The Spanish Inquisition
The word “inquisition” means to examine. Inquisitors would “examine” suspected Heretics, people whose ideas do not match those of the Roman Catholic Church, and punish them accordingly. This included torture and burning. The great inquisition movement that took place in Spain, or Hispania as it was called before Spain united. It was called The Spanish Inquisition. It took place for approximately five hundred years, from the late 15th century to mid 19th century. Many ironic elements were involved in the history of the Inquisition. The Spanish Inquisition lasted longer than any other preceding it, and was the most cruel, bloodthirsty, and festive of all. The objective of the inquisition, in its early state, was to convert all Jews into Christians, but later it mutated into an ugly machine who’s new objective was to rid the country of the newly converted Christians.
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.
Before the Spanish Inquisition took place, several other inquisition movements appeared, but none quite so barbaric and brutal as the Spaniard’s did. Waves of opposition towards the church swept Europe in the Middle Ages. In the 12th century, it was a modern belief that a peaceful, utopian government could be obtained if all of the population of the society were “pure” and Catholic The Medieval Inquisition started in France and Italy. During this time a group of people called the Albigensies lived in northern Italy and southern France. They had established a religion called Manichaeanism, which was the belief in two gods, one for good and one for evil. Pop...
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...r of the bigotry and the persecution that took place. It is only one of many persecuting acts that are piled on top of Jewish history. Many Christians look back onto the Inquisition with shame and humidity. The Spanish Inquisition has inflicted untold amounts of damage onto the Spanish society and everyone else’s. It was one of the worst religious acts of ignorance and bigotry ever orchestrated by a group of people.
Bibliography
Lea, Henry Charles. [1966] A history of the Inquisition of Spain. AMD Press, New York, NY
Llorente, Juan Antonio [1967] A critical history of the Inquisition of Spain, from the period of its establishment by Ferdinand V to the reign of Ferdinand VII, composed from the original documents of the Archives of the Supreme Council of the Inquisition and from those of subordinate tribunals of the Holy Office. J. Lilburne Co. Williamstown, MA.
Roth, Cecil. [1964] The Spanish Inquisition. Norton Press, New York, NY.
Sabatini, Rafael. [1924] Torquemada and the Spanish inquisition; a history by Rafael Sabatini. Houghton Mifflin Compan, Boston, MA/New York, NY.
Turberville, Arthur Stanley. [1968] The Spanish Inquisition. Archon Books, Hamden, Conn.
Political power acts as a foundation for society through persuasion. This influential ability controls the thoughts and actions of society as a whole, and who is in control heavily determines how successful their influences will be. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella were the political rulers of Spain during the late 15th century, and remained in control up until the early 16th century. They craved unity for their country, and would do anything they could to achieve their desired conformity. Spain was to be united under one flag, one form of ruler, and one religion; those who did not oblige, became targets. For more than three hundred years, the Spanish Inquisition hovered over Spain, inciting fear and inflicting brutality upon those accused of heresy. A heretic was viewed as a contagious, rotted soul, lacking spiritual integrity. Their unholy actions spread like a disease; infecting anyone else in its path. Jews, Muslims, and Protestants, specifically Lutherans, each had their turn being victimized by the Spanish Inquisition. That being said, the King and Queen devote majority of the Inquisition’s years and efforts towards abolishing those of the Jewish and Islamic faiths. The goal was to rid Spain of these trivial beings, and society was influenced to believe that this would help political leaders achieve unity within the country. The Spanish Inquisition was purely driven by political desires, using religion as it’s gateway towards a unified country of power and prosperity.
"Inquisition." In New Catholic Encyclopedia, edited by Berard L. Marthaler, 485-491. Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2003.
... the Inquisition presented by scholars like Kagan and Dyer, Homza, and Kaman. As the case of María Gonzalez demonstrates, the movement acted with great secrecy, had a set of very organized procedures, and sometimes used torture. The Inquisition’s accusations were often questionable and it’s motives were at times more culturally than religiously based. While conversos were accused of being “crypto-jews” in reality, many like Pedro de Villegas were simply partaking in cultural practices that were not actually tied to their religion. The Inquisition, however, was not completely unsympathetic or unfair- it allowed victims the opportunity to provide evidence and witnesses to prove that they were loyal Christians. If a converso knew how to present themselves in an appealing way and provided powerful testimony, they could be absolved of the charges brought against them.
