Spanish Inquisition

The seal of the Spanish Inquisition depicts the cross, the branch and the sword.

The Spanish Inquisition was a tribunal started in 1478 in Spain. It was started by Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, with the assistance of Tomás de Torquemada.

Overview

During the Spanish Inquisition many people were burnt in front of crowds on the streets. In practice, the Spanish Inquisition served to stabilize power in the monarchy of the newly unified Spanish kingdom, while it achieved that end via infamously brutal means.

Background

The burning of heretics at stakes (auto-da-fé) in a marketplace during the Spanish Inquisition.

The rulers of Spain asked the Pope to start the Inquisition to hunt for Jews who converted to Catholic Christianity accused (often falsely) of being disloyal to their Christian faith.

In 1492, they demanded all morisco to leave Spain. Many left, but many stayed and claimed to be Christians. The Inquisition became busy deciding which ones were truthful. In 1502, the Muslims were also ordered out. Some parts of Spain actually enforced this order. When Protestants appeared, the Inquisition said they were faking as Christians.

Most trials ended with the defendant giving up his beliefs and being let go. The Inquisition became less active in later years and was completely abolished in 1834.

Denial

The Vatican

In 2004, the Roman Catholic Church published so-called findings that the judges of the Inquisition were "not as brutal as previously believed." The Roman Catholic Church also, based on questionable evidence, denied that most trials were carried out by Catholic courts, while whitewashing them by alleging that the victims put on trial were often "tortured for only 15 minutes in the presence of doctors" as if it was justified.

Spain

For the past decade, movements within Spain have emerged to rewrite the history of the Spanish Inquisition. Members of the movements released a series of books, films, TV programs and mobile exhibitions to beautify the Inquisition-associated Spanish history.

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