Spain Trip #51: Seville: Christopher Columbus Corpse Controversy

Columbus monument in Murillo Garden

In today's blog you'll learn all about what I call the "Christopher Columbus Corpse Controversy." We
learned about this during out May 2018 vacation to Seville, Spain. It seems that Spain and other places all wanted a piece of him after he died, but he didn't want to be buried in Spain... so they got a a piece of him and "worked around it."  There were also several DNA Tests on Columbus' bone fragments... Here's the complex corpse story>

COLUMBUS' MONUMENT - There's a tall monument dedicated to Christopher Columbus in Murillo's Garden, Seville. That's because Columbus set out from Seville, Spain under the authority of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand to find a new world. In 1492, of course, he discovered America and brought back many things to Spain, including riches. So, he was adored in Seville. A likeness of his face is carved in the base of this tall monument. There's also the symbol of a Lion  at the top of the monument, which is a symbol of the Royal Family. 

Columbus' tomb in Seville Cathedral

CONTROVERSY - Although Columbus set out from southern Spain, he died in northern Spain, lived in Cuba, America and he wished to be buried in the Dominican Republic. Well, that was complicated. Everyone wanted to claim him! 

THE MOVING AND SEPARATED BODY - Columbus' body, well PART of it, was moved to Seville. 
   Columbus was buried in the Spanish city of Valladolid after dying there in 1506. His son, Diego, wasn't satisfied with this arrangement, and had his father's remains disinterred and sent to a monastery in Seville. There they stayed until 1542, when they were packed up and put on a boat bound for Santo Domingo in what is now the Dominican Republic.
    Slate.com tracked the movement of his body. In 1795, when France ousted Spain from Hispaniola (the island now shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Columbus’ remains were taken to Havana, Cuba. Following Cuba’s 1898 independence from Spain, Columbus ended up back in Andalusia, interred in an ornate tomb at Seville Cathedral.
  Today, two sites claim to hold his remains: Seville Cathedral in Spain, and the Columbus Lighthouse  at Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic (obviously they have the rest of his body).

Columbus' Tomb in Seville Cathedral

DNA TEST #1 ON COLUMBUS' BONES - In 2006, Spanish researchers sequenced the DNA of Hernando Colón (or Ferdinand Columbus), Christopher Columbus's son and biographer. Forbes Magazine reported that Ferdinand's remains are the only ones that so far have been authenticated as a close relative of the famed explorer, and DNA extracted from the bones has been used as a way to identify where Columbus himself was buried.

HOW DID SPAIN GET AROUND "NOT BURYING" COLUMBUS? - Since Christopher Columbus said he "did not want to be buried in Spain," people in Seville managed to get around it by building him a tomb above ground. Smart! Of course, they didn't get his entire body, just bone fragments, but they still got their way and outsmarted Columbus. Well, unless Columbus is haunting the Cathedral (but we didn't notice him). 

SEVILLE CATHEDRAL COLUMBUS TOMB - Just inside the Cathedral door of Seville’s massive cathedral stands a monument to Christopher Columbus erected in 1899. His tomb is held aloft by four allegorical figures representing the four kingdoms of Spain during Columbus’ life, Castille, Aragon, Navara, and Leon. They are all holding up a small box, where Columbus' bones are stored (thus, he's not "buried" in Spain

Columbus' bones uncovered at Seville Cathedral. (AFP/Getty Images)

DNA TEST #2  ON COLUMBUS' BONES- In 2018, researchers are now trying to prove whether Columbus is Portugese and not Italian. Forbes magazine reported that Portuguese researchers are hard at work analyzing the bones from the first count of Castanheira, António de Ataíde, who was the cousin of Pedro, the soldier presumably killed in the battle of Cape San Vincent. If Pedro was not killed, and instead started a new life as Pedro Colón and then Cristóbal Colón, there should be similarities in the DNA of António (Columbus's presumed cousin) and Ferdinand (his son).

NOTE: We will get back to the Cathedral in a later blog when we talk about ghosts...

NEXT: "OH SUSONA, IT'S A GHOST IN SPAIN'S JEWISH QUARTER"!