The Inquisition run by Tomas de Torquemada persecuted other religions and was a base of counter-reformation
The Spanish Inquisition: A Historical Revision by Henry Kamen, was released in 1997 and is the third edition of the acclaimed book centered around the infamous tribunal. The years following the first publication saw increases in the quality of scholarship and an influx of research. New historical interpretations subsequently began to demonstrate an enhanced insight, as works like Benzion Netanyahu’s The Origins of the Inquisition presented original perspectives. Kamen was consequentially compelled to reevaluate the evidence surrounding the Inquisition, ultimately causing him to divert from his previous conclusions and adopt a revisionist perspective exploring historical causation. The Spanish Inquisition has been repeatedly studied for many years, and the Tribunal instituted by the Catholic monarchy typically elicits negative characterizations as absolutist, oppressive, violent, invasive and intolerant. Kamen, however, aims to discover the true nature and significance of the Spanish Inquisition and shield the readers from any unknowledgeable stereotypes or misinformed notions. He investigates the ideological and social environment of the tribunal, as he attempts to determine whether the Spanish Inquisition was a product of its attendant society by additionally assessing its impact, functionality, organization and global reception. Events of the eighteenth and nineteenth century are disparately mentioned, as they proceed the more significant developments and undertakings that occurred towards earlier stages of the Inquisition. Kamen intermittently justifies and condones Inquisitional activity in an attempt to systematically eradicate popular misconceptions; he marginalizes the cruelty and power often accredited to the institution...
Prescott, History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic, edition of 1838, i, p. 390; ii, p. 40.
Witchcraft. The word in itself evokes a certain kind of eeriness. In past centuries, people who were accused of being witches were thought of to be the worst kinds of people there are. There were several kinds of witches and several ways in which they operated. Whatever the reason, the Catholic Church saw witches, or those accused of being witches, as sinful. Partly to stop this kind of sin and other forms, the Inquisition of the Catholic Church was implemented. It is important to know what the factors leading up to the Inquisition included to fully understand its implementation. Once the history is reviewed it is easy to see how the Faith of the Church and the reason behind its thinking were hand-in-hand at the time, and also the way in which they seemingly conflict today.
The epoch of Medieval European history concerning the vast and complicated witch hunts spanning from 1450 to 1750 is demonstrative of the socioeconomic, religious, and cultural changes that were occurring within a population that was unprepared for the reconstruction of society. Though numerous conclusions concerning the witch trials, why they occurred, and who was prosecuted have been founded within agreement there remains interpretations that expand on the central beliefs. Through examining multiple arguments a greater understanding of this period can be observed as there remains a staggering amount of catalysts and consequences that emerged. In the pursuit of a greater understanding three different interpretations will be presented. These interpretations which involve Brian Levack’s “The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe,” Eric Boss’s “Syphilis, Misogyny, and Witchcraft in 16th-Century Europe,” and Nachman Ben-Yehuda’s “The European Witch Craze of the 14th to 17th centuries: A Sociologist’s Perspective,” share various opinions while developing their own theories. The comparison of these observations will focus upon why the witch trials occurred when they did, why did they stop when they did, why did the witch trials occur when they did, and who was persecuted and who was responsible for the identification and punishing of witches.
The inquisition was a religious institution that policed the new Christians in the Iberian Peninsula. The inquisition was a by-product of hundreds of years of negative relations towards non-catholic people in Europe. It began around 1478 and in ended in 1834; during the three hundred and fifty-six years responses to the inquisition change immensely. This was partly due to many laypeople being indoctrinated by anti-Semitic and pro- Catholic propaganda. The pre-existing anti-Semitic feeling in Europe along with previous medieval inquisitions, helped to allow the Iberian inquisition to become a part of the Spanish and Portuguese way of life. This acceptance changed later in Iberian history because of the many factors lead to the abolishment of the Inquisition.
Preston, Paul. The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution and Revenge. 2006. Reprint, New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2007.
In 1492, Granada surrendered and became a Christian conquered land. The Inquisition was completed. During the Inquisition, new centers of spiritual power in Western Europe were created, which increased the unification of Catholic expression of Faith.
Gonzalez, Justo L. 1984. The early church to the dawn of the Reformation. San Francisco: Harper & Row.
... in witchcraft, this revisits the medieval and unfounded views on witches perpetuated by the Spanish Inquisition that we see in his earlier works.
Ullmann, Walter. A Short History of the Papacy in the Middle Ages. 2nd ed. New York City, NY: Routledge, 2003.
Pollen, John Hungerford. "The Suppression of the Jesuits (1750-1773)." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 23 Mar. 2014 .