The Spanish Inquisition

[Faísca]

Context

In the 15th century, Spain was not a single state but a confederation of reigns, each with their own administrations: The Crown of Aragon and Castile, ruled by Ferdinand and Isabella, respectively. In the Crown of Aragon, a confederation of Aragon, Baleares, Catalunya and Valencia, there was a local inquisition from the Middle Age, as the rest of european countries, but not in the Reign of Castille.

Much of the Iberian peninsula had been ruled by the Moors, and the southern regions, particularly Granada, were heavily populated by Muslims. Until 1492, Granada was still under Moorish rule. The large cities, especially Seville, Valladolid, capital of Castile, and Barcelona, capital of the Crown of Aragon, had large Jewish populations centered in Juderías.

There was a long tradition of Jewish service to the Crown of Aragon. Ferdinand's father, John II of Aragon, appointed Abiathar Crescas, a Jew, as his court astrologer. Jews held many prominent posts, both religious and political. Pedro de la Caballeria, a Marrano, played a major role in arranging Ferdinand's marriage. Castile even had an unofficial Crown Rabbi, a professing Jew.

This Inquisition was the result of the reconquest of Spain on the Muslims and the policy of converting the Jews and the Muslims to Christianity. The Jews were not to be expelled until 1492.

The Spanish Inquisition, painted Pedro Berruguete. Saint Dominic Presiding over an Auto-da-fe, painted 1475.Oil on wood. 60 5/8 X 36 1/4"(154 X 92cm). Prado Museum, Madrid.

Origin

While the castillian Isabella was a devout Catholic, the catalan Ferdinand was not above using religion as a means of controlling his people. He wanted the Jewish and Muslim religions wiped out in his domains, and the Inquisition was his method for achieving that. Many historians believe the Spanish Inquisition was instituted as a way of weakening Ferdinand's primary political opposition at home. It is also possible that there was a financial motivation. Jewish financiers 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. The Inquisitor who Ferdinand installed in Saragossa Cathedral was assassinated by New Christians.

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. However, he 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.

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. Detractors also called converted Jews Marranos, a pejorative word that can also be translated "pigs". 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").

Sixtus IV was Pope when the Spanish Inquisition was instituted in Seville. He worked against it, but bowed to pressure from Ferdinand of Aragon, who threatened to withhold military support from his kingdom of Sicily. Sixtus issued the Bull establishing the order in 1478. Nevertheless Sixtus was unhappy with the excesses of the Inquisition and took measures to suppress their abuses.

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.


History

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.

The Inquisition, as a religious court, was operated by Church authorities however if a person was found to be heretical, they were turned over to the secular authorities to be punished; punishments ranged from public shame to burning at the stake - dead after garroting (strangulation), for those who repented, alive for the unrepentant, or in effigy for those condemned in absentia. These punishments were conducted in public ceremonies (called auto de fe) that could last a whole day. The clerical members of the tribunal were assisted by civilians (familiares). The office of familiar of the Inquisition was very prestigious.
Many persons made such accusations out of revenge, or to gain rewards from the Crown. Very probably the Crown itself was behind some of the allegations, in the desire to appropriate wealthy Jews' lands, property and valuables.

Numbers are difficult to establish with accuracy, but some estimates suggest 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. Many more are said to have died or spent many years in the prisons and dungeons. It has been suggested that as many as 32,000 people may have been burnt alive, or in effigy, during the 340 years of the Inquisition's existence.

The Inquisition was an important tool in enforcing the limpieza de sangre ("cleanliness of blood") against descendants of converted Jews or Muslims.

The Inquisition was also used against focuses of early Protestantism, Erasmism and Illuminism and in the 18th century 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 used against Protestants in the Netherlands during their war for independence from Spain.

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

[Arjuna Durden]

Salubrious Greetings!

I am not sure about the role of the Inquisition in Spain ...
When you consider that the Inquistion repressed Spaniards like
Quevedo (Knight of the Holy Order of St. James, Author of God's policy, Christ's government and Satans's tyranny)
or Calderon, St. Teressa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, etc, etc, etc.

Crypto-Judaism in Spain may well have started with Torquemada himself,
of whom I read he was a converso (nely converted Jew)

is this information correct?

[Gil]

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!

[Perun]

Henry Kamen's book on the Inquisition is a good source. He notes how much of the stories of torture and mass executions are highly blown out of proportion. Most people arrested by the Inquisition were never charged and soon released. Its censorship lists of books were often ignored, even by fellow members of the church(so the notion of it being an instrument of brutal censorship is a myth). It had the lowest execution rate of any court in all of Europe. Interesting read.

[Menydh]

Another detail that has occured to me is that of the complete lack of news of complaints against the Inquisition for trespassing foral jurisdiction. The foral (old federal-styled laws and liberties of the various kingdoms) had to be complied with by absolutely everyone. An example was the uprising of the citizens of Saragossa when the soldiers of King Felipe II came in to arrest his personal secretary, who had taken refuge under the Fueros of that city, and who was not even a citizen there.

Abuses by the Inquisition would have met with foral resistance.

[Perun]

Originally Posted by Mynydd

Abuses by the Inquisition would have met with foral resistance.

Exactly. It was not some all powerful institution that nobody could touch. Also the Inquisition was one of the first courts in Europe to have it so that the accused could have attorney present, and would be provided an attorney if the accused could not afford one. The accused could also cross-examine witnesses who made accusations against them. Forget whether this was the Roman or Spainish inquisition, but the Inquisition did lay the foundations for our modern court systems.