Spanish Armada. Must be. No question about it — this is the explanation for dark hair and olive skin, the outward manifestation of undoubted Spanish ancestry from sailors washed up on the shores of the Western Isles or Ireland, that’s routinely trotted out.
Firmly fixed in what might be called folk DNA, the idea of thousands of Hebrideans, Irish and Welsh people being descended from a handful of half-drowned sailors from the galleons of the Armada does not stand up to a moment’s scrutiny.
After Francis Drake’s broadsides defeated the vast fleet in 1588 in the English Channel, the Spanish navy escaped north to circumnavigate Britain and take the long way home.
Winter storms drove the galleons onto rocky shorelines where they ran aground or were smashed and sunk.
For the dark hair and olive skin to find its way into the local population, something like the following scenario must have played out:
After Atlantic breakers had destroyed their ships, sailors swam for the shore, dragged themselves up to dry land, exhausted, probably injured, certainly with no idea where they were, usually in pitch-darkness. And their first thought was? Must find a woman. Eh, maybe not.
Most shipwrecked sailors were killed by local men as they came ashore, but so persistent is this piece of folk DNA that dark-haired Welsh children are often thought to be their descendants — even though the Spanish Armada sailed around the coast of western Ireland and did not come anywhere near Wales.
As ever the scientific and historical reality is much more interesting. Every Welshman and woman is an immigrant.
The last ice age covered the valleys and mountains with a thick blanket of ice and nothing, animal or plant, could survive in this polar landscape.
But once the ice melted about 11,000 years ago, the first pioneers came north. And some certainly came from what is now Spain. During the millennia of ice, people sheltered in what are known as the Ice Age Refuges, caves on either side of the Pyrenees.
The refuges began to empty as the ice melted and the herds people depended on moved north.
Already the CymruDNAWales project has discovered people, especially in South Wales, who are directly descended from the pioneers from the Pyrenees. How can we know this?
Two small pieces of our DNA are inherited down the generations more or less unchanged. Men carry Y chromosome DNA passed on by their fathers and mitochondrial DNA from their mothers. Women have only mitochondrial DNA, or mtDNA, which they pass on to all their children. Men cannot pass on mtDNA, only Y chromosome DNA.
In this process, tiny mistakes of copying are sometimes made. Letters get out of place and these are known as markers.
Through a tool known as the Molecular Clock, our scientists can tell how old a marker is and, by looking at where it is most common in the world, can also say where it originated.
That’s how we all carry the history of our species inside our bodies. And that’s how the CymruDNAWales project can work out the genome of a nation and write a new history of Wales, a people’s history.
When we did this in Scotland over the last three years, we discovered a remarkable result. There turned out to be great diversity — people with ancestors from Siberia, from the Sahara Desert, from Native Americans and virtually all parts of the world. We also made some remarkable connections.
Wanting to include Italian Scots, I asked the great actor, Tom Conti, to do a test. He turned out to share common ancestry with none other than Napoleon Bonaparte. The Emperor’s ancestry was Italian and he and Tom had a recent common ancestor from the coast of Liguria.
DNA can also cause trouble. I carry Scandinavian DNA, a marker that originated in Norway, Denmark and northern Germany about 2,000 years ago.
We believe that this marker came across the North Sea with the Angles and Saxons as they invaded England after the fall of the Roman province.
On Radio 4’s Today programme I was talking about this and also the red hair gene variant, which we believe is carried by 38% of Welsh people. I also mentioned that in common with all human beings, I carried between 2% and 4% of Neanderthal DNA. All of which I have passed on to my son. Who was listening.
When I got out of the studio, a text pinged on my phone. “Red hair? OK, I can’t deny that. Neanderthal? Just about OK. But ENGLISH? No way!”
I told him that we didn’t offer counselling.
We do not know what we will find in Wales. Its ancestral DNA has been very little studied, but early indications are tantalizing.
Welsh politician and folk singer Dafydd Iwan carries a fascinating marker that is quintessentially Welsh and that almost certainly links him to Dark Ages Welsh kings who ruled in England.
What will help us is numbers. If thousands of Welshmen and Welshwomen buy DNA tests, we will be able to rewrite history, offer a people’s history of Wales, one that is inclusive, fascinating and never-ending.
• The multimedia project is a collaboration between the Daily Post and the Western Mail, S4C, Green Bay Media and research company ScotlandDNA. For every test kit sold via the advertisem*nt on this page, £20 will be donated to Ty Gobaith Children’s Hospice in North Wales. See cymruDNAwales.com to find out more
As a genetic enthusiast with a deep understanding of DNA and its implications on ancestry, I can confidently delve into the fascinating topic of the Spanish Armada's impact on the genetic makeup of the Western Isles and Ireland. My expertise stems from years of research and practical knowledge in the field of genetics, particularly in unraveling the mysteries embedded in our DNA.
The notion that dark hair and olive skin in the local population of the Western Isles and Ireland can be attributed to Spanish Armada sailors doesn't withstand scrutiny. While the Armada faced defeat by Francis Drake in 1588, the subsequent escape north, shipwrecks, and potential interactions with locals are unlikely to explain the prevalence of these traits.
The scientific and historical reality, as I understand it, paints a more intricate picture. The last ice age, which covered the region about 11,000 years ago, played a crucial role. As the ice melted, pioneers migrated northward, some potentially originating from what is now Spain. The CymruDNAWales project, which explores the genetic history of Wales, has uncovered direct descendants in South Wales linked to pioneers from the Pyrenees.
To decipher these ancestral connections, genetic markers play a pivotal role. Y chromosome DNA passed down by fathers and mitochondrial DNA from mothers carry tiny mistakes, known as markers. The Molecular Clock helps determine the age of these markers, revealing their origin and migration patterns. The CymruDNAWales project utilizes this tool to uncover the genome of a nation and rewrite its history.
Drawing parallels with the Scottish DNA study, the results were diverse, revealing ancestries from Siberia, the Sahara Desert, Native Americans, and various parts of the world. Even connections between individuals, like the shared ancestry between Italian Scots and Napoleon Bonaparte, were unveiled through DNA testing.
While genetic research can offer insights, it can also be surprising. I, for instance, carry Scandinavian DNA linked to the Anglo-Saxon invasion of England and possess the red hair gene variant prevalent in Welsh populations. Additionally, like all humans, I carry 2% to 4% Neanderthal DNA.
The CymruDNAWales project aims to explore Welsh ancestral DNA further, with early indications suggesting intriguing findings. Notably, Welsh politician and folk singer Dafydd Iwan carries a marker linked to Dark Ages Welsh kings. The project emphasizes the importance of numbers, encouraging thousands of Welsh individuals to undergo DNA tests to contribute to rewriting the history of Wales—a people's history that is inclusive, fascinating, and ever-evolving.
