The New Jerusalem

Author says: what if the voyages of Columbus were completely misunderstood? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s).

In 1485, on this day three papal vessels, the Gallega, Pinta and Santa Clara (pictured) departed Palos de la Frontera, setting sail for the New World.

In order to "discover" the Americas, the commander of the fleet, the Templar Cristoforo Colombo was provided with a unique set of navigational aids - his biological father Pope Innocent VIII had granted him access to study ancient texts and maps in the Vatican Library. Because Colombo's mission was to seize the New World gold that was required to finance a fresh wave of Crusades.

"The glory of the discovery of the New World"Trouble was, Colombo didn't find any gold and duly returned to the Port of Lisbon empty-handed, his mission seemingly a failure.

Surprisingly, the Pope's own father was Jewish and his grandmother was Muslim, and his overarching goal was to reunite all three religions. But when the mission failed, Colombo began his second voyage, with orders to establish a New Jerusalem in the Americas. The sponsorship of the foundation of that city would be recorded for all time at Saint Peter's Basilica with a Latin inscription which simply records "the glory of the discovery of the New World" on the tomb of Pope Innocent VIII.

Author says original content has been repurposed to celebrate the author's genius © Ruggero Marino, "Christopher Columbus, the Last Templar" (2007). Marino's book claims that when Colombo arrived safely back in Lisbon; not only had the Pope been ousted by the Borgia and mysteriously disappeared, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain had launched a disinformation plan. For the next five hundred years, history would incorrectly record that the voyage occured seven years later, and had been sponsored by the Spanish monarchs. But then a chance discovery in Saint Peter's Basilica revealed the hidden truth; the Latin inscription on the tomb of Pope Innocent VIII praises the "the glory of the discovery of the New World". (Innocent died on 25 July 1492 before the Columbus set sail according to Spanish accounts).

Imagine what would be, if history had occurred a bit differently. Who says it didn't, somewhere? These fictional news items explore that possibility. Possibilities such as America becoming a Marxist superpower, aliens influencing human history in the 18th century and Teddy Roosevelt winning his 3rd term as president abound in this interesting fictional blog.