Christopher Columbus: His Jewish Story as a citizen of Spain

If you are like me, you have gone through phases in teaching about Columbus.  At one time he was a great guy that discovered the New World and made it possible for us to live here.  At other times, he pillaged and plundered the native peoples and brought European diseases across the ocean, ultimately killing many.

Well, now, scientists are discovering new facts about Columbus.  Did you know that scientists recently studied Columbus' will and that it had Hebrew letters on it?  Historians now believe he was a "Marrano" <swine>, or a secret Jew that acted as a Catholic to save both himself and his family during the Spanish Inquisition.  Many believe that his quest to the New World to find gold and riches was a cover for his real plan....to set up a new colony for other Marranos that were being forced out of Spain.  In fact, on March 31, 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella proclaimed that all Jews were to be expelled from Spain.  Information also points that the Colon <Columbus> family had lived in Italy, but were from Spain.  So, stories of Christopher Columbus, the Italian explorer, are not true.

The following information was found by CNN and brings to light important information about Columbus' will:

Two of his wishes -- tithe one-tenth of his income to the poor and provide an anonymous dowry for poor girls -- are part of Jewish customs. He also decreed to give money to a Jew who lived at the entrance of the Lisbon Jewish Quarter.

On those documents, Columbus used a triangular signature of dots and letters that resembled inscriptions found on gravestones of Jewish cemeteries in Spain. He ordered his heirs to use the signature in perpetuity.  At the top left-hand corner of all but one of the 13 letters written by Columbus to his son Diego contained the handwritten Hebrew letters bet-hei, meaning b'ezrat Hashem (with God's help).

According to British historian Cecil Roth's "The History of the Marranos," the anagram was a cryptic substitute for the Kaddish, a prayer recited in the synagogue by mourners after the death of a close relative. Thus, Columbus's subterfuge allowed his sons to say Kaddish for their crypto-Jewish father when he died. Finally, Columbus left money to support the crusade he hoped his successors would take up to liberate the Holy Land.

As children, I know I was taught that Columbus pleaded with Queen Isabella of Spain to finance the expedition, promising her untold riches.  But, it is now thought that the expedition was really paid for by 2 wealthy Jews who were being closely watched to ensure that they had renounced their Jewish believes and had indeed converted to Catholicism as ordered. 

If you would like to learn more about these claims, check out this website!