Madrid: A Spanish historian claims to have resolved the true identity of the 15th century explorer Christopher Columbus - his real name was Peter and he hailed from Douglas in Scotland.
The nationality of the man who discovered the Americas has been a subject of much speculation in the five centuries since his death.
Contemporary accounts described the explorer as Genoese, but over the centuries it has been claimed that he was a native of Greece, Spain, Catalonia, France, Corsica and Portugal.
However, the latest theory comes to the surprising conclusion that the great navigator, who died in 1506 after four voyages to the New World, came from Scotland.
In his third book on the subject, Alfonso Ensenat de Villalonga, a historian from Barcelona, claims that Columbus was born to Scottish shopkeepers in the Italian port of Genoa and was christened Peter, only changing his name later in life.
"He was the son of shopkeepers not weavers and he was baptised Pedro not Christopher," Villalonga said, adding that his surname was Scotto, indicating that the family was not Italian but of Scottish origin.
After extensive research combing archives in Genoa and Spain, Villalonga further revealed that the family hailed from Douglas, Lanarkshire.
"Columbus had light-coloured eyes and freckles. He also had blond hair even though it quickly turned white," he said.
"That's how his contemporaries described him. Nothing like the traditional images, which are totally invented."
