Institut Nova Història
Corporate brand
UnclaimedA Catalan cultural foundation that promotes revisionist interpretations of Catalan history and has been widely criticized by academic historians as pseudohistory.
Last updated August 26, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile yet.
Overview
Institut Nova Història (INH) is a Catalan cultural foundation based in Barcelona that presents itself as an organization devoted to historical research, study, and public dissemination. Its activities include publishing books and articles, organizing conferences and symposia, producing or supporting documentaries, and arranging educational or cultural events. The institution is principally associated with Jordi Bilbeny, whose work argues that the historical contribution of Catalonia and the Crown of Aragon was systematically suppressed or appropriated by Castilian and later Spanish institutions from the late fifteenth century onward. The organization emerged in 2007 after a division within the Foundation of Historical Studies of Catalonia. Its intellectual profile had already been foreshadowed by the annual symposium on the alleged Catalan discovery of America, an event launched in Arenys de Munt in 2001. The symposium became one of the institute's signature activities and provided a public platform for claims that Christopher Columbus was a Catalan nobleman, Joan Colom i Bertran, who sailed from Pals rather than Palos de la Frontera. INH-related arguments extend this proposed reinterpretation to other major figures and works, including Erasmus of Rotterdam, Hernán Cortés, Francisco Pizarro, Amerigo Vespucci, Miguel de Cervantes, Leonardo da Vinci, Saint Teresa of Ávila, La Celestina, and Lazarillo de Tormes. Among the institute's recurring themes is the alleged existence of an extensive campaign of falsification, censorship, translation, or identity substitution designed to minimize Catalan achievements. Its publications and events have therefore functioned not only as historical advocacy but also as part of a broader Catalan nationalist cultural narrative. The institute has been connected with organizations and public figures supporting Catalan self-determination, and some of its activities have received institutional or political backing in Catalonia. Examples reported in reference material include collaboration with the Catalan National Assembly, sponsorship or support from local councils and other Catalan organizations, and appearances by INH researchers on Catalan public broadcasters. INH's work is highly controversial. Mainstream historians and commentators generally reject its central claims as unsupported by documentary evidence and methodological standards. Critics have described the institute's approach as pseudohistory, parody, or a form of nationalist mythmaking. In 2019, several Catalan historians publicly denounced the organization, while political critics questioned the use of public funds for what they characterized as pseudoscientific historical narratives. ERC spokesman Gabriel Rufián also criticized the public financing of pseudohistory. These disputes have made INH a prominent example in debates about nationalism, collective memory, public history, and the boundary between historical scholarship and identity-driven reinterpretation. The institute's public-facing model is therefore less that of a conventional academic research center than of a cultural advocacy platform. It combines a foundation structure with recurring events, media engagement, books, documentaries, and a network of nationalist or pro-independence supporters. Publicly available material does not establish a conventional commercial product portfolio, stock-market listing, corporate parent, or transparent financial profile. Its principal offering is the production and circulation of a distinctive interpretation of Catalan history.
History
Institut Nova Història was founded in 2007 after separating from the Foundation of Historical Studies of Catalonia. Its emergence followed several years of public activity around claims that Catalan and Crown of Aragon contributions to European and global history had been concealed or reassigned to Castilian figures. Jordi Bilbeny, the institute's most prominent researcher, had launched the Symposium on the Catalan Discovery of America in Arenys de Munt in 2001. This event became a recurring forum for presenting theories about the supposed Catalan identity of Christopher Columbus and the role of Catalans in the conquest and exploration of the Americas. The institute developed a broad revisionist narrative. It argues that, from the end of the fifteenth century, the Castilian Crown, the Inquisition, and related institutions systematically falsified, censored, translated, or appropriated historical records in order to construct a centralized Spanish identity dominated by Castile. Within this framework, Columbus is identified as Joan Colom i Bertran, a Catalan nobleman who allegedly fought against Ferdinand II during the Catalan Civil War and later adopted another identity. INH-associated interpretations also identify Erasmus with a figure named Ferran, reinterpret conquistadors such as Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro as Catalan or Aragonese figures, and propose that Amerigo Vespucci's name derived from the Catalan surname Despuig. Other claims concern literature, religion, art, and political symbolism. The institute has promoted the idea that Miguel de Cervantes was actually the Catalan Joan Miquel Servent and that an original Catalan Don Quixote was translated into Castilian. It has also associated La Celestina and Lazarillo de Tormes with lost Catalan originals, identified Saint Teresa of Ávila with a Catalan-connected noblewoman, and argued that Leonardo da Vinci had Catalan origins. Additional claims attribute the design of the United States flag to the Catalan senyera and challenge conventional accounts of the first university in the Iberian Peninsula. During the 2010s, INH expanded its presence through conferences, books, television and radio appearances, documentaries, and the Universitat Nova Història event first held in 2013. The organization worked with civic groups, local councils, and Catalan nationalist organizations. Reference material reports collaboration with the Catalan National Assembly and support from certain Catalan political figures and publicly connected institutions. Jordi Pujol praised one of Bilbeny's books in a 2012 letter, while Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira participated in a 2014 presentation connected with Bilbeny's work. The 2015 Arenys de Munt symposium received support from local councils and associations and included a closing address by Muriel Casals. Academic reception has been overwhelmingly negative. Alberto Reig Tapia described the institute's work as a parody of history, while Josep Colomer compared its proponents to cartoon satirists. In 2019, four Catalan historians publicly denounced the institute's methods, and political representatives criticized public funding or institutional exposure for claims they considered pseudoscientific. The controversy reflects the wider tension between Catalan nationalist memory politics and professional historical scholarship. INH continues to operate as a cultural platform, but its theories remain outside mainstream academic consensus.
