Heritage Surprise

    Christopher Columbus was not Italian, according to recent research. Rather, he was of the Sephardic Jewish tradition in Spain, and traveled westward to find a new route to the homeland of his people as well as for Spanish Muslims.
   So says a new study by Spanish researchers.
   The goal was to evade the Spanish Inquisition, which was at its height in 1492, under the leadership of Ferdinand and Isabella, the new royalty in Spain.
   (Didn't expect that, did you? But nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.)
   The plan formulated was to transfer Jews and Muslims out of Spain and back to their traditional homeland in the Middle East. That was backed up by the knowledge that the world was round, and taking the westward route would bypass territory controlled by Roman Catholics in Italy. This was supported by the belief that the planet was small enough to enable a roundabout route to the homeland.
   This belief supported the explorer's belief that India as part of his voyage, and that's why the people in the Americas are called "Indians."
   The Spanish government plan, led by Ferdinand and Isabella, was to persuade all Jewish and Muslim people in Spain at the time to either convert to Christianity or face deportation. But rather than send the deportees across the Mediterranean to their traditional homeland in the Middle East, the suggestion was to ship them westward and around the globe. It was known at the time that the world was indeed round, but that it was much smaller. That's why, when Columbus arrived in the Americas, he thought had arrived in India, and called the people he encountered "Indians."
   Columbus himself was not Italian, as many now believe, but of the Sephardic Jewish tradition. His goal was to evade the Spanish Inquisition, which was at its height in 1492, under the leadership of Ferdinand and Isabella.
   The tradition of Italian-Americans to honor Columbus as the explorer who discovered America dates back only to the late 19th Century in New York City, when Italian-Americans were under severe discrimination, and a priest came up with the suggestion that the explorer was Italian, and therefore newcomers to America would honor him and celebrate their right to be here.
   At the time, bias against those of Italian heritage was as strong as earlier bias against Irish newcomers. Similar bigotry existed in America later against Japanese American citizens as World War II began, and even now against those of the Hispanic tradition who come the U.S. seeking jobs and security.
   Oddly, those who are the loudest in their condemnation of newcomers are themselves first-generation descendants of those who come to America seeking opportunity.
   "Send me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. I lift my lamp beside the golden door."