Friday, September 03, 2010.
Christopher Columbus Death
It was Christopher Columbus son, Fernando, who said that his father died from gout. Who knows if this was the case as in Christopher Columbus day that term was used for all joint complaints. More modern analysis claims that Christopher Columbus probably died of a strange illness called Reiter's Syndrome. It was May 20, 1506, only 2 years since his final voyage that Christopher Columbus died. He was Fifty Four and his place of death was in Valladolid, Spain.It wasn't just in life that Christopher Columbus had interesting adventures but the events surrounding his burial, or maybe we should say 'burials', is another tale of twists. Initially he was placed in a Valladolid cemetery but within not much time his remains where taken to Seville and in 1526 upon his oldest boy Diego's death he was laid beside Christopher Columbus.
It was Christopher Columbus daughter-in-law, the recent widow of Diego, who requested that their remains be taken to Hispaniola and buried in the cathedral of Santo Domingo. Her desire was granted by the authorities and Columbus was once again travelling to The New World with his son. As asked the body of Christopher Columbus was placed under the right hand side of the altar and for 2 centuries lay undisturbed.
Matters where going to take an interesting turn when Spain officially lost control of Hispaniola. It was the French in 1795 who took possession of it which must have left a bad taste in Spanish mouths as what they had built up was now considered an integral part of their rule; this included the burial of Christopher Columbus who was now thought of as an official treasure of their kingdom. Before the Spanish were forced to leave they followed the original instructions concerning Christopher Columbus burial place and after liberating him from the ground they escaped to Cuba and found a new resting place for him. Eventually Cuba claimed freedom as a self-governing country and were released from Spanish rule, this happened about a century later. Logically the remains needed to be taken elsewhere. From their resting in Havana, Cuba for a century they crossed back over the Atlantic to Seville, which was Christopher Columbus second resting place. To this day you can see the grave of Christopher Columbus in the Seville cathedral.
Take a moment to consider perception. In one instance people assumed that the 'right' side was from facing the alter, and it seems that at another time 'right' was considered as facing away from the Alter. Again Christopher Columbus caused a stir from the grave in 1877.
It was that year in Santo Domingo that certain repairs were being made to the cathedral. They unearthed a tomb from what people considered to be the 'left' side of the Alter. The tomb enclosed the remains of a human being and even more shockingly it had the name of Christopher Columbus clearly marked on it. At this point peoples perception changed to the new understanding of which way you're looking changes everything!
This begs the question then whose body did they move to Havana and then later to Seville? The answer is easy, it was Christopher Columbus son Diego who had been 'rescued' and moved about. The strangest thing is that this leaves Christopher Columbus with two tombs, one in Seville and one in Santo Domingo. Although this does seem somewhat fitting as he did bridge the two worlds. Scientists have examined the remains at Seville and from the bones have easily ascertained that it must in fact be Diego. Other theories have been brought forward about the whereabouts of his body but none can be substantiated. It is clear that Christopher Columbus true burial place is at the cathedral in Santo Domingo.
