“Everything about the Catalan Columbus” – a book to explain the belief that the explorer was from Catalonia

Barcelona (ACN).- Was Christopher Columbus a Catalan? Professor Ramon Navarro publishes a new book that describes the theories of all the authors on the subject who over the last three generations have argued that the explorer who discovered America was actually from Catalonia, and not from Italy as commonly believed. Navarro aims to explain these theories “clearly” starting with the work of Luis Ulloa in the 1920s. The author says his book is not “against any other book that deals with history from a scientific point of view”, although he admits many people have said “silly things” about Columbus.

Ramon Navarro, a retired teacher and Professor, explains that there is a “gap” in historical studies and that Catalan theories about the origins of Columbus still have not been developed. His book, ‘Everything about the Catalan Columbus’, aims to explain why some researchers believe that the explorer was from Catalonia and not from Italy. “This has to be explained”, he said in an interview with CNA. According to Navarro, Colombus could have been Catalan because his surname has its origins in the region, there are some Catalan references in some of the writings that he did in Spanish or Latin, and he referred to the Spanish Catholic Kings as his “natural sirs”. Navarro argues that there was in the “interest” of many to reject the fact that Columbus was Catalan. “He hid that fact, and King Ferran also hid it.” And why did they not say he was a Catalan? Because the king could not spend the money from Castilla freely, and he also would not be able to receive money from Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia or Mallorca, says Navarro. Navarro says the story of Columbus is “unique” because it is very difficult to write a biography about him. “We don’t know where he was from, we don’t have proof either, but only a very strong suspicion – than the theory that he was from Italy”.