Secrets & Lies Finds Duke of Beja Perhaps Fathered Christopher Columbus

Summary: Secrets & Lies finds the Duke of Beja perhaps fathered Christopher Columbus, according to the documentary's DNA test of one of the duke's descendants.

Fernando, Duke of Beja and suggested father of Christopher Columbus; portrait of Infante dô fernãdo by Portuguese miniaturist António de Holanda (1480?1556); decorative elements by João Menelau, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Secrets & Lies finds the Duke of Beja perhaps fathered Christopher Columbus, according to a comparison of the deceased explorer's DNA with a DNA test conducted on one of the duke's living descendants, the Duke of Braganza, for the documentary.

American underwater explorer Dave Horner, American author and documentary filmmaker Paul Perry and Portuguese Canadian author, archaeologist and historian Carlos Evaristo examined the parentage of late 15th and early 16th century explorer Christopher Columbus (Catalan: Cristòfor Colom; Italian: Cristoforo Colombo; Portuguese: Cristóvão Colombo; Spanish: Cristóbal Colón; ca. 1446/1451-May 20, 1506) in their co-hosted documentary, "Secrets and Lies of Christopher Columbus." Released in 2018 by Sakkara Productions (United States) and Crown Pictures (Portugal), the documentary quested three conundrums pertaining to the explorer's birth, his possibly Jewish ethnicity and his hypothetical secret agenting for Portugal's King John II (Portuguese: João II; Spanish: Juan II de Portugal; March 3, 1455-Oct. 25, 1495).

Portuguese writer Patrocínio Ribeiro (July 9, 1882-Dec. 2, 1923) is credited as the first proposer of a noble Portuguese identity for Christopher Columbus. He presented his proposal in two publications: O Carácter Misterioso de Colombo e o problema da sua nacionalidade ("The Mysterious Character of Columbus and the Problem of His Nationality"), published in 1916, and A Nacionalidade Portuguesa de Cristovão Colombo ("The Portuguese Nationality of Christopher Columbus"), published posthumously in 1927. The three co-hosts of Secrets & Lies also reference Portuguese writer Augusto Mascarenhas Barreto (Augusto Cassiano Neves Mascarenhas de Andrade Barreto; Jan. 27, 1923-Jan. 3, 2017), who published the results of his decades-long research of Columbus in 1988 in O Português Cristóvão Colombo, Agente Secreto do Rei D. João II ("The Portuguese Christopher Columbus, Secret Agent of King John II").

Barreto concluded that the explorer's real birth name was Salvador Fernandes Zarco, and his birthplace was Cuba, Beja District (Distrito de Beja), Baixo Alentejo province (Província do Baixo Alentejo), southern Portugal. He was fathered by Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu and Beja (Fernando, Infante de Portugal, Duque de Beja e Duque de Viseu; Nov. 17, 1433-Sep. 18, 1470), already married, since 1447, to Beatrice of Portugal (Beatriz de Portugal; June 13, 1430-Sep. 30, 1506). His unmarried mother was Isabel Gonçalves Zarco da Câmara, a daughter of João Gonçalves Zarco da Câmara (ca. 1390-Nov. 21, 1471), the Portuguese explorer who co-discovered the northeastern Atlantic islands Porto Santo in 1418 and Madeira in 1419.

The Duke of Beja and his wife had founded The Royal Monastery of Our Lady of the Conception (O Real Mosteiro de Nossa Senhora da Conceição) in 1459, according to the website for the convent, now the Beja Regional Museum (Museu Regional de Beja). The duke, his wife and Diogo (Infante Diogo of Viseu (1450–1484), the second of their three sons, were buried in the convent, now the Beja Regional Museum (Museu Regional de Beja), also known as Museu Rainha D. Leonor, in honor of the duke's mother, Eleanor of Aragon, Queen of Portugal (Catalan: Elionor d'Aragó; Portuguese: Leonor de Aragão; May 2, 1402-Feb. 19, 1445).

The Secrets & Lies team aimed to retrieve the Duke of Beja's DNA. Evaristo's viewing the inside of the duke's marble sarcophagus with an endoscopic camera, rather than removing the heft lid, revealed the absence of remains. The empty sarcophagus surprised the team, as Evaristo noted the lack of any documented removal of the duke's remains.

