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ven to this day, there are those who question whether Columbus was truly Genoese. Some would pre-
fer him to be Catalan, Portuguese, Corsican, from Savona or other coastal areas, or from Piacenza or
Monferrato; these theories have been developed mainly from late sources and are linked to arguments
resulting from the “pleitos” [lawsuits] between the Castilian Crown and the admiral’s heirs. Some
would even like him to be Marrano or Islamic, in reference to a possible reconquest of Spain by Jerusalem, while
others believe Columbus belonged to the minor lineage of a Genoese “albergo”
1
—or was even the son of a pope.
But these theories are untenable. In the first case, his origin would be clear, because the surname of one born into
the founding family of a famous “albergo” would serve as indication; in the second case, it must be considered
that popes at that particular point of history certainly did not keep any secrets regarding their offspring.
In fact, those who might doubt whether, at that time and in that society, the son of a wool weaver could set
out to sea, become an admiral, and marry a Portuguese aristocrat, reveal their little familiarity with Genoese
history. Though these life circumstances might seem an unusual itinerary, the life of Columbus was very possi-
ble for an emigrant from a city of international preeminence and excellence at the time, and who was educated
in a particular context of the republican regime
2
that would guide his actions throughout life. Columbus, who
nevertheless defined himself as “a poor foreigner” at critical moments, was born and raised in a city that had been
continually led by great clans of global importance who controlled political and economic opportunities both
inside and outside its walls. Yet he steadfastly rejected and fought against any monocracies, those from outside
and those, with the name of Lordships and Principalities, that appeared on the peninsula. The role of Genoa, as
the main port in the Mediterranean and locale of the first European treasury, had made it an attractive place of
business for neighbors such as France, Milan, and Savoy.
The Genoese and Ligurian expansion, which during the Middle Ages was the largest in the East and West,
followed an elastic model that did not necessarily rely on direct settlements, but rather employed subtle forms
of acculturation which favored the primacy of the market, money, and investment over rigidly socioeconomic
or cultural incursions, effective proof of a globalization that began from afar. Columbus exported the features of
the original city-State, which invented and used its own legal, institutional, and social instruments, adapting them
to different systems, with substantial freedom of action that responded to a “neutrality” typical of the Genoese
of any time, and willing to go beyond any ideological frontier or official pact. This expansion favored a constant
migratory process that allowed the variation and development of settlements which extended from the Black Sea
to the Iberian Peninsula, from Flanders to China and the Americas.
Members of the Genoese elite, who represented the hub of a diffusion involving many migrants, played an
essential role inside and outside the city walls. This is the only way to understand the history of Columbus, his
CHAPTER 4
Christopher Columbus:
AMan between TwoWorlds
By Gabriella Airaldi
Professor of Medieval History at the University of Genoa
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