Was Christopher Columbus really a Catalan Spaniard and not a Genoese Italian? That's the thesis aired in the Discovery Channel's Secrets from the Grave. Why would Columbus conceal his ancestry? The documentary theorizes that Columbus played a role in an uprising against the Spanish monarchy, a fact Columbus necessarily hid in his attempts to gain the patronage of Ferdinand and Isabella. Evidence supporting the radical revision include Columbus's letters, none of which were written in Italian. Even Columbus's letters to his own brother were written in Spanish. Why would two Italians converse in Spanish? I don't have a good explanation. The Discovery Channel documentary, broadcast today at 1 p.m., suggests that the brothers communicated in Spanish because they were Spaniards.

There was no such thing as Spanish. Did Columbus write in Catalan or Castilian (what we would now call Spanish)?

Maybe Columbus was Jewish.

Ryan: Are you trying to tell me that in Columbus's day they called the Spanish Channel the Castilian Channel? The language we call Spanish now existed 500 years ago, even if they called it something else. You note that that language is what we now would call Spanish. Since I live now and not then, I will call it Spanish too--because that's what it is.

Obi: I have read folks speculate that Columbus was Jewish, citing that as a reason for him obfuscating his origins. Like the Columbus as a Spaniard story, I have no idea if it's true but it makes for an interesting discussion.

Ryan,

Why not just cut to the chase and call it (evolved) Latin?

Dan, I wasn't criticizing your use of the term Spanish, but the distinction between Castilian and Catalan is relevant when the documentary suggests that he was a Catalan. His letters would support the documentary's thesis if they were written in Catalan, but not if they were written in Spanish (Castilian).

Im surprised HeHe hasnt rang in on this conversation (because its not political). HeHe: "Maybe Columbus was a homosexual, you rethuglicans ever think about that? You hypocritic b@stards! You racist republicans are all the same! Always bashing and putting down anybody thats not white!"

R.R.W:
Good sentiment but your replica post is far too concise and readable to pass as something written by the unnamable one. Make it sound like something written by an angry second grader on crack and you'll have it nailed.

Don't tell me youz guys miss him! Although, a comfortable sense of superiority does creep in when reading his inane posts.