In 1469 Isabella of Castille and Ferdinand of Aragon were married. This event marked “…a major step in the unification and Christianization of Spain.” The new monarchs were determined to strengthen the royal authority. Queen Isabella believed there needed to be a unified state religion in order to attain and maintain control over Spain. She was a devout Catholic and viewed anyone who challenged this religion to be guilty of heresy.
The Catholic sovereigns were determined to have a united country, and they did not believe this ambition could be achieved unless all their subjects accepted one religion. This they were determined to bring about through persuasion, if possible, and if not, by force. Spain under Isabella and Ferdinand was ripe for the Inquisition; that was why the cruel institution was embraced so heartily and continued to survive until the nineteenth century.
The royal authority at that time was enormous and had managed to gain ultimate power over all other government boards in Spain through clever alliances and appointments of officials that would carry out their authority without question. Because of an alliance that had been formed between the monarchs of Spain and the pope, the king and queen had not only support from the Catholic church, but a great deal of power over it. They were granted the power to appoint bishops in all of Spain’s territories and were able to consequently raise an army to secure the national church they were establishing. It was during this time that many Arabs and individuals who were Muslims were conquered, and religious pluralism, at least in Southern Spain, started to dissipate.
But a much stronger minority was viewed as a grave danger to the national church. Not only individuals who professed to believe the doctrine of Judaism, but also those who were “conversos” or simply had Jewish blood in them, were believed to be a threat and insincere about their religious principles. The large population of Jews and the resentment that had been building throughout the Spanish aristocracy, prompted Queen Isabella to revive the Inquisition. She, in particular, was resolute in her decision to rid Spain of any individuals suspected of heresy or any who placed the unity of the church (and the extent of her authority) in jeopardy.
The word heresy comes from the Greek word hairesis, which means, “individual choosing.” Therefore, any individual who displayed this individual choice through their religion, and consequently defied the Christian doctrine established, was considered a heretic.
Since religion was thought to bind society in a fundamental way, religious unity was essential for social cohesion. A heretic, therefore, threatened not only the religious part of the community, but the community itself. …Civil authorities could (and did) punish heresy. The term heresy came to be applied to the position of a Christian who chose and stubbornly held to doctrinal error in defiance of church authority.
Reports of heresy grew and suspicion spread amongst those in power. In 1483, Queen Isabella appointed Tomas de Torquemada as the inquisitor-general. It was Torquemada who is said to have created the inquisitorial procedure that took place throughout Spain, and who created numerous branches of the Inquisition in different cities. The inquisitorial procedure began as such: (1) the inquisitor-general (Torquemada) formed local tribunals, or panels of men similar to a jury, (2) the general public was able to bring forth any suspected heretics before the tribunal, (3) at which time, the supposed heretic was given the chance to confess his or her heresy and turn in any others that were guilty of this crime against the Catholic church. If the accused person admitted to the charge and indicted other heretics, they were either released or subjected to time in prison. If, however, the accused refused to admit any heresy or provide names of other heretics, they were publicly killed or sentenced to life in prison. During that time, anyone brought before the court was commonly believed to be guilty until proven innocent, which made the burden of proof much less of a burden. Those who accused others of being heretics remained completely anonymous, so many saw this as an opportunity to get revenge over others. The property of those accused, was immediately seized and then later administered. This, along with the promised anonymity, brings to question whether many of the accused heretics were simply brought before the tribunal because someone was envious of their belongings and/or vengeful. It can therefore be suggested that the Inquisition brought forth not only the opportunity to purge the Christian church of heretics, but to reclaim others’ wealth, and punish individuals for personal reasons. Because of the opportunity for wealth to be seized, many saw the Spanish Inquisition as not only a religious movement, but a political and economic movement as well. “The Inquisition was sometimes used as a cloak for political and private revenge. At times the sincerest inquisitors were misled by fanatical zeal and they practiced great cruelties.”
The church remained in charge of the inquisitorial process, because they were considered spiritual matters. However, the punishments that were inflicted were very physical and therefore handled by the state. There is much controversy as to the heinous nature of many of the methods of torture that were used during this time. Common to most sources, was the burning of heretics at the stake in a public display. Some believe that hundreds of thousands were killed this way; others suggest that these punishments of the past have been exaggerated throughout the years. Other means of torture that are believed to have occurred are the use of straps and pulleys to stretch individuals until the pain ultimately led to a confession, or to death, and the use of suffocation through water torture.
Though the number of fatalities is debatable, there is no question as to the existence of the Spanish Inquisition and its attempts toward religious absolutism and unification, as well as the undeniable misuse of authority that allowed the movement to expand into both the political and economic arena. As opposed to the presence of the Inquisition in Rome, Portugal, and Medieval times, the Spanish Inquisition was not essentially under the power of the church, but rather, under the power of the monarchy that had managed to control almost all aspects of the Inquisition in the name of Christianity. Because the crown had so much influence during that time, there is much skepticism as to the intentions carried out by the Inquisition and whether or not religion was a key factor, or merely an excuse to exercise control and cleanse Spain of any individuals who were ill-favored by those in power.
Bibliography
“Inquisition.” Compton’s Encyclopedia. 1986.
McKay, John, Bennett D. Hill, and John Buckler. A History of Western
Society. (Fourth Edition) Boston: Houghton Miflin Company. 1964.
Oakley, F. The Western Church in the Later Middle Ages. Ithaca, N.Y.:
Cornell University Press. 1979.
Plaidy, Jean. The Spanish Inquisition. New York: The Citadel Press. 1967.
Roth, Cecil. The Spanish Inquisition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company,
Inc. 1964.
“The Spanish Inquisition.” Collier’s Encyclopedia. New York: P.F. Collier & Son
Corporation. 1959.
“The Spanish Inquisition.” The New Encyclopedia Britannica. 1994.
The number of fatalities that occurred vary depending on the source. This approximation was recorded in the following: “The Spanish Inquisition,” Collier’s Encyclopedia, 1959. (p.6250)
McKay, John, Bennett D. Hill, and John Buckler, A History of Western Society, Fourth Edition, (Boston: Houghton Miflin Company, 1964) 413.
“The Spanish Inquisition,” Collier’s Encyclopedia, 1959. (p. 6251)
Roth, Cecil, The Spanish Inquisition, (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1964) 70.
McKay, John, Bennett D. Hill, and John Buckler, A History of Western Society, Fourth Edition, (Boston: Houghton Miflin Company, 1964) 414.
At that time, Catholicism and Christianity were terms used synonymously.
Plaidy, Jean, The Spanish Inquisition, (New York: The Citadel Press, 1967) 86.
McKay, John, Bennett D. Hill, and John Buckler, A History of Western Society, Fourth Edition, (Boston: Houghton Miflin Company, 1964) 413.
Oakley, F., The Western church in the Later Middle Ages, (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1979) 175.
“The Spanish Inquisition,” The New Encyclopedia Britannica, 1994.
“Inquisition,” Compton’s Encyclopedia, 1986. (p. 211)
Roth, Cecil, The Spanish Inquisition, (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1964) 72.
