The Spanish Inquisition

Is a tomato a fruit or vegetable?

Roman Catholicism

Why are we learning this?

Worldview

renaissance

Reconquista

• 8th century: Spain is just a group of Kingdoms that are not united
• Muslims from North Africa invade, and take over most of it
• They are sophisticated, and Spain prospers. Multiple religions get along.
• The leaders of the kingdoms cannot seem to get along though!
• Christians take advantage of this disunity, and begin to take over.

Ferdinand and Isabella

• A strategic marriage that unites Aragon and Castile.
• They set their sights on the rest of Spain
• 1482 they begin their quest to purge all Muslim rule
• 1492, they succeed. Spain is ruled by Catholics.
• But, it's not over. They want more!

Conversion to Catholicism

• Ferdinand and Isabella see themselves as defenders of the Catholic faith
• Decide that all Muslim, Jews, and other non-believers must go!
• These groups of people did not want to leave, so they converted to Catholic
• But, Ferdinand and Isabella are still suspicious of their devotion!

Conversos & Moriscos

intermission

The Inquisition Begins

Permission from the pope

• Get permission to begin ridding Spain of heretics and non-believers
• Tomas de Torquemada is named the Inquisitor General
• F & I are obsessed with the idea that the new converts are insincere
• They are worried that the converts will join together and rise up

Heretics

Tribunals

• Torquemada establishes courts of judges in local areas
• Heretics are brought before the Tribunals
• Tribunals not established to prove guilt or innocence
• By the time a person stood before a tribunal, they were assumed guilty
• They were established to gain a confession of heresy from the accused

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• a public ceremony where sentences of the accused are read
• began as solemn masses, but later on became spectacles to watch
• people came to watch/celebrate the suffering of others

confessions

• Those who confessed were often still beaten and sent to prison
• Strongly persuaded to cough up the names of other heretics
• The wealth of F&I grew with every accusation, as they were stripped of thei
• Was this really about creating wealth, and not purifying Spain?
• Maybe, many of the accused were wealthy Jewish people.

torture devices

Strappado

The Rack

Oddly Enough....

• the tribunals didn't usually pronounce death
• some people did "happen" to do while being tortured
• The inquisitors job was to bring the person back to faith
• They would torture to the brink of death and take their wealth
• Then hand them over to the secular authority for execution

The end of the inquisition

The end

• The Pope can't stomach it anymore!
• F&I say too bad!
• Anyone who appealed to Rome was threatened with death
• Caused more violence, and proved the monarchs had the power
• The amount of violence fizzles out over the span of hundreds of years

Positive Results

• It unified Spain, so that they could become a world power
• Allowed them to compete with nations like France & England