The Spanish Inquisition
If the Spanish Inquisition did not take place, perhaps history would be very different today. The Spanish Inquisition which sought out the heretics and sought to drive out the Moors and Jews has changed the course of history since it further unified Spain and marked the expulsion of Spanish Jews and Muslims. Since the papal decree by Pope Sixtus IV, many Jews and Moors have suffered under the hands of Christian rulers.
Persecution has existed for a long time. There has been a time where Roman Emperors persecuted Christians “but it is said that the number of victims sacrificed to the Inquisition in the reign of Philip II of Spain exceeded by many thousands those who died at the order of the Emperors of Rome. Moreover,
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According to Jordi- Vidal Robert, the Spanish Inquisition led to 0.11% decrease in population growth in Spain. The Spanish Inquisition kept the Protestant Reformation from taking root in Spain and made Spain remain very Roman Catholic. There is not much of any other religion there. The Spanish Inquisition also gave influence to Hitler, a Christian leader, to start the Holocaust which practiced Anti- Semitism and sought to suppress the Jews and other non-Christians. Though the Spanish Inquisition is associated with the papacy being corrupt, many sources associated the Spanish Inquisition with the secular rulings, but this is highly debated. “To thousands of other lesser Jews forced into choosing a new religion, the result was a bitter hatred for the Spanish Church (Kamen 21)” and this resentment from Jews and Muslims still exists today. Pope John Paul II has even apologized to these religious groups for the horrible acts committed during the medieval times. This was not enough to cure the bitter hostility caused during the medieval times, but what
The persecutions did help the spread of Christianity because they showed that people were willing to die for what they believe in. “I am corresponding with all the churches and bidding them all realize that I am voluntarily dying for God”(Ignatius, paragraph 5). This shows that Christianity is a way to unite ourselves with God and to be freed from all evils. Another reason it helped the spread of Christianity is that there were public executions which increased the number of people knowing about it. This also shows that the Romans don't really care for the individual freedom of their
"Inquisition." In New Catholic Encyclopedia, edited by Berard L. Marthaler, 485-491. Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2003.
The Inquisition run by Tomas de Torquemada persecuted other religions and was a base of counter-reformation
Kings often struggled with the Church over power and land, both trying desperately to obtain them, both committing atrocities to hold onto them. Time and time again, the Popes of the postclassical period went to great extremes to secure the Church’s position in the world. Both the Crusades and the Inquisition are examples of this. D...
In the fifth century Barbarians collapsed the Roman Empire and Europe entered the Dark Ages. Around this time the Visigoths expanded their empire by heading for Spain. Upon arriving in Spain, the Visigoths encountered Jews whom they treated somewhat gently until the Visigoths converted to Catholicism; the Visigoths then overran Jews. Soon after, Muslims from North Africa known as Berbers decided to invade the Iberian Peninsula in hopes to take control of Spain and expand the Muslim reign, which they did. This sudden change in rule of the territory provided a sense of relief for all the people living in Spain. The reason for this was because the Muslims treated everyone equally so long as they abided by Muslim authority and paid taxes. After all, the Christians...
The Reconquista is commonly recognized as the time when the Christians rulers “retook” the Iberian Peninsula from the Muslims. However, the significant impact the Reconquista had on the Jews living in Iberia is often disregarded. How did the standard of living for Jewish communities residing in the Iberian Peninsula shift during Muslim rule in comparison to the Reconquista and Inquisition wherein the Jews were living under Christian rule? According to several sources, Jews were tolerated under Muslim rule as their culture thrived and various cities such as Cordoba, Granada, and Toledo had large as well as prosperous Jewish communities. This changed overtime as by the 1300s, when Christians began to rule most of Spain, prejudice against Jews became prevalent. As the years passed, bigotry began to increase, the outbreak of the Black Death contributed to this discrimination because many individuals blamed the Jews for the plague. Subsequently, this hatred gained momentum in the 1400s whereby the Spanish Inquisition resulted in an abundant number of Jewish victims.
