The Spanish Inquisition was the longest and most ruthless inquiry of faith of
all time. Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Christians, and all non-Catholic religions were
besieged by persecution from the Spanish government. Although it was not
intended, thousands of innocent Spaniards were tortured and killed once the king
and queen of Spain established the Inquisition.
An Inquisition is a very complex process, and at first, seemed innocuous.
Inquisitions were designated to be a series of tribunals (courts) held to push non-
Catholics to repent and turn to Catholicism. Catholic leaders regarded their faith
as a superior religion, and desired for everyone to become Catholic and establish
one homogeneous belief (Bachrach 10). The holy office, which is also known as the
Papacy, was the highest authority over Catholic countries. In order for an
Inquisition to be issued the Holy Office, or the Pope, must grant permission
(Bachrach 12). The Papacy instituted Inquisition in certain countries to counter any
threat against Catholicism. An Inquisition was initially intended to prevent civil
disruption, social corruption, and bloodshed (Bachrach 12). This, however, was not
the case. The Church began to empower government officials called Inquisitors to
essentially hunt down “unbelievers” and quietly question them about their faith
(Bachrach 12). Nearly all of the questioned citizens would refuse to co-operate.
This infuriated the Inquisitors and the Holy Office, and harsh punishments
gradually increased. These despicable Inquisitions originally began circa 1200 A.D.
and different Inquisitions continued until nearly 1850 A.D. (Bachrach 13). The
Spanish Inquisition, the cruelest of all, seemed an innocent way to con...
... middle of paper ...
... to the pulley, until their limbs became disjointed. Horrifyingly,
many died during this procedure. As for imprisonment, if even one word was
uttered against the Catholic Church, a man could be imprisoned anywhere from 4 to
20 years (Coffin 84). The numbers of those slain are astounding. Over 10,200
innocent people were burned at the stake, while another 6,800 perished in prison.
Countless others died during torture (Coffin 95). Nearly 100,000 civilians had their
property confiscated and civil rights revoked as greedy Catholic Inquisitors looted
homes (Coffin 95). Practically all of those who were slaughtered were Jewish
(Coffin 95). As the Inquisition spiraled out of control, thousands of Jews fled to
nearby countries to avoid the massacre. The Spanish Inquisition was most
definitely more violent and cruel than any other Inquisition.
William of Orange once stated, “Spain committed such horrible excesses that all the barbarities, cruelties, and tyrannies ever perpetrated before are only games in comparison to what happened to the poor Indians.” This statement is an example of an attempt to discredit the Spanish. Attempts such as these are known as the Black Legend. The Black Legend was the name given to the concept of cruelty and brutality spread by the Spanish during the 14th and 15th century. This legend demonizes Spain and specifically the Spanish empire in an effort to harm the reputation of them. It was through this propaganda that made other countries look down upon the Spanish empire. The Black Legend threw discredit upon the rule of the Spanish by building biases and prejudices against Catholicism and the Spanish treatment of the natives of South America. The Black Legend mainly exaggerated the treatment of the native people in the regions of the Spanish Empire and non-Catholic people such as Protestants and Jews in its European territories. The Black Legend was an anti-Spanish movement, which was started due to political and religious reasons by Northern European Protestant countries who were Spain’s enemies in order to discredit them.
Religious Interests and Political Interests in the Spanish Monarchy The period of 1474 - 1598 was very important in terms of religion in Europe, as Luther's Reformation of 1517 brought religion to the forefront of the political agenda. Yet, it is questionable whether it took precedence over issues such as war and the economy for the Catholic Monarchs. The sources agree that religion was an important concern in the private lives of the Catholic Monarchs, but disagree over whether they allowed personal faith to become the most prominent motive behind their decisions as rulers. Sources, 1,3 and 6, all written contemporaneously by the monarchs, or their advisors, emphasise the strong role played by religion in the monarch's lives, and consequently their behaviour as rulers. Del Purgar, writing in the 1480s, during the Granada war, explicitly states that Isabella's monarchical ambition was to root out and destroy heretics, and that she imposed these views on Ferdinand.
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.
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.
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.
Later, the Inquisition turned to people of Islam and attempted to convert the in the same way they had done to the Jews. And, even later, to those suspected of being Protestants. The Spanish Inquisition was similar to the first inquisition that was started in France.
