New study links Christopher Columbus to Spanish noble lineage

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.

Although the results have not yet undergone peer review, the study points to the Galician nobleman Pedro Alvarez de Sotomayor — also known as Pedro Madruga — as a possible ancestor within Columbus’ family line.

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 by marriage of Galician origin and the daughter of the 9th Count of Lemos.

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.

The analysis used sequencing across more than 10,000 genetic markers, though the theory linking Columbus to Madruga dates back to the early 20th century.

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 also show Galician-Portuguese linguistic traits, and his coat of arms includes elements linked to Sotomayor heraldry.

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. Supporters of the Galician-origin hypothesis argue he may have concealed his background, while the new study offers preliminary genomic evidence pointing to northern Spanish nobility, though not yet conclusive.