History provides several horrible periods of violence, fear and murder. Such horrible acts against humanity have been committed in the name of religion, colonization, and racial superiority. The Holocaust, was one of the most catastrophic and saddest events in history, where about 11 million people, including Jewish children, families, and political dissenters were mass murdered. However, there exists another mournful and cruel period that marked the lives of many Sephardic Jews with secrecy and fear. One hardly hears about the harassment, rejection and humiliation of Sephardic Jewry in Spain, Portugal, and countries like Mexico, at the hands of the Holy Office of the Inquisition, which began in 1492. Due to these events, Sephardic Jews found themselves facing one of the most complex decisions of their lives and those of future generations; conversion, expulsion or death. The reasons for conversion are complex, as many converted by force and others for social or political reasons. As a result, converts became known as Conversos and “marranos /chuetas, and the latter are derogatory terms, as the names imply “swine” (Hordes 6). Another important term is Anusim, referring to those "whose conversion was prompted by violence and fear not sincerity” (Hordes 6). Marranos, were secretive people often, “keeping their children from their Jewish identity, until they reached an age where discretion could be trusted "(Telushkin 195). All of these events, have led to the complex phenomena, of the crypto-Jews in the new world, including Mexico and the American Southwest. Thus, sparking new areas of interest and research of their practices, customs, authenticity, and identification.
In an age where there was such a close bond between church and state, opposition to the church was intolerable. The Inquisition caused Spain to become intellectually backward, and economically and industrially damaged. The powerful influence of the Inquisition forbade social influences, such as books from other parts of Europe, to enter Spain. Consequently, the universities remained stagnant, unable to produce graduates understanding the world around them. from the lack of information on the other civilizations in the rest of Europe. As a result of this, they came into the 20th century intellectually inferior and bankrupt. With the banished, tortured, and persecuted heretics in mind, it is possible that the Spanish Inquisition is perhaps one of the most cruel acts performed on innocent people in the name of religion.
What was the Spanish Inquisition? The Spanish Inquisition persecuted and discriminated against minorities in the Iberia Peninsula who opposed to the practice and ideologies of the Catholic Church. Between 1480 to 1834, the Spanish Inquisition was placed under the authority of the royal power in Spain; the Inquisition was created in order to resolve the particular problem presented by the presence of thousands of converted Jews in the Iberian Peninsula. At the same time, the inquisition extended its authority to other minorities and become implanted in other geographical regions. This “institution” operated and was expanded to other territories under the crown of Castile—the Canaries and the territories ruled by viceroys in New Spain and Peru (24, 25).
As a result of confrontations with such heresy, the Inquisition was established by a series of papal decrees between 1227 and 1235. Pope Innocent IV authorized the use of torture in 1252, and Pope Alexander IV gave the Inquisition authority over all cases of sorcery involving heresy, although local courts carried out most actual prosecution of witches. At the same time, other developments created a climate in which alle...
Over the years in history, there have been many formidable executions that were caused by the aspect of different faiths and races. Period after period there have been many leaders who lashed out onto others because of what they believed in. All of these incidents have never been forgotten; one very infamous one would be the Spanish Inquisition. The Spanish Inquisition was started to “cleanse” the Church of heretics and purify Spain. They executed Jews, Muslims, and other minorities not of Christian faith. Ferdinand and Isabella were in crown of Spain and appointed the Church to start the Spanish Inquisition. These cases will be discussed in the fallowing paper.
The first problem they tried to deal with during the Inquisition was the Moors. At first, they tried preaching to the people, and not forcing them to convert to Catholicism. However, the plans quickly changed and they decided that it was more efficient for forced conversion or expulsion to be used against the Moors (Reston). This did not please the Moors. They fought back against Ferdinand and Isabella. The fighting between the Christians and the Moors went on for almost ten ...
A Vanished World: Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Medieval Spain is survey medieval Spain, where Christians, Jews, and Muslims once lived side by side and the Muslims were in charge. The book tries to lead the reader to the conclusion that there is indeed a historical precedent for the three major religions establishing a beneficially symbiotic relationship which may be an enduring lesson for coexistence. The author, Chris Lowney, is an ex-Jesuit and holds degrees in medieval history and philosophy.
As times became desperate, Jews became scapegoats for many of the people's problems. One example was the "Black Death". Jews were blamed for causing this event that killed thousands of people throughout Europe during the middle ages. Around 1400, in Span, Jews were given three options: Convert to Christianity, leave the country or be executed. In the late 1800s the government in Russia and Poland helped organize or did not prevent violent attacks on Jewish neighborhoods, known as pogroms, in which mobs murdered Jews and raided their homes and stores. 2
... This was definitely the case with the Aztecs, Incas, and (though there are still groups of Mayan people today, their number is very small) other ancient civilizations of the Americas. The Spanish sent their missionaries to all parts of their conquered lands. It is much more difficult for ideas and religion to survive under constant persecution and fear, though it is not impossible. Judaism and Christianity are two religions which have both endured extreme persecution at different points in history.