Lies, Forgeries, and False History - False Last Will of Columbus

A will without a way. A critical review of how the Christopher Columbus Mayorazgo of 1498 continues to perpetrate a fraud against historians and history. (RI §416163)

ABSTRACT

The Last Will and Testament of Christopher Columbus dated 1498, known as the Mayorazgo (Majorat), materialized in Spain decades after the discoverer died. The document was presented during the Columbus inheritance lawsuit by an Italian imposter named Balthazar Colombo who was not a family relation. The document includes the statement “being I born in Genoa,” which has been utilized as the crucial proof that the Discoverer of America was born in Genoa, Italy. However, neither the contents of the Mayorazgo nor the circumstances of its creation pass scientific scrutiny. It turns out to be a fraudulent document invented by Balthazar Colombo in his shameless effort to steal from the discoverer’s legitimate heirs the immense inheritance of the Dukedom of Veragua, Admiral of the Indies and Marquis of Jamaica.

I. Colón vs. Colombo: planting the seeds of deceit. II. The Problematic Mayorazgo of 1498. III. Wronged Historians.

Keywords:  Christopher Columbus Last Will; Majorat of 1498; Balthazar Colombo as impostor; Columbus Inheritance Lawsuit; Succession to the House of Veragua; Fraud and Forgery in Medieval Tribunals; Credibility of the Raccolta Colombiana; Legal Battles of the Admiral of Indies; Misgivings of Genoese Columbus; Colón vs. Colombo vs. Columbus.;