Christopher Columbus: A Portuguese Spy? The son of a Polish King?

According to a new book just released in Spain by Manuel Rosa, called Colón: La Historia Nunca Contada (Columbus: The Untold Story), Columbus secretly served the Portuguese crown, not Spain.  He was also not of Genoese origin but rather a Royal Prince, son to exiled Polish King Vladislav III, and had a wife of Portuguese Nobility.

The researcher/historian, who works for Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina, after 20 years of investigation, presents solid research and sources to back up all of his claims; clams which could shake the foundations of modern and Spanish history.

Manuel Rosa painstakingly combed through medieval documents, chronicles from various kingdoms, historical events, personalities, ancient genealogy and heraldry to cross-reference information and draw new conclusions about this mysterious historical figure. 

The author had not set out to research the story but stumbled upon the topic when translating Mascarenhas Barreto's 1988 book about a Portuguese secret agent.

The following are some of the author's conclusions about the Christopher Columbus story:

• Columbus was not an Italian Genoese weaver, but rather a person of nobility with access to the Portuguese Court and the inner circle of Juan II of Spain.
• Columbus served Portugal, rather than Spain, as a spy and a sailor.
• Columbus knew where he was going on the voyage to America as documents prove that the Portuguese had arrived to parts of Canada and South America previous to the 1492 Columbus "discovery" voyage.
• Columbus' real identity was occulted by the Portuguese crown as well as by Columbus himself.
• Columbus' real name was Segismundo Henriques, son of Ladislao III, King of Poland and Hungary, defeated by the Turks in the battle of Varna in 1444, and exiled in Madeira Portugal.
• King Ladislao adopted the common name of Enrique Alemán in Portugal where he fathered Columbus and other children in Magdalena del Mar, Madeira.
• Columbus married a woman of Portuguese Nobility in 1479, 15 years prior to his first ship voyage.
• The supposed "last will" of Columbus dated in 1498 is a forgery. In the will, Columbus states that his place of birth was Genoa.

Manuel Rosa claims that his version of history could be potentially proved if the remains Columbus and Ladislao were to be genetically tested. 

The book is a scientifically presented illustration of the life of the "real" Christopher Columbus which as already gained recognition and support by many scholars.