The Spanish Inquisition In the year 1469 there was a union between the Spanish kingdoms,
Aragon and Castile. This union would ignite the darkest moment of
Spanish history, the Spanish Inquisition. Ferdinand of Aragon married
Isabella I of Castile, in hopes of obtaining the Castilian crown.
Isabella's high-spirited and politically astute personality enabled
her to retain sovereign authority in her own realm, they became known
as the Spanish Kings. At the time, Spain was a nation-state created
out of religious struggle between numerous religions. Both being of
Catholic descent Ferdinand and Isabella decided to unite Spain through
making Catholicism the official religion of the nation. Many reasons
why they chose to make Spain a Catholic nation was so they could
eliminate the Jewish, Muslim and Protestant competition. The people of
these faiths would have to either convert or face impending death or
exile if they decided to stay. The Spanish Inquisition stems from both
greed and anti-Semitic feelings. The Jewish at the time most of the
nation financially, held powerful positions and highly influential.
So, by eliminating them, the monarchy would be able to add more to the
nations treasury, gain more power and ultimately control over the
citizens. There were no reliable witnesses or evidence that could have
been provided against the "criminals". The Catholic Church was forced
to accept the majority amount of the blame for the Spanish
inquisition, even though members of the Catholic Church were also
victims to the inquisition.
The Catholic Church is sai...
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...wn when they did so. Their property was irretrievable
because according to the Crown, once they flee jurisdiction they give
up all rights to their property. The informers that were heavily
relied on by the prosecutors in all state tribunals had a claim to a
proportion of the accused's property.
The Spanish inquisition was fuelled by the people's worst traits:
fear, greed, and intolerance, the greed for power and increased
financial gain. What started off as a noble cause turned into a bloody
nightmare, where great sins were committed in the name of God, the
church used as a scapegoat in this horrible incident. Unnecessary fear
struck into the citizens' mind, people unjustly persecuted because of
their belief or of others accusations and the control that the state
had over the people were all evident during that time.
Sepúlveda, Juan Ginés de. Just War Against Barbarians. Essay. The Spanish Tradition in America. 1544.
For instance, in 1481, the “Catholic Kings” were what Ferdinand and Isabella were known as. The kingdom of Castile and Aragon were ruled together, but not as countries. It was a union of crowns (Isaacs). “The two kingdoms maintained their separate l...
Few, if any, religious conquests were as gruesome and devastating as the Inquisition. Starting in the 13th century, monarchs from all around Europe, with approval from the Popes during their reigns, anointed inquisitors to track down a certain group of he...
Spanish history starts with the marriage of Isabella, queen of Castile, and Ferdinand, king of Aragon, in 1469. With this marriage, the two counties became one, but neither one could control the others possessions without the other person’s writing consent, which was true of all marriages under Spanish law
Witchcraft. The word in itself evokes a certain kind of eeriness. In past centuries, people who were accused of being witches were thought of to be the worst kinds of people there are. There were several kinds of witches and several ways in which they operated. Whatever the reason, the Catholic Church saw witches, or those accused of being witches, as sinful. Partly to stop this kind of sin and other forms, the Inquisition of the Catholic Church was implemented. It is important to know what the factors leading up to the Inquisition included to fully understand its implementation. Once the history is reviewed it is easy to see how the Faith of the Church and the reason behind its thinking were hand-in-hand at the time, and also the way in which they seemingly conflict today.
Llorente, Juan Antonio [1967] A critical history of the Inquisition of Spain, from the period of its establishment by Ferdinand V to the reign of Ferdinand VII, composed from the original documents of the Archives of the Supreme Council of the Inquisition and from those of subordinate tribunals of the Holy Office. J. Lilburne Co. Williamstown, MA.