Columbus's hypothesized paternal parentage placed him as grandson of Edward I, King of Portugal (Duarte I de Portugal; Oct. 31, 1391-Sep. 9, 1438), whose reign began Aug. 14, 1433. Duarte I reigned as the second member of the House of Aviz (Casa de Avis), also known as Joanine Dynasty (Dinastia Joanina). Duarte I was succeeded by his younger brother, Afonso V (Jan. 15, 1432-Aug. 28, 1481), who would have been Columbus's great uncle. Afonso V's son, John II (João II; March 3, 1455-Oct. 25, 1495), who reigned as the fourth Joanine monarch, would have been the explorer's first cousin once removed.

The hypothesized royal genealogy for Columbus impelled the three co-hosts of Secrets & Lies to seek DNA retrieval from a first or second generation relative of the Duke of Beja. Their DNA candidate, Miguel de Paz, Hereditary Prince of Portugal and Prince of Asturias (Miguel da Paz, Príncipe de Portugal e das Astúrias; Aug. 23, 1498-July 19, 1500), was the son of John II's first cousin and successor, Manuel I (May 31, 1469-Dec. 13, 1521). Unfortunately, their request for exhumation of Miguel de Paz from his lead-lined, marble sarcophagus in the Royal Chapel of Granada (Capilla Real de Granada) was denied.

Dom Duarte Pio (second right), Duke of Braganza, head of House of Braganza (Casa de Braganza), claimant to defunct Portuguese throne and possible relative of Christopher Columbus, with his wife, Isabel de Herédia (Isabel Inês de Castro Curvello de Herédia de Bragança; born Nov. 22, 1966), and their three children (left to right), Infante Dinis, Duke of Porto (born Nov. 25, 1999); Infanta Maria Francisca, Duchess of Coimbra (born March 3, 1997); eldest son Dom Afonso de Santa Maria (born 25 March 1996); Sintra, Greater Lisbon region, Portuguese Riviera, central Portugal: Monarquia Portuguesa, via Facebook Feb. 10, 2021

Despite two failed DNA retrievals in their attempts for Columbian genealogical matches, the three co-hosts received promising news from Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza (Portuguese: Duarte Pio de Bragança; born 15 May 1945), whose ancestry includes Columbus's possible father, Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu and Beja. The documentary's scientific collaborator, Professor José Antonio Lorente Acosta of southern Spain's University of Granada (Spanish: Universidad de Granada, UGR), had tested a sample of the Duke of Braganza's DNA. Professor Lorente, who has been researching Columbus's DNA since 2003, noted "some DNA connection" between the Duke of Braganza and Christopher Columbus.

The documentary on "Secrets and Lies of Christopher Columbus" concluded with the recognition of the uncleared, yet not dead-ended, mystery of Columbian ancestry and of the likelihood of continued research.

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Fernando, Duke of Beja and suggested father of Christopher Columbus; portrait of Infante dô fernãdo by Portuguese miniaturist António de Holanda (1480?1556); decorative elements by João Menelau, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Infante_D._Fernando,_Duque_de_Viseu_(1433-1470)_-_Genealogia_de_D._Manuel_Pereira,_3.º_conde_da_Feira_(1534).png

Dom Duarte Pio (second right), Duke of Braganza, head of House of Braganza (Casa de Braganza), claimant to defunct Portuguese throne and possible relative of Christopher Columbus, with his wife, Isabel de Herédia (Isabel Inês de Castro Curvello de Herédia de Bragança; born Nov. 22, 1966), and their three children (left to right), Infante Dinis, Duke of Porto (born Nov. 25, 1999); Infanta Maria Francisca, Duchess of Coimbra (born March 3, 1997); eldest son Dom Afonso de Santa Maria (born 25 March 1996); Sintra, Greater Lisbon region, Portuguese Riviera, central Portugal: Monarquia Portuguesa, via Facebook Feb. 10, 2021, @ https://www.facebook.com/561950930546209/posts/4942756205798971/

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