Polish King in Exile Was Christopher Columbus' True Father

BADAJOZ, Spain, Nov. 26, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Christopher Columbus was a Royal Prince, son of a Portuguese noble lady and exiled Polish King Vladislav III, according to Columbus' new biography, "COLON. La Historia Nunca Contada" (COLUMBUS. The Untold Story), by Manuel Rosa, just released in Spain.

The author has already piqued the interest of a National Geographic producer and is currently in Portugal and Spain taking part in conferences and TV documentaries about his research.

It has taken 20 years of slow methodical investigation, but this historian now says he has proof that the history of Christopher Columbus included intentional lies to protect the identity of the discoverer's father.

In formulating this new argument, the author utilizes medieval documents and chronicles from multiple kingdoms to cross-reference historical events and personalities, plus ancient genealogy and heraldry, explaining the whole scenario in a scientifically investigative fashion, thus garnering the support of many scholars:

• World-renowned Prof. Joaquim Verissimo Serrao, ex-Dean of the University of Lisbon, who wrote the Preface, declares that he "agrees one hundred per cent."
• "This book will forever change the way we view our history," says Prof. Jose Carlos Calazans of Lusofona University in Lisbon.  
• Prof. Antonio Vicente, History Professor at Lisbon University, says, "For the first time ever a book was written about Columbus without starting from any preconceived certainties and every piece of the puzzle is explained point by point."

"I never started out to look for Columbus," says Rosa, who works at Duke University in North Carolina. "It was Columbus who came looking for me." His journey began fortuitously with the translation of Mascarenhas Barreto's 1988 book about a Portuguese secret agent.

Like the rest of the world, Rosa thought the history of Columbus was settled long ago. But this new book, by "the sheer weight of the evidence presented makes the old tale of a Genoese wool-weaver so obviously unbelievable that only a fool would continue to insist on it."

Facts Rosa disputes with solid, researched documentation include:

• Columbus was married to a high noble Portuguese lady in 1479, 15 years before the first voyage.
• Both he and his brother had direct access to four European courts - hardly the life of Genoese peasants.
• A last will dated 1498 in which Columbus is said to have written "being I born in Genoa" is now proven to be a forgery as a result of this investigation.

"'Another nutty conspiracy theory!' That's what I first supposed as I started to read ... I now believe that if Columbus is guilty of huge fraud carried out over two decades against his patrons," wrote professor James T. McDonough, Jr., who taught at St. Joseph's University for 31 years.

Manuel Rosa can be reached via email: [email protected]

This press release was issued through eReleases(R).  For more information, visit eReleases Press Release Distribution at http://www.ereleases.com.

SOURCE Manuel Rosa