History provides several horrible periods of violence, fear and murder. Such horrible acts against humanity have been committed in the name of religion, colonization, and racial superiority. The Holocaust, was one of the most catastrophic and saddest events in history, where about 11 million people, including Jewish children, families, and political dissenters were mass murdered. However, there exists another mournful and cruel period that marked the lives of many Sephardic Jews with secrecy and fear. One hardly hears about the harassment, rejection and humiliation of Sephardic Jewry in Spain, Portugal, and countries like Mexico, at the hands of the Holy Office of the Inquisition, which began in 1492. Due to these events, Sephardic Jews found themselves facing one of the most complex decisions of their lives and those of future generations; conversion, expulsion or death. The reasons for conversion are complex, as many converted by force and others for social or political reasons. As a result, converts became known as Conversos and “marranos /chuetas, and the latter are derogatory terms, as the names imply “swine” (Hordes 6). Another important term is Anusim, referring to those "whose conversion was prompted by violence and fear not sincerity” (Hordes 6). Marranos, were secretive people often, “keeping their children from their Jewish identity, until they reached an age where discretion could be trusted "(Telushkin 195). All of these events, have led to the complex phenomena, of the crypto-Jews in the new world, including Mexico and the American Southwest. Thus, sparking new areas of interest and research of their practices, customs, authenticity, and identification.
A major turning point in Medieval history were the Crusades. The Crusades were a series of wars fought between the Christian Europeans and the Muslim Turks, which occurred between the years of 1096 to 1272. In this Holy War the Christians goal was to obtain the Holy Land from the Turks, in which they did not succeed. Although the Christians did not meet their goal, many positives did come out of their attempt. Due to the reason that they did not meet their goal, yet numerous positives came out of their effort, many refer to this as a successful failure.
What was the Spanish Inquisition? The Spanish Inquisition persecuted and discriminated against minorities in the Iberia Peninsula who opposed to the practice and ideologies of the Catholic Church. Between 1480 to 1834, the Spanish Inquisition was placed under the authority of the royal power in Spain; the Inquisition was created in order to resolve the particular problem presented by the presence of thousands of converted Jews in the Iberian Peninsula. At the same time, the inquisition extended its authority to other minorities and become implanted in other geographical regions. This “institution” operated and was expanded to other territories under the crown of Castile—the Canaries and the territories ruled by viceroys in New Spain and Peru (24, 25).
The Spanish Inquisition was the longest and most ruthless inquiry of faith of all time. Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Christians, and all non-Catholic religions were besieged by persecution from the Spanish government. Although it was not intended, thousands of innocent Spaniards were tortured and killed once the king and queen of Spain established the Inquisition. An Inquisition is a very complex process, and at first, seemed innocuous.
The First Crusade was from 1096 to 1099. They were Christian military. expeditions and religious wars proclaimed by the people. The purpose of the Crusades were to gain and keep control over Palestine from the Muslims. Palestine was also called the Holy Land because Jesus lived there.
The difference between the two monarchies’ plan for a centralized state was the method in which both were carried out. In the time of the New Monarchies, religion was integral to unifying the state. Monarchs such as Isabella of Castile tried to unify their countries as a result of religious purification. Isabella believed firmly that a stable Spain would only stem from a Catholic Spain. As a result, the reconquista was initiated and unification took place around the church. The monarchs insisted on religious conformity. In addition, parliamentary institutions were ignored or even sometimes abolished in order to centralize and bring peace to the state. Townspeople, the target of monarchs for support, were willing to let parliaments be dominated by the king, for parliaments p...
The Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century is one of the most complex movements in European history since the fall of the Roman Empire. The Reformation truly ends the Middle Ages and begins a new era in the history of Western Civilization. The Reformation ended the religious unity of Europe and ushered in 150 years of religious warfare. By the time the conflicts had ended, the political and social geography in the west had fundamentally changed. The Reformation would have been revolutionary enough of itself, but it coincided in time with the opening of the Western Hemisphere to the Europeans and the development of firearms as effective field weapons. It coincided, too, with the spread of Renaissance ideals from Italy and the first stirrings of the Scientific Revolution. Taken together, these developments transformed Europe.
Ever since the fall of 1930 when the Spanish Revolution began there has been no surcease of the struggle in Spain. For a long time there was a deadlock of forces, an equilibrium in the tug of war between the property holders and the destitute. Now the equilibrium is being definitely broken. The issue before Spain is either Communism or Fascism. The matter is being fought out not with ballots but with bullets and ruthless civil war. Slowly the political revolution is being definitively turned into a social revolution.