The Spanish Inquisition
The Spanish Inquisition is known for the terror it caused the inhabitants of the Iberian peninsula. The Inquisition began as a way to cleanse the nation of supposed heretics, but eventually came to have more racial and political motives as time wore on. The beginning of the Inquisition is generally credited to the reign of Ferdinand V and Isabella, though the anti-Jewish sentiments have been shown to begin well before their reign. Living in fourteenth century Spain, in Seville, there was an archdeacon named Martinez who continually tried to incite the people to purge themselves of the Jewish inhabitants of the city. He convinced others that the Jewish population was worth nothing and were basically a plague to the city. No doubt these accusations were based on his religious piety, and on Ash Wednesday (March 15, 1391), Martinez succeeded in motivating his congregation to riot. The crowd of people went to the Juderia (the Jewish part of the city). Some of the participants were captured by the police and flogged, but that did not stop Martinez or his followers who were not arrested. Finally, on June 6th of the same year, Martinez and his followers finally succeeded in sacking the Juderia of
It was particularly terrifying because the accused never really knew who their accusers were. The punishments used to gain confessions are the most famous aspect of the Inquisition. In fact, Torquemada's own grandmother was Jewish and so, it seems, he was working to rid the country of the very blood that ran in his veins. If the torture were stopped it could not be started again, according to the rules of the church, but if only a break was taken then the torture could be resumed at a later time. It can be said that Queen Isabella initiated the Inquisition for the purity of faith, nation and people, but it seems more apparent that the spoils of such an undertaking were more appealing than anything else. Because the trials were for spiritual matters they were handled by the church. Johnson, Matthew & Dirksen, Nathaniel. At this time many non-Christians were forced to profess their beliefs in Christianity to free themselves from persecution. The process would be done repeatedly. It seems that Torquemada had some kind of personal motivation against what he might have considered to be the "un-pure" blood of the conversos. It happened to be the Jewish Passover celebration and they had assembled and come together for it. Those who were only nominally converted and who practiced their faith in secret were also called Marranos. The Inquisition began in 1478 but did not officially end until 1808. Because the Church gave authority to the crown to control this religious purification it lost some of its power in Spain.
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