What question did this study set out to answer?

The central question is whether Columbus originated from the island of Chios, examining its historical neglect.

June 18, 2026Open Access

Christopher Columbus. Birthplace and Origin. The 2 Most Likely Theories .

Key Points

The central question is whether Columbus originated from the island of Chios, examining its historical neglect.
Analyzed historical narratives and historiographic trends related to Columbus's origins.
Reviewed archival research initiated by Ugo Salvagnini and continued by later scholars.
Investigation of the socio-political context of the Greek Diaspora and its impact on Columbus's identity.
Ugo Salvagnini was the first to introduce Chios as a possible birthplace in 1892 during Columbus's 400th anniversary celebrations.
Scholarly interest in Chios's connection to Columbus has evolved over the years but remains inconclusive, as evidenced by ongoing discussions by Ruth G. Wolper in 1982.
The lack of organized research during Ottoman rule hindered the identification of Greek origins, complicating Columbus's ethnic background.

Abstract

HOW LIKELY IS THE THEORY THAT, IT WAS BORN ON THE ISLAND OF CHIOS? ***WHERE DID HE DISCOVER THE THEORIES AND MAPS, THAT CONVINCED HIM A CONTINENT EXISTED BEYOND THE ATLANTIC? A UNIQUE AND EXTRAORDINARILY FASCINATING STORY FOLLOWS. Stefasnosotiriou.wordpress.com INTRODUCTION * The Theory of Columbus's Chian origin and Its historiographical fate. * Why did the theory that Columbus originated from the island of Chios fail to attract the attention of later European historiography and come to be regarded as neglected by researchers? * After the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, the Greek world ceased to function as the political center shaping global developments. Many Greek scholars left Constantinople and moved to northern Italy, providing the initial and significant intellectual impetus for the Renaissance. At the same time, Byzantine soldiers enlisted in large numbers as mercenaries in Western states, mainly in the central and north Italian city-states, while Greek sailors initially manned the fleets of the Venetians and the Genoese, and later those of the Spanish and the Portuguese. In the sources of the period after 15 century, most of these individuals are recorded under Latin names and are identified as being of Italian, Spain or Ottoman origin, a fact that complicates the identification of their ethnic background. Greek lands remained under Ottoman rule particularly, for approximately seven centuries, and within this context no organized research developed concerning the Greek Diaspora presence in the West. As a result, the possible Chian dimension of Columbus's origin was overlooked. * It was not until 1892, during the celebrations marking the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America, that the Italian Lawyer & Archivist Ugo Salvagnini presented research based primarily on French archives systematically (and later on other European sources), placing Chios for the first time in the "race" of Columbus's possible birthplaces. * In 1944, Seraphim Kanoutas, an American lawyer & archivist, continued Salvagnini's work, seeking to strengthen the related argumentation. * More recently, 1982, the academic Ruth G. Wolper continued the research, for the National Geohraphic scientific community, bringing Columbus closer to Chios, though not conclusively.

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