- 2019
Public and academic criticism intensifies
[1]Historians and politicians publicly criticized INH as a promoter of pseudohistory and questioned public support for its activities.
- 2015
Arenys de Munt symposium receives local support
[1]The annual symposium was supported by the councils of Arenys de Munt and Arenys de Mar and by pro-independence civic associations.
- 2014
Documentary advances Catalan Leonardo theory
[1]Desmutant Leonardo presented claims associated with INH that Leonardo da Vinci was Catalan and that the Mona Lisa represented Isabella of Aragon.
- 2013
Universitat Nova Història is launched
[1]The first Universitat Nova Història was held in Pla de l'Estany with reported support from public bodies and Catalan civic organizations.
- 2012
Jordi Pujol praises a Bilbeny publication
[1]Former Catalan president Jordi Pujol wrote to Bilbeny praising the persuasiveness of an INH-associated book on the alleged Catalan discovery and conquest of America.
- 2007
Institut Nova Història is founded
[1]INH was created following a split within the Foundation of Historical Studies of Catalonia.
- 2001
Catalan Discovery of America symposium begins
[1]Jordi Bilbeny launched the recurring symposium in Arenys de Munt that later became one of the institute's principal public activities.
Products and positioning
A Catalan nationalist cultural and historical advocacy foundation presenting revisionist interpretations of the past through publications, conferences, media appearances, and public events. Academic and political critics commonly classify its claims as pseudohistory rather than accepted historical scholarship.
Books and essays
Historical publications
INH publishes and promotes books, essays, and research-style articles advancing its interpretation of Catalan history. Frequent subjects include Columbus, the alleged Catalan discovery of America, Cervantes, Don Quixote, Leonardo da Vinci, Saint Teresa of Ávila, and the supposed suppression of Catalan originals or identities. These works are presented as historical investigation but are generally rejected by academic historians.
Conference series · 2001
Symposium on the Catalan Discovery of America
A recurring public symposium held in Arenys de Munt and associated with the claim that Catalans, rather than Castilians, played the decisive role in the discovery and early conquest of the Americas. Speakers use the event to present documentary, linguistic, and interpretive arguments supporting the institute's wider nationalist historical narrative.
Educational and cultural event · 2013
Universitat Nova Història
An educational event created by INH to bring together talks, presentations, and discussion of its alternative interpretations of Catalan and European history. The first edition was organized in Pla de l'Estany in 2013 with reported sponsorship or support from several local and regional bodies.
Documentary · 2014
Desmutant Leonardo
A 2014 documentary associated with the institute's public communication of the theory that Leonardo da Vinci had Catalan origins. It also promoted the interpretation that the Mona Lisa depicted Isabella of Aragon and that the landscape referred to Montserrat.
Controversies
2019
Historians condemn INH as pseudohistory
Four Catalan historians publicly attacked the institute's approach, alleging that its proponents lacked appropriate archival practice and compared its claims with flat-Earth-style pseudoscience.
2019
Dispute over public funding and political support
Political critics, including Ciudadanos spokesperson Carina Mejías and ERC spokesman Gabriel Rufián, questioned institutional support for INH and argued that public money should not finance pseudohistorical claims.
Marketing campaigns
- 2013Universitat Nova Història
Catalonia
INH expanded its event model into a university-style gathering featuring lectures and presentations on alleged Catalan contributions erased from conventional history.
Outcome. The event broadened the institute's educational and cultural reach and connected it with local authorities and nationalist civic organizations.
- 2001Catalan Discovery of America symposium
Catalonia
A recurring public campaign of conferences and presentations arguing that the discovery of America was fundamentally a Catalan enterprise and that Columbus was a Catalan nobleman using an alternative identity.
Outcome. The symposium became the institute's best-known recurring public forum and helped spread its revisionist historical narrative.
Brand decisions
2013
Expand into a university-style public eventStrategyBackground
The institute sought to extend its reach beyond individual books and the Arenys de Munt symposium.
Action taken
It organized the first Universitat Nova Història in Pla de l'Estany.
Aftermath
The event increased the institute's presence in Catalan cultural networks and drew support from several public and civic bodies.
2007
Create an independent historical advocacy foundationStrategyBackground
A split within the Foundation of Historical Studies of Catalonia created the opportunity for a separate organization centered on Catalan historical revisionism.
Action taken
The Institut Nova Història was established as a foundation focused on research claims, publications, conferences, and public dissemination.
Aftermath
The new institution became a platform for Bilbeny's theories and for recurring events concerning alleged Catalan contributions to world history.
Sources2 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/institut-nova-història · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled