Mapping Columbus\’ origins
Eighteen years ago, Manuel Rosa embarked on a journey that may change American history, as we know it.
Rosa has made his personal mission to prove that Christopher Columbus was not Genoese, but most likely Portuguese.
His exploratory work has led him to read more than 1,000 books, analyze countless documents and has taken him around the world – from the Dominican Republic to Poland – in search of what he perceives to be the truth.
«It\’s time to put an end to 500 years of misconceptions,» he told O Jornal. «My goal is for people not to ask whether he was Portuguese, but how could he have not been Portuguese.»
Rosa believes the missing link in all of the histories about Columbus was his Portuguese life.
«By passing over the Portuguese life and the Portuguese wife of Columbus as insignificant, a major part of Columbus\’s identity was erased and rewritten,» he maintains.
He also maintains that it was by reviewing the Portuguese component of Columbus that he not only was able to poke holes in the current «fantasy» of the navigator being a poor Genoese, but to actually fill in the missing links that were needed to put the whole Columbus voyage into perspective.
«Christopher Columbus was a Portuguese double-agent working for King John II, whose objective was to distract Spain from his monopoly of African gold trade and the soon-to-be-opened sea route around Africa to India,» he said. «It was conspiracy at the highest level about his identity, and lying to Spain to help Portugal.»
Rosa sustains that Christopher Columbus was not the navigator\’s given name. Variously translated, his chosen name was Cristoval Colon or Colom, but his given name is still unknown.
He claims the explorer was deeply connected to Portugal\’s King John II\’s inner circle through marriage. The family members of Columbus\’s wife, Filipa Moniz Perestrelo, were all part of the court of King John II and of the king\’s household.
«Cristobal Colon was only a poor wool weaver in Genoa as claimed by every historian and documents,» maintains Rosa. «He lacked the noble station required to marry nobility, as the explorer Colon did long before his historic voyage.»
Rosa also claims Columbus continued to communicate with the king of Portugal during his voyages, although history tells us that he was angry and felt betrayed when the king refused to fund his trip.
«He continuously lied to the Kings of Spain, helped the Portuguese, and navigated with secret sun charts commissioned by the Portuguese king,» he said.
Rosa was born in Madalena do Pico, Azores, in 1961 and immigrated to Somerville, Mass., with his family in 1973. He currently works as a computer technologist at Duke University in North Carolina.
He claims he is the only Portuguese historian involved with the DNA testing being done to Columbus\’ bones by the University of Granada, Spain.
«Not one of the 477 Columbuses tested from Italy, Spain and France had similarities with Columbus\’ DNA,» he said.
However, a plausible connection to the Portuguese has been made.
The DNA of D. Duarte de Bragança – the heir to the Portuguese throne if the monarchy was still in existence in Portugal – has shown to be similar to the navigator\’s.
«Although the results are not decisive, it is something that does not negate Portuguese lineage,» said Rosa.
«It is important to allow people to ask questions, and answer how they\’re wrong or right,» he added. «Once people get a little bit of the story and facts, it starts to make sense.»
Rosa claims he was the first researcher to prove Columbus\’ Testament drawn up in 1498 was false.
«I have shown 22 proofs of falsification in that document, the only document that says he was born in Genoa,» said Rosa. «The testament was falsified by people who were trying to inherit his post in Spain.»
Rosa believes Columbus\’ identity enigma has been so difficult to solve because the navigator could not say who he really was. Rosa has formulated the theory that Columbus was related to W³adys³aw III, king of Poland.
W³adys³aw III\’s reign was difficult from the outset. History says that he was killed at the Battle of Varna in 1444, when the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Murad II defeated the Poland and Hungary armies.
But according to Portuguese legend, he survived the battle and settled in Madeira, after a trip to the Holy Land. King Afonso V of Portugal granted him lands in the archipelago. He was known there as Henrique Alemão (Henry the German) and married Senhorinha Anes. The Portuguese king was his best man. The couple had two sons.
Rosa believes one of the sons was Columbus – therefore tying the navigator\’s close connection to Portuguese royalty.
Rosa\’s findings have been compiled in the books «Mistério Columbo Revelado» and «Colombo Português – Novas Revelações.» The first was published in 2006 and sold out. The latter – a smaller, updated version of the first – was launched last April in Portugal and it is selling very well, according to the author.
Both volumes have been received with high praise and reviews.
Prof. Joaquim Veríssimo Serrão, former Dean of the University of Lisbon and former President of the Portuguese Academy of History, said he was convinced by force of the argument presented by Rosa, after reading and re-reading his first book.
«I can say that I am 99 percent in agreement with the points that you offer for the reader to contemplate,» wrote Serrão, who has provided the preface for the second book.
Portuguese historian Fina D\’Armada has said that Rosa\’s research should have been done by Portuguese universities.
«It so happens that Portuguese universities are conservative, and younger scholars tend to follow old scholars to pursue their careers… it [book] will definitely provide a lot of work for historians to continue to affirm from now on that he was a Genoese weaver, without them showing unfairness or ignorance,» she wrote.
Dr. Luciano da Silva, of Bristol, R.I., has spent many years researching the navigator\’s Portuguese roots and has also written a book about the subject. He described Rosa\’s research as «commendable.»
«He has done an admirable job to divulge the truth, that the navigator was 100 percent Portuguese,» said Silva. «He has been a fighter to bring the truth to light. I praise his work with much respect and enthusiasm.»
In turn, Portuguese journalist José Rodrigues dos Santos, who wrote the book
has said, «Manuel Rosa\’s investigation confirms, no matter what his real name might be, that it is the Portuguese nobility origins that best describe the enigmatic contradictions surrounding Colon\’s life.»
Rosa said it is hard to contest his theory because he bases his findings on countless documents.
«I am very realistic,» he said. «I try to answer every doubt, take each problem up as far I can go. If I look at everything realistically, I can only come to one conclusion – he was Portuguese. I hope once they read my book, they realize they have no option to say history is still unsolved.»
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