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The Spanish Inquisition was a Roman Catholic court charged with rooting out heresy. It was strongest in Catholic Aragon and Castile, ruled by Ferdinand and Isabella, respectively, in what is now Spain for the 16th century. It is the most notorious Inquisition, because the Protestant Countries, then rivals of the Spanish Empire, exagerated his cruelty in their propaganda campaings against Catholic Spain (see Black legend). Many Protestants tend to forget the Protestant Inquisition and the Withhunt.

Context

In 1481, Spain was not a single country but a confederation of states, each with their own administrations. Ferdinand had not yet consolidated his power across the Iberian peninsula.

Much of the Iberian peninsula had been ruled by the Moors, and the southern regions, particularly Granada, were heavily populated by Muslims. Granada was still under Moorish rule -- they were not to be expelled until 1492.

The large cities, especially Seville or Valladolid had large Jewish populations centered in Juderias. Ferdinand's father, John of Aragon, appointed Abiathar Crescas, a Jew, as his court astrologer. Jews held many prominent posts, both religious and political. Castile even had an unofficial Crown Rabbi, a professing Jew.

Causes and Origin

Many historians believe the Spanish Inquisition was instituted as a way of weakening Ferdinand's primary political opposition at home. Ferdinand was an astute politician, and developed close ties with St. Peter's as part of his political maneuvering, aimed at consolidating the independent realms (joined by his marriage to Isabella) into a single state to be left to his heir. Some regions of the new country refused the Inquisition, symbol of the central power, and even the Inquisitor who Ferdinand installed in Saragossa Cathedral was assassinated by New Christians.

Also, Ferdinand did not want the Pope to control the Inquisition in Spain, as he was jealous of any other power within his borders. The Pope did not want the Inquisition established in Spain at all, but Ferdinand insisted. He prevailed upon Rodrigo Borgia, then Bishop of Valencia and a cardinal, to lobby Rome on his behalf. Borgia was partially successful, as Pope Sixtus IV sanctioned the Inquisition only in the state of Castile. Later, Borgia was to have Spain's support for his own papacy as Pope Alexander VI.

The Pope disapproved of the extreme measures being taken by Ferdinand, and categorically disallowed their spread to the kingdom of Aragon. He alleged that the Inquisition was a cynical ploy by Ferdinand and Isabella to confiscate the Jews' property. Despite his title of "Most Catholic King", and his ongoing attempts to woo the Pope to his side politically, Ferdinand continued to resist direct Papal influence in his lands. He decided to use strongarm tactics against the Pope.

Ferdinand had some important levers he could use to bend the Pope to his will. Venice, traditionally the defender against the Turks in the East, was greatly weakened after a protracted war with them which ran from 1463 to 1479. The Turks had taken possession of Greece and the Greek islands. France, as always, was looking for signs of weakness which it could use to its advantage. And in the midst of all these threats, in August of 1480 the Sultan had attacked Italy itself, at the port of Otranto, with several thousand janissaries. They pillaged the countryside for three days, largely unopposed.

Under these conditions, Ferdinand's position in Sicily -- he was king of Sicily as well as Aragon and several other kingdoms -- gave him the leverage he needed. He threatened to withhold military support of the Holy See, and the Pope relented.

Sixtus then blessed the royal institution of the Spanish Inquisition. Ferdinand had won everything he sought: the Inquisition was under his sole control, but had the blessing of the Pope, and the royal coffers were swelling with the loot of the Jewish victims.

Sixtus IV died in 1484, and was succeeded by Pope Innocent VIII. Unlike his predecessor, Innocent supported the Spanish Inquisition wholeheartedly, going out of his way to facilitate it. He ordered all Catholic monarchs to extradite fleeing Jews back to Spain where they could stand trial.

It is also possible that there was a financial motivation. Jewish financiers, singularly Pedro de la Caballeria, had provided many of the funds which Ferdinand's father used to pursue the alliance by marriage with Castile, and many of these debts were wiped out by the condemnation of the noteholder.

History

The Inquisition began in 1480, in the city of Seville. Ferdinand and Isabella appointed Tomas de Torquemada in 1481 to investigate and punish conversos -- Jews and Moors (Muslims) who claimed to have "converted" to Catholicism but continued to practice their "former" religion in secret. Some disguised Jews had even been ordained as priests and even bishops. The authority of the Inquisition reached only Christians, not Jews or Muslims, but since 1492, every Jew in the Kings' states had been baptised (New Christians) or expelled. If they carried on with Jewish religion, they were sinful relapses ("fallen again").

The Spanish Inquisition was "run" by the Catholic Church, but because the "church does not shed blood," if a person was found to be heretical, they were turned over to the government to be punished (they were "relaxed to the secular arm")--the punishments ranged from public shame to burning at the stake (either dead, after "reconciliation", or alive for the relentless heretics). The Inquisitors did not have to be clerics, but they did have to be lawyers.

A person could be condemned and executed if a single person made an allegation against them. Many persons made such accusations out of revenge. By law, their property was confiscated by the Crown. Very probably the Crown itself was behind some of the allegations, in the desire to appropriate wealthy Jews' lands, property and valuables. The "guilty" often had their hands chopped off before they were burnt, often alive. Still, there were cases of criminals who sinned against the Christian faith, since the Inquisition prisons were far less harsh that the Civil Justice ones. Hard numbers are hard to put down, but estimates are that between four and eight thousand Jews were burnt alive during the fifteen years Torquemada held the office of Grand Inquisitor, as well as a smaller number of Moriscos, or Moorish converts.

Also, the Inquisition was used against focuses of Protestantism, Erasmism and Illuminism in Spain. Also, The Inquisition was used against Protestants in the Netherlands during their war for independence from Spain. The Inquisition was instituted in the New World, as well.

In the 18th century, the Spanish Inquisition fought against Encyclopedism and French Illustration. In spite of the actions of the other European Inquisitions, witchcraft was not a big concern. Accused witches were usually dismissed as mentally ill.

The Inquisition was removed during Napoleonic rule (1808-1812), but reenforced when Ferdinand VII of Spain recovered the throne. It was officially ended in 1834.

See also Inquisition, the Medieval Inquisition and the Roman Inquisition.

Consecuences

The Inquisition was an important tool in enforcing the limpieza de sangre ("cleanliness of blood") against descendants of converted Jews or Muslims. Many more died or spent many years in the prisons and dungeons. It is estimated that around 32,000 people were burnt alive during the entire 340 years of the Inquisition's existence. Catholic estimates are lower, ranging from 3000 to 5000 based strictly on documented cases.

References

Henry Kamen, The Spanish Inquisition: A Historical Revision. (Yale University Press, 1999). ISBN: 0300078803

---This revised edition of his 1965 original contributes to the understanding of the Spanish Inquisition in its local context.