Spanish+Inquisition



**What is an Inquisition?** Inquisitions were used during the decline of the roman empire until the early 1800s. An Inquisition can be run by both civil and church authorities in order to find non believers from a nation or religion and remove them. Out of all the Inquisitions, the Spanish was one of the most deadly. The Inquisition was established in 1478 as a court for the detection of heretics. Many historians say the three main motives were political, economic, and religion. Following the Crusades and the Reconquest of Spain, the leaders of Spain to unify Spain into a strong nation. They began harshly driving out the jews,(Conversos or secret jews), new christians and nonbelievers. The notorious hatred of the jews led the inquisitors to believe that they were saving the jews from a awful fate awaiting them after their death, since the jews were dying at the hands of god's children. In 1483 Tomas de Torquemada was the name the inquisitor-general for most of Spain who established lcoal tribunals of the Inquisition. Tomas was very strict and steadfast in his attempt to purify his religion, therefore sharing similarities to Savanarola. Also heading the Inquisition in Spain were two dominican monks, Miguel de Morillo and Juan de San Martin. Tomas was responsible for establishing inquisitorial procedure and creating branches in several cities.He was the leader of the Inquisition for 15 years and is responsible for the execution of 5,000 Spaniards. Suprisingly, the Pope and and the Catholic church tried to stop the Inquisitions, but were unable to get the control away from the bloodthirsty spanish rulers. The inquisitor-general ran the inquisition and established local tribunals.
 * The Beginning**
 * The Inquisition-Generals **



**Heretics** Accused heretics were brought before the tribunal by he general public. They were given a chance to confess their heresy against the Catholic Church and also name other heretics. If they admitted their wrongdoings and turned in others then they would either be let go or given a prison sentence. If they would not admit their wrondoings they would be be presented to the public in a large ceremony, and then they were killed or sentenced to life in prison. First they arrested Conversos and notable figures in Seville. More than 700 Conversos were burned at the stake and 5,000 repented in Seville. Tribunals in Aragon, Catalonia, and Valencia were opened. An Inquisition tribunal was set up in Ciudad Real, where 100 Conversos were condemned, and it was moved to Toledo in 1485. Between 1486-92, 25 auto de fes( public penance of accused heretics), 467 people were burned at the stake and many others were imprisoned. The Inquisition finally made its way to Barcelona, and it was suprisingly resisted at first, for Conversos played a large role in the economy and society of Barcelona. More than 13,000 Conversos were put on trial during the first 12 years of the Spanish Inquisition. The jews of Spain were expelled in 1492 to tear apart the bonds between the Conversos and the Jews. The second phase began in 1531, when Pope Leo X extended the Inquisition to Portugal because thousands of jews journey to Portugal after the 1492 expulsion. A spanish style inquisition was was set up and tribunals were set up in Lisbon and other cities. Well known figures such as Isaac de Castro Tartas, Antonio Serrao de Castro and Antonio Jose da Silva. The Inquisition never stopped in Spain and continued until the the 18th century. By the second half of the 18th century, the Inquisition began to slow down because of the spread of enlightenment ideas and lack of resources. The last auto de fe took place in Portugal took place on October 27, 1765. An estimated 31,912 heretics were burned at the stake, 17, 659 were burned in effigy, and 291, 450 switched to catholicism in the Spanish Inquisition. In Portugal about 40,000 cases were tried, but only 1,800 were burned, and the rest mader penance. media type="youtube" key="PShFpcyaSnw&hl=en" height="355" width="425"
 * 1st stage**
 * 2nd stage**
 * Statistics**
 * Inquisitorial Techniques **

** The Heretic Fork ** - Four sharp points were rammed into the flesh under the chin. This prevented all movement of the head and allowed the victim only to whisper, “abiuro” (I recant). If instead he still refused, he was led to the stake. Around the 1540s the Spanish Inquisition turned its fire on the Protestants in Spain in an attempt to further unify the nation. The Inquisition was not limited to Europe; it also spread to Spanish and Portugese colonies in the New World and Asia. Many Jews and Conversos fled from Portugal and Spain to the New World seeking greater security and economic opportunities. Branches of the Portugese Inquisition were set up in Goa and Brazil. Spanish tribunals and auto de fes were set up in Mexico, the Philippine Islands, Guatemala, Peru, New Granada and the Canary Islands. By the late 18th century, most of these were dissolved. The Inquisition was finally suppressed in Spain in 1834 and in Portugal in 1821. Sadly, jews continued to be persecuted and tortured, eventually leading up the holocaust.
 * The Judas Chair ** - The naked victim was placed on top of the pyramid-shaped Judas Chair, with the point inserted into their anus, then slowly lowered by ropes.
 * The end of the Inquisition**


 * __ Pictures __**

http://www.donquijote.org/culture/spain/history/inquisition.asp http://www.thenagain.info/webchron/WestEurope/SpanInqui.html http://spanish-inquisition.cuqr.com/spanish-inquisition-torture-devices/ [|http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Inquisition.html]> http://mb-soft.com/believe/txh/inquisit.htm http://www.tektonics.org/qt/spaninq.html http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-558090/Spanish-Inquisition http://www.homecomers.org/mirror/spanish-inquisition.htm