversos (Yehudah Crescas aka Jaime Riba) developed the Portuguese navigation school who preceded the Spanish same school

- Colombus married into an Italian family (Perestrelo)

- Italians navigators were very skilled and hired by Europeans kings : Verrazano (Florence) for France, Cabots brothers for England

- Italians were kicked out from the Levant and the black sea by the Turks, where they had colonies and commercial transactions (slaves mainly). There was a huge slave trade in the Italian colonies (Tana, Caffa), which represented the slave supply on that time (Italy was full of slaves during that period: Tartars, Circassians , Slavs , Greeksetc : see Jacques Heers "Esclaves et domestiques au Moyen Âge dans le monde méditerranéen" which has been translated in Spanish)

- So they rollback to in Europe to propose their services to Portuguese (Alvide de Cadamosto for Henry the Navigator) and the Spanish. Colombus turned first to the Portuguese because his compatriots (Italians)were hired there and developed the Portuguese colonization:

* Manuel Pessagno : Canaries islands , Madeiras, Azores

* Nicoloso de Recco : Canaries

* Antoniolo da Noli : Cabo Verde

Charles Verlinden in his several books , summarized very well the positive impacts of the Italians in Portuguese and Spanish sea navigation stories

http://www.amazon.com/Beginnings-Modern-Colonization-Charles-Verlinden/dp/0801405882

Furthermore Italians (Genoese, Lombards mainly) were skilled bankers. They helped the spanish monarchy to spread the Gold and Silver which came from the New World see Fernand Braudel : "The Mediterranean: And the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II " 3 Volumes


http://www.amazon.com/The-Mediterranean-World-Philip-Volume/dp/0520203305/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336138359&sr=1-6#reader_0520203305

Vol II is interesting : Spanish Conversos, Turks , Italians as first skilled navigators in Europe , Italians as bankers for the spanish monarchy with the new world Gold / Silver

Thank you for your input..the Portuguese origin theory appeals to me because it conveniantly fills in some of the holes in the Columbus narrative, such as his marriage to a noblewoman and particularly the one that was to become his wife as well as the (at least to us at this point) unexplainable stopover Lisbon upon returning to Europe after his initial voyage.

You're welcome..Colombus origin (and back forth between portugal, spain, madeiras etc) has indeed some mysterious aspects...Thierry Wirth explains the fact you expose above by a supposed initiation to secret societies.

Basically he says that Colombus was not looking for India but for the New world which was known by the Portuguese and Spanish Cartographers ( those who advised the kings of Portugal and Spain).

His hypothesis (Colombus was really looking for the new world) is not validated by Colombus own journal though