Spanish Inquisition Research Paper

Spanish Inquisition (1478-1834): In the late 1400s, Catholic Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand wanted to establish Spain as a Catholic country. They wanted everyone in their kingdom to be Catholic. The Spanish Inquisition was the Roman Catholic court to find the Muslims and Jews practicing their own religion against Christianity. In the year of 1492 the last Muslim country Granada fell to Spanish rule, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand had completed the Reconquista and the Inquisition that affected many Jews, Muslims and Christians started taking serious effects.

Jewish Perspective: According to Britannica: “Anti-Semitism had come and go in the Jewish communities in Spain. Overall, there were many Jews living in Spain, but in the year of 1391

Jews like these were known as Marranos; where they were believed by Tomas de Torquemada a Dominican Monk to be a greater threat to Spain and the Christians than the ones who had rejected to be converted”. “The first grand inquisitor in Spain; Tomas de Torquemada tortured his victims which were Jews and terrorized them at the time where it was considered cruel. Around 2,000 people had been executed in front of a large crowd, this was a gathering almost like a ritual” ("Spanish Inquisition." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 19 Dec. 2017. school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/William-Jennings-Bryan/624066#327585.toc. Accessed 9 Feb. 2018). According to Oxford University Press (OUP) “By the year of 1492 on the day of March 30, Granada the last Muslim power fell to the Christians. Due to this, Tomas de Torquemada finally convinced Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand to enact a policy where Spanish Jews had a 4-month choice to be baptized or to be exiled from the country. Many Spanish Jews had helped develop the Spanish culture, with their food and practices but since Tomas de Torquemada had the belief that Jews would ruin Christian Spanish Society, he persuaded Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand to