Some of the world’s leading DNA researchers are shocked by how the results of the analysis of the alleged remains of Christopher Columbus have been presented. José Antonio Lorente — a forensic scientist from the University of Granada in Spain, who was responsible for this research — claimed that Columbus was likely a Sephardic Jew who lived on Spain’s Mediterranean coast.

This claim challenges the dominant historical view, which holds that Columbus was Genoese. Lorente’s hypothesis is reportedly based on a partial DNA analysis of the supposed remains of Columbus and his son, Hernando.