Autres pages dans ce chapitre : [ Remonter ]

When genetics helps genealogy.

The origin and history of C. Columbus remain unclear. In spite of all research studies and proposed hypotheses, no one has convincingly succeeded in elucidating the true origins of Columbus. Neither the exact place, nor the date of his birth are known. His alleged family is likely incorrect. Furthermore, doubts regarding the location of his burial are numerous. Indeed, there are a lot of questions pending answers for such a renown person.

There are two main controversies regarding the Admiral of the Ocean Sea:

1. the location of his burial

Historical background

Christopher Columbus died in Valladolid, on May 20^th, 1506. Several years after his death, upon request from Maria de Toledo, his daughter-in-law, and his grand-son Don Luis, third Admiral of the Ocean Sea, the remains of the Admiral were moved to Santo-Domingo to be buried in the cathedral. In 1795, on July 22nd (4 thermidor An III; thermidor 4^th, year III) the Basel treaty attributed the western part of the Haïti island to France as a compensation for the lost of the Pyrenean territories. Spaniards were forced to evacuate Santo-Domingo island. The admiral Don Gabriel de Aristagabal organized, together with the French, the transfer of the supposed remains of Columbus to Havana City in Cuba. On December 20^th, 1795 during an official ceremony gathering both French and Spanish, Columbus’ remains were conveyed from the French vessel La Découverte (the discovery) to the Spanish ship San Lorenzo to be transported to Cuba island. In 1899, after the hispano-american war, and as Cuba was independent, the presumed Columbus remains came back to Sevilla. In 1902, a monument devoted to the admiral was erected within the Sevilla cathedral. The remains, placed in a little chest, were deposited in the mausoleum. At this time, Columbus’ son, Hernando, has been resting in the back of the nave of the cathedral for over four centuries.

On the location of his burial

Although there is no doubt on the location of the mortal remains of Hernando, some exist regarding those of the Admiral. Spain and Santo-Domingo are both persuaded to hold the “true” tomb. This controversy came to light in 1877,  as workers  on duty within the Santo-Domingo cathedral discovered bones tagged as those of Christopher Columbus. At his time, Spaniards had already transferred to Havana City the remains they though to be those of the Admiral. The Dominican authorities believe that the remains found in the Santo-Domingo cathedral are the true remains of the Admiral of the Ocean Sea. They do not have express any interest in comparative analyses of the remains, now kept in the monument called "Columbus light house", built on the shores of the Ozama river , in Santo Domingo de Guzmán.

In 2003, the Spanish authorities authorized analyses involving DNA samples originating from the Columbus mausoleum located in the Sevilla cathedral.  Those samples should have been compared with samples obtained from the remains of his son Hernando, used as a reference.  There is indeed no ambiguity regarding the identification of Columbus’ son. Results of this work should have been communicated six months (i.e. in 2004) after the beginning of the analyses by the laboratory for genetic identification, at the university of Granada, in charge of this study. To date, we are still awaiting the publication of the results. No explanation for this delay has been given, and no justification for the lack of information has been proposed by Dr. Lorente’s laboratory. In addition, a recent request from our association to Dr. Lorente also remained unanswered.

On the exact origin of  Christopher Colombus

The laboratory for genetic identification, at the university of Granada, has started another series of investigations at the beginning of year 2006, that aims at determining Columbus’origin.

The novel study is in progress. It involves several hundred of volunteers living in the Mediterranean area :  Catalonia, Castilla and other Spanish regions, Italy (the Genoa region) and even in France as historical Catalonia somewhat extends from Perpignan to Toulouse. All the volunteers are named Colom / Colombo / Colón (or any other declensions).   The objective is to localize the geographical origin of the relatives to the discoverer of America by obtaining a genetic proximity tree of the members of this population. Dr. Lorente should    communicate his results by May 2006, a date that corresponds to the 500th anniversary of the death od the Admiral of the Ocean Sea.

On DNA and DNA analysis

DNA:  DeoxyriboNuleic Acid. DNA is the essential constituent of the chromosomes of  any living cells. It supports the genetic information. It allows cells to synthesize other nucleic acids (as the various ribonucleic acids, or RNA), and eventually the proteins. DNA is found in all living organisms, from the most simple (e.g. bacteria) to the most complex (Plants, higher animals). DNA is transmitted from mother cells to daughter cells, whether these latter result from sexual or non sexual reproduction.  DNA is located at various places in the human body cells. The nuclear DNA is found in the cell nucleus while mitochondrial DNA is present in little sub-cellular organites located in the cell cytoplasm, and termed mitochondria. Mitochondria could be simply described as the main energy factory of the cells.

Nuclear DNA: nuclear DNA is found in all cells having a nucleus, a feature that excludes erythrocytes (blood red cells). The forensic interest of nuclear DNA lies in its uniqueness : one Man, one DNA (excepted for “true twins”). DNA studies therefore allows very discriminating identification of persons or animals. The limitations affecting DNA analysis relate with either the poor quality or the limited quantity of DNA obtained from  biological samples.  This situation may happen when the substrate of the analyses is very old, or underwent severe biological, or physico-chemical constraints.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) : mitochondria are organites that are mostly involved in the energetic metabolism of the cell. Several hundreds up to a few thousands of mitochondria may be detected in a single cell, whereas there  is, in most cases, only one nucleus per cell. As a consequence, when only limited amounts of biological material are available, analysis of nuclear DNA may not be possible anymore while that of mtDNA remains feasible. This DNA is a circular molecule composed of 16,500 nucleotides. It is less sensitive to degradation than nuclear DNA because of its limited size, circular structure and because it is protected by the mitochondrial envelop. Noteworthy, it is transmitted in a strictly maternal way. In higher animals, including Man, mtDNA originates from the mother’s  mtDNA, with no contribution from the father’s mtDNA. As a consequence, individuals from the same mother lineage cannot be differentiated on the basis of their mtDNA (they all have the same) and mtDNA cannot be used for paternity test. However, comparison of mtDNA obtained from remains of one person, with mtDNA obtained from a mother sample or from a brother’s or a sister’s sample will allow the identification of the common mother lineage.

DNA data prepared with Dr. Yves Dessaux, Research advisor at Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) 91198 -  Gif-sur-Yvette.

Yves Dessaux is a member, and the scientific counselor of our Association.

Documentation

Notes :

Documents de référence :

Les étapes importantes des analyses ADN de Colon.

L'ouvrage du Professeur Lorente :

Sites de référence :

En français

En espagnol

Articles sur les analyses de Colomb :

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