Parallels and Identities between Christopher Columbus and Joan Cristòfol Colom i Bertran

 

The study of the true personality of Christopher Columbus (Cristòfol Colom, in Catalan) has revealed a series of biographical details about the protagonist that precisely match the biography of a Catalan noble named Joan Colom y Bertran, from the Colom family of Barcelona, an ancient Catalan lineage with a considerable number of highly prominent figures linked to the history of Catalonia in the 14th and 15th centuries.

The following table shows a list of the parallels between the official figure and the Catalan noble, well-documented in the archives of the Late Middle Ages.

	Christopher Columbus (genoese)		Joan Cristòfol Colom i Bertran (catalan)
1	Has an heir son named Diego	1	Has an heir son named Jaume
2	Has a cleric brother named Diego	2	Has a cleric brother named Jaume
3	Has a brother named Lluís (Synod of Sto. Domingo, second half of the 17th century)	3	Has a brother named Lluís
4	Named Margarita Island because his wife was named Margarita (J. López de Velasco)	4	His first wife is Margarida d'Alòs
5	His father-in-law is named Pere (F. Colom)	5	His father-in-law is Pere de Coïmbra
6	His brother-in-law is a sailor named Pere	6	His brother-in-law is named Pere-Antoni d'Alòs, consul of Barcelona
7	Served René of Anjou, king of the Catalans	7	Served René of Anjou
8	The Borromei document says he was really named Joan	8	His name is Joan
8.1	In France, he is mentioned as Jehan Coullon
8.2	In Portugal, he is called João Collom
8.3	He made an expedition to the Arctic. Latin texts mention him as Johannes Kolonus or Kolnus
8.4	He signs documents with a J intertwined with an S, abbreviation of Johannes
8.5	He has a granddaughter named Joana
9	His parents were merchants and conducted their business by sea	9	The Colom-Bertran family are merchants and own ships
10	Has a relative named Joan Antoni	10	Has a relative named Antoni Joan
11	Refers to the Catholic Monarchs as "my natural lords"	11	The Catholic Monarchs are his natural lords
12	In his coat of arms, he has a red band with two cotises	12	In his arms, there is a red band with two golden cotises, heraldic symbol of the Bertran family
13	In legal disputes, it is stated that his family arms are a silver dove on a blue field	13	His heraldic sign is a silver dove on a blue field
14	Has a sister-in-law named Violante	14	His brother Lluís's first wife is Violant de Mont-ros
15	Went to Palos to find the Yáñez or Anes brothers	15	The Anes or Eanes brothers are in Pals and the Empordà region
16	King Ferdinand mentions him as captain	16	He is a captain
17	In Portugal, he moves in the court of John II, universal heir to the Catalan Kingdoms of Peter the Constable	17	Served the cause of Peter the Constable of Portugal, king of the Catalans from 1464 to 1466
18	Also in Portugal, he has companions such as the Azambuja, Silva, Anes, Ateyde families	18	In his same faction are the Azambuja, Silva, Anes, and Ateyde or Teide families
19	King Ferdinand mentions him as "nobilem virum"	19	He is a knight and a noble
20	He is a viceroy and general governor, positions non-existent in Castile	20	He is a man of the Council of State, with positions similar to viceroy and general governor
21	He is an admiral	21	He is a vice-admiral and admiral
22	He is an old man, with white hair, like a Roman senator, when he returns to Barcelona in 1493 (B. Cases)	22	In 1493, he would be about 79 years old
23	Before dying, he compares himself to the centenarian Abraham	23	He dies at the age of 92
24	Has goods and properties that he leaves to his children as inheritance, in territories under Catholic Monarchs' jurisdiction	24	Has a house and properties in Catalonia
25	Lives in the Santa Maria neighborhood of "Seville", but his house has never been found	25	Lives in the Santa Maria del Mar neighborhood in Barcelona
26	Writes that he is not the first admiral in his family	26	Has admirals among his relatives Colom, Casanova, Bertran, Cabrera, and Cardona
27	Legend says that, on returning from the New World, he passed through Badalona and slept at Mas Sunyol	27	Mas Sunyol was owned by Joan Colom i Bertran
28	The Sanxis and Santángel helped him in the first expedition	28	The Sanxis and Santángel have business dealings with the Colom family of Barcelona
29	The intermediary between him and the Monarchs, in preparing the first voyage, is a Johan Peres, an astronomer and courtier living near "Palos"	29	Mossèn Joan Pere or Peres is the author of the Astronomical Tables, a courtier, and resident of the Molí de Pals
30	Diego stays with his in-laws while he is in Portugal	30	Jaume lives with his in-laws because he is in exile for political reasons
31	Amerigo Vespucci or Despuche is one of his trusted cartographers. This cosmographer owned the map by Gabriel Vallseca	31	The Despuig and Vallseca families are relatives of the Colom family of Barcelona. The Vallseca map was held by Cardinal Despuig

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ARTICLE from 08-10-2003.

Translation of the Institut Nova Història (INH) website.

Author: Jordi Bilbeny, head of the dept. research of the Institut Nova Història (INH).

Read the original article in Catalan | Castilian Spanish version

[Image above: Detail of the pictorial work titled "La Virgen de los Navegantes" (The Virgin of the Navigators) (1531 -1536), by Alejo Fernández, with a portrait of the Catalan Cristófol Colom, discoverer of America, in the foreground, the first character on the left, with a beard i golden dress.]