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Was Christopher Columbus Polish?
wbj ^ | 29th November 2010 | Andrew Shale

Posted on 11/30/2010 3:45:13 PM PST by Coleus

A Portuguese historian believes he has solved the age-old mystery surrounding the nationality of Christopher Columbus.

According to Manuel Rosa, a lecturer at Duke University, North Carolina, the explorer was in fact the son of Polish King Władysław III.

It has always been thought that King Władysław III fell in battle against the forces of the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Varna in 1444. According to Mr Rosa, however, the king managed to survive the battle unscathed and fled to the Portuguese island of Madeira where he lived out the rest of his life as a hermit and married a Portuguese noblewoman.

It was there that the exiled king bore a son – or so Mr Rosa's theory goes – who would later be credited with the discovery of America. In Mr Rosa's opinion, a conspiracy was in place to protect the identity of Columbus' royal father.

“The courts of Europe knew who he was and kept his secret for their own reasons,” he told The Daily Telegraph.

Mr Rosa says that he has uncovered a plethora of evidence lending support to his theory. First, the explorer's last will, which read “being I born in Genoa,” was apparently forged after Columbus' death. Secondly, the explorer's coat of arms is similar to that of the Polish king. And thirdly, he had "reddish-haired, fair skinned and blue eyed – all features commonly found in Poland.”

The historian is hoping to clear up the mystery by collecting DNA samples from Poland's dead kings and comparing them with the DNA of Columbus' son who lies in rest in Seville Cathedral.

“I have made a request to the Cathedral in Kraków to examine remains from the tomb of Władysław II, who could turn out to be the grandfather of Columbus. It would prove the truth of my theory,” said Mr Rosa.

It is a commonly held belief among historians that Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy, to Genoese parents. Some have said, however, that he was actually born in Spain.


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: 1492; ageofsail; ancientautopsies; catholic; christophercolumbus; columbus; columbusday; genoa; godsgravesglyphs; helixmakemineadouble; italian; italy; napl; poland; polish; spain; stefaniepowers; stephaniepowers
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Polish, Italian, Jewish, Portuguese, does it matter? He found his way back and changed the world. I still think he was Italian.
1 posted on 11/30/2010 3:45:16 PM PST by Coleus
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To: Coleus

2 posted on 11/30/2010 3:46:56 PM PST by grundle
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To: Matt_DZ_PL

What does our Polish friend think about this?


3 posted on 11/30/2010 3:49:26 PM PST by snippy_about_it (Looking for our Sam Adams)
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To: Coleus

What a joke! I remember a book a few years ago which claimed that Columbus was an illegitimate son of Portuguese royalty. Now Polish????


4 posted on 11/30/2010 3:53:01 PM PST by CivilWarguy
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To: Coleus

I don’t know any Polish people with red hair. And I’m a quarter Polish.

Doesn’t matter though.


5 posted on 11/30/2010 3:55:31 PM PST by ReneeLynn (Socialism is SO yesterday. Fascism, it*s the new black. Mmm Mmm Mmm.)
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To: Coleus
...the age-old mystery surrounding the nationality of Christopher Columbus.

The what?

6 posted on 11/30/2010 3:56:52 PM PST by SeeSharp
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To: Coleus

Yeah, right. Next you’re going to tell me that Obama is American.


7 posted on 11/30/2010 3:58:49 PM PST by paterfamilias
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To: Coleus

I guess he did think he was in China...

*rimshot*


8 posted on 11/30/2010 3:59:55 PM PST by VanDeKoik (1 million in stimulus dollars paid for this tagline!)
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To: SunkenCiv

Ping for an out there topic.


9 posted on 11/30/2010 4:02:16 PM PST by colorado tanker
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To: Coleus

I vote Italian.


10 posted on 11/30/2010 4:03:08 PM PST by Cicero (Marcus Tullius.)
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To: grundle

LOL! Oh Geeze.


11 posted on 11/30/2010 4:04:19 PM PST by RedMDer (Forward With Confidence!)
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To: Coleus

English: Christopher Columbus
Genoese: Christoffa Corombo
Italian: Cristoforo Colombo
Catalan: Cristòfor Colom
Spanish: Cristóbal Colón
Portuguese: Cristóvão Colombo
Latin: Christophorus Columbus


12 posted on 11/30/2010 4:04:19 PM PST by Cicero (Marcus Tullius.)
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To: Coleus

Well of course it matters! Columbus Day would become a Polish holiday.


13 posted on 11/30/2010 4:06:18 PM PST by Jack Black ( Whatever is left of American patriotism is now identical with counter-revolution.)
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To: Coleus
Next up:

Was Nicholas Copernicus Italian?

14 posted on 11/30/2010 4:06:38 PM PST by Verginius Rufus
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To: ReneeLynn

I am of Polish and Irish extraction, and have inherited red hair from both sides of the family. I don’t know which paternal ancestor had it, but my aunt is a redhead. On Mom’s side, my Polish Grandpa was also a blue-eyed redhead.

Several of Grandpa’s progeny (myself, my brother, and a bunch of cousins) also have red hair, though not carrot-red; our hair is more auburn.

Regards,


15 posted on 11/30/2010 4:19:22 PM PST by VermiciousKnid (Sic narro nos totus!)
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To: Verginius Rufus

No, he was Polish.


16 posted on 11/30/2010 4:24:27 PM PST by Elsiejay (.)
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To: colorado tanker; StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1010RD; 21twelve; 24Karet; ...

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Thanks colorado tanker.
"It has always been thought that King King Wladyslaw III fell in battle against the forces of the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Varna in 1444. According to Mr Rosa, however, the king managed to survive the battle unscathed and fled to the Portuguese island of Madeira where he lived out the rest of his life as a hermit and married a Portuguese noblewoman."
This is plausible because, as everyone knows, all Portuguese noblewomen of that time *dreamed* of marrying out-of-work fugitive Polish hermits.

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17 posted on 11/30/2010 4:34:58 PM PST by SunkenCiv (The 2nd Amendment follows right behind the 1st because some people are hard of hearing.)
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18 posted on 11/30/2010 4:40:47 PM PST by SunkenCiv (The 2nd Amendment follows right behind the 1st because some people are hard of hearing.)
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To: Elsiejay

Yes, I know that Copernicus was Polish. I figured that if this guy is trying to take a famous Italian and make him Polish, the logical next step was to take a famous Pole and make him Italian. At least Copernicus was in Italy at one point—I don’t think Columbus ever visited Poland.


19 posted on 11/30/2010 4:53:21 PM PST by Verginius Rufus
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To: Coleus; SunkenCiv
Was Christopher Columbus Polish?

How long was his sausage? Kielbasa is longer than Italian sausage, you see.

20 posted on 11/30/2010 5:24:23 PM PST by decimon
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