Columbus' true face

[airiefairie]

History is written by the winners - this is a well known principle. For example, October 11 was Columbus Day. Ever since the 18th century, Columbus' arrival on American soil in 1492 is being celebrated in the United States, all throughout Central America, the Caribbean, Spain, Argentina, Uruguay etc. But what is actually being celebrated? And if

Comments

[telemann]

Turns out Cristobal Coloms was Catalan too, not Italian. DNA tests on remains in the Seville, Spain cathedral also have confirmed it's Columbus' body.

[sophia_sadek]

Are they sure they have the right set of bones? It is easy for things like that to get mixed up, especially in the case of such a famous person.

[telemann]

Yes. Absolutely certain. 100 percent. That's what the DNA test proved anyway.

[sophia_sadek]

The DNA test only proves the nationality of the bones. It does not prove that the bones actually belonged to Columbus.

[htpcl]

We have a similar case here. Some bones of St. John the Baptist were claimed to have been buried in a box and recently found near Sozopol on the Black Sea coast. All that was verified was the age (it corresponded to the presumed time of John). Some script found in the local Byzantine church claimed those were bones from John. Does it make it John? Certainly not. It make it "very probably someone whose description corresponds to John".

I could take some bones from the cemetery and put them in a box and write an inscription that "here lay Hristo Botev, fighter for national freedom of Bulgaria". Are the bones 150 years old? Yes. Does the script say it's Botev? Yes. Is it Botev? Well, not really. But people would believe it is.

Curiously, when called out on the obvious fact that the St. John discovery in Sozopol came very timely when our tourism industry needed an urgent boost, our Minister of Culture yelled back at the journalists, "Why do you hate your country? Don't you want our tourism industry to prosper?" End of story.

It's never been about the veracity of the discovery. It's always been about economic benefit and/or political/social influence (and hence, again economic benefit).

/cool story bro, and all that

[mahnmut]

Gee, even if 1% of the claimed findings of St.John bodily remnants were true, it would turn out he had three heads, five arms and nine legs with six toes on each foot!

[htpcl]

Since it's most likely a mythological creature anyway, I wouldn't be surprised.

[anfalicious]

My understanding was that most historians were happy with the notion that there was some dude called some variant of the name John who poured water on peoples' heads in a religious type ceremony.

[peristaltor]

And if the all the wood and iron of pieces of the True Cross and Nails (collected and revered as relics) were collected, the could probably build a heck of a cathedral!

[airiefairie]

Oh I hope you would not have to go to the cemetery to steal bones! =O

[yes_justice]

Um:

http://articles.latimes.com/2006/may/20/world/fg-columbus20

A forensic team led by Spanish geneticist Jose Antonio Lorente compared DNA from bones buried in a cathedral in Seville with that from remains known to be from Columbus' brother Diego, who also is buried in the southern Spanish city.

"There is absolute matchup between the mitochondrial DNA we have studied from Columbus' brother and Christopher Columbus," Castro said in a telephone interview.

[htpcl]

Yes, I'm immensely glad for him.

[yes_justice]

Just to say their case is a bit more solid in that they have a relative to compare against.

[telemann]

No, you're quite wrong. Again. The mitochondrial DNA is a perfect match with his brother's remains, and the provenance of Christopher Columbus remains (and his brother's) is beyond any doubt.

[sophia_sadek]

It is good that someone is convinced.

[telemann]

Yeah, science, it's my friend.