The Salem Witch Trials was a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. The Devil in Massachusetts: A Modern Enquiry Into the Salem Witch Trials is a historical narrative of the trials written by Marion L. Starkey. The trials took place in Salem, Massachusetts in the late seventeenth century. The author discusses the origin, duration and the aftermath of the incident. It discusses the Puritan negligence towards the emotional needs of the female children involved in the trials and their striving for attention, as well as the harsh reality of sin and evil imposed on Puritan beliefs.
Council of Chalcedon. It was just another way he found to exercise his power as the
A reformation is often defined as the action of change for improvement. The Protestant Reformation is a movement that began in 1517, which split the unity of the Western Church; and later established Protestantism. The three main factors that impacted the reformation were political, sociological and theological. Martin Luther and John Calvin, two protestant Reformers who reformed Catholicism, strived to define salvation and impact the church as a whole. How do Martin Luther’s reforms compare to John Calvin’s through their struggle to define salvation, how people viewed them, and how the church was affected as a whole? Martin Luther and John Calvin both had a huge impact on the reformation and were both regarded with great respect; however, Martin Luther’s strive for salvation and the reformation of the church was more successful than Calvin’s.
Isabella then desired to boost her control over Spain by establishing the Spanish Inquisition. Its role was to abolish heresy and make Spain a Christian nation (“Spain: History”). The Inquisition officially lasted from 1478 to 1808 (“Queen Isabella’s Influence in the New World”).
The Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century is one of the most complex movements in European history since the fall of the Roman Empire. The Reformation truly ends the Middle Ages and begins a new era in the history of Western Civilization. The Reformation ended the religious unity of Europe and ushered in 150 years of religious warfare. By the time the conflicts had ended, the political and social geography in the west had fundamentally changed. The Reformation would have been revolutionary enough of itself, but it coincided in time with the opening of the Western Hemisphere to the Europeans and the development of firearms as effective field weapons. It coincided, too, with the spread of Renaissance ideals from Italy and the first stirrings of the Scientific Revolution. Taken together, these developments transformed Europe.
Beginning in the seventeenth century Europeans began seeing a shift from the med-evil teachings of the church to a more enlightened scientific world. Although the Catholics were still against science and political democracy, a wave of new Protestants were very progressive. With the Catholic Church becoming aware that it was loosing some of its following to science, it tried desperate measures such as the inquisition where they questioned and tried to get rid of people not committed and devout to the church. Despite these measures, however, the church was basically trying to hold back the tide as a plethora of knowledge began to flow into society.
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.
The Protestant Reformation: What it was, why it happened and why it was necessary. The Protestant Reformation has been called "the most momentous upheaval in the history of Christianity." It was a parting of the ways for two large groups of Christians who differed in their approach to the worship of Christ. At the time, the Protestant reformers saw the church- the Catholic church, or the "universal church- " as lacking in its ways. The church was corrupt then, all the way up to the pope, and had lost touch with the people of Europe. The leaders of the Reformation sought to reform the church and its teachings according to the Scriptures and the writings of the Apostles. They sought to simplify the church by returning to its roots, roots long lost by the Catholic church at the time, or so the reformers believed. After the fall of the Roman Empire, life in Europe declined rapidly into the Dark Ages. The Dark Ages were a time of misery and darkness. There were only two socioeconomic classes: the very rich nobility or the very poor peasants. Small kingdoms popped up everywhere, and were constantly at war with one another. Whole libraries were destroyed, and the only people who remained literate were the clergy of the Christian church. Life became such a struggle to survive that, for a period of five hundred years, very little artwork or literature was produced by the whole of Europe. Eventually, around the year 1000, the conditions in Europe began to get better. This marked the beginning of the Middle Ages. The Crusades began as an effort to revitalize the spirits of the people. However, things still weren't very good. Plagues ravaged the land, carried by rodents and destroying whole villages. With th...
During the Late Middle Ages, Christian followers and clergy were becoming increasingly concerned about the corruption of the church. Some had even declared that the dogma was false, however, the church had dealt with similar challenges before. In the 1500’s a new series of attacks on the church’s authority had started to destroy Christianity creating both political and cultural consequences.