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[edit] Portuguese theory

According to this theory, Christopher Columbus would have been born in Portugal, in a small village called Cuba, in the Alentejo region, in 1448. He was an ilegitimate son of a noble man, D. Fernando, who was the first duke of Beja and son of King Edward I. His mother was Isabel Gonçalves Zarco, daughter of the man who discovered the islands of Madeira, João Gonçalves Zarco. She got pregnant accidentally in the royal court and fled to Cuba, where she had her child. A few years later, mother and child went to live in the island of Porto Santo. The child's name was Salvador Fernandes Zarco, Columbus' real name.

Time went by and young Salvador began to be interested in maritime related matters. Aged 14, he was already engaged in trips in Portuguese caravels, exploring the African coast. Those trips provided him with valuable knowledge he would use in his later life. At that time, King John II issued a decree forbidding all foreigners from serving on Portuguese ships. Only portuguese men, like Columbus, could serve. His service in Portuguese ships continued for several years.

He married Filipa Moniz de Perestrelo, a young noble woman, who was the daughter of the governor of Madeira of those days. The marriage took place in the island of Porto Santo. He could only have been of noble origin, otherwise the marriage could not have happened. They had a legitimate child called Diogo.

In the late 15th century, the seas were dominated by Portugal. Portugal's King John II wanted to keep that supremacy. The treaty of Toledo had already divided the world between Portugal and Spain, leaving the exploration of Africa to the Portuguese. However, Brazil was unofficially discovered and was actually inside Spain's side of the treaty. It was a promising land and awakened more interest than north american islands, which were in the portuguese area of the treaty. The line of the treaty had to be changed with Spain's agreement. This could be done with the help of Salvador Fernandes Zarco, under a secret name: Cristóvão Colon, portuguese for Christopher Columbus. Columbus then went to Spain to try to make the spanish kings believe he had a bad relationship with King John II and to try to convince them to support his trip to India through the west. The Spanish kings knew him because they were relatives. They would not have talked to someone who did not belong to the same social class. He manages to have them finance his trip and makes his initial discoveries.

On his way back, Columbus made a strategic stop in Lisbon, where he met King John II to let him know about the islands he had just discovered. Columbus then went to Spain, where his new discoveries were celebrated. King John II claimed the new territories, as they belonged to the portuguese side of the treaty, pretending to send a considerable fleet to claim them. This forced Spain to sign a new treaty, in 1494 the treaty of Tordesillas, which divided the world in two halves. Portugal got Brazil, Africa and the real India. Spain got Columbus' islands. The new treaty was approved by Pope Alexander VI. The same Pope wrote four papal bulls regarding Columbus' discoveries. When Columbus' name is mentioned in those documents, the ancient portuguese version is used: Crhistofõm Colon.

An evidence of Columbus' portuguese origins can be found in the names he gave to the places he discovered. More than 40 portuguese names can be found. Among them are Cuba (after his native village), Salvador (his real name), Bocas das Serpentes (snakes' mouths), Santarém, Belém, Mourão and Redondo. Many of them represent names of places in the Alentejo region, where he was likely born, in Portugal.

References:

• Barreto, Mascarenhas (1997) "Colombo" português: Provas documentais. Nova Arrancada
• Barreto, Mascarenhas (1992) The Portuguese Columbus: Secret Agent of King John II. Palgrave Macmillan
• Da Silva, Manuel Luciano (1989) Columbus was 100% Portuguese. Bristol County Medical Center.
• Da Silva, Manuel Luciano (2006) Cristóvão Colon [Colombo] era Português. Quidnovi