Spanish Inquisition – Intellectual Terrorism ?

Tale of Torture under Christian Rule In Europe

Zakaria Virk, Toronto, Canada

Inquisition was a religious court established during the Middle Ages in Europe,
either by bishops or by the Pope to suppress heresies, which threatened Roman Catholic faith. Its
primary objective was to detect and identify deviants from the faith, to secure their return to the
Catholic Church and to punish those who refused to abandon their erroneous beliefs.
The Spanish Inquisition that lasted from 1478 to 1834 was one of the saddest episodes in
the history of human thought, the darkest chapter in the record of Jewish and Muslim history in
Spain. This was one of the greatest tragedies in the history, which ultimately led to the decline of
Spain from the high status accorded to her as an imperial power.
The first known Medieval Inquisition took place in 1184 in France. The founder of
Inquisition was Pope Gregory IX who in 1231 issued the fundamental constitution,
Excommunicamus, which set up the courts to hear cases of heresy and mete out punishments. At
first, it was confined to Germany, but it became general in 1233. It was not recognized officially
in central Italy until 1235.
Heresies (Greek meaning school of belief) were a problem for the church from the very
beginning. Initially they were suppressed as they arose. In the early centuries of Christianity,
there were heresies of Arians and Manicheans; in the Middle Ages, there were the Cathari, and
Waldenses; and during the Renaissance, there were the Hussites, Lutherans, and Calvinists.
During the Middle Ages a permanent structure was established to deal with this growing
problem. Beginning in the 12th century, Pope Gregory IX published a decree that called for life
imprisonment with salutary penance for the heretic who had confessed, or repented. Capital
punishment was for those who persisted in their heresy.
The secular authorities carried out all executions. Pope Gregory relieved the bishops and
archbishops of this onerous task and made it the duty of Dominican Order.
Medieval Inquisition
The Medieval Inquisition never existed as a distinct office however; individual
Inquisitors were mandated in 1231 by the Pope to combat heresy. Pope Innocent III urged
secular rulers to proceed against Cathari movement in Southern France, calling it the high
treason against God, which warranted death. After a military campaign of Albigensian Crusade,
inquisitors were sent to Southern France to police the area.
Since Roman times, heretics had been executed as traitors, once they were handed over to
secular authority. This however happened only to multiple offenders and unrepentant heretics.
For others it was expected that their property will be confiscated, they will be banished or they
will be made to recant publicly. Torture was not used if they could persuade the heretic to repent.
For instance, Bernard Gui, a famous Inquisitor working in Toulouse (France) executed 42 people
out of 700 guilty heretics while he was in office for 15 years.
Roman Inquisition
The Roman Inquisition began when Pope Paul III established the Holy Office on July 5,
1542 as the final court of appeal in the trials of heresy. It was the most benign of three types of
Inquisitions detailed in this article. The Inquisition Tribunal consisted of six cardinals, of whom
cardinal Carafa was the inquisitor- general. All sentencing was conducted in private and
according to the handbooks of law like Directorium Inquisitorum written in 1376. The Tribunal
had total authority over Judaizing Christians. The chief target of course was the heresy of
Protestantism. In Italy, nearly forty percent of all trials seem to have dealt with magic.
In reaction to the Spanish Inquisition, Roman Inquisition was tightly controlled under the
administration of Francisco Pena. Among Pena’s subjects of Inquisition were Giordano Bruno(
1548-1600), and Galileo Galilei (1564-1642). Of the two Bruno was kept in a dark dungeon for
eight years and then taken out to a blazing market place in Rome and roasted to death by fire for
being ‘an atheist, an infidel and a heretic’.
In his numerous works he had written of an infinite universe which left no room for that
greater infinite conception which is called God. He could not conceive that God and nature could
be separate and distinct entities as taught by Genesis, as taught by the Church, even taught by
Aristotle. He preached a philosophy that made the mysteries of the virginity of Mary, of the
crucifixion and the mass, meaningless. He thought of the Bible as a book that only the ignorant
could take literally. He bequeathed an intoxicating idea of an expanding universe that is now
accepted as scientific truth.
Galilei, on the other hand, died under house arrest. It is ironic that instead of dispatching
Galileo into obscurity, the Roman Inquisitors conferred renown upon him, thus making
themselves symbols of opposition to scientific discoveries.
Galileo was a lecturer at the University of Padua for 18 years. During his scientific
studies and experiments, he discredited many Christian beliefs that had long been regarded as
Scriptural truths. By using telescope to observe, the heavenly bodies he discovered that Earth
revolved around the Sun and is not the center of the universe as people had been led to believe.
His claims in The Starry Messenger 1610, shook the church and his enemies decided to
ask him how a moving earth could be reconciled with the statement that God “fixed the earth
upon its foundations, not to be moved forever”. (Ps 103:5) The Book of Ecclesiastes states “ the
sun rises and the sun goes down: then it presses on to the place where it rises.” (1:5)
In those days, preachers spread the notion that the earth was center of the universe as it
was abode of man. His begotten Son (?) was sent to this earth to redeem humankind. Galileo
wrote a letter to church authorities presenting his views on the relation between the Bible and
science. The clergy reminded him in no uncertain words that no one is allowed to interpret
Scriptures except the Fathers of the Church.
Upon arriving in Rome on December 7, 1615, he decided to present his conclusive proofs
of heliocentric system to Pope Paul V. He was ordered to appear before Cardinal Bellarmine. On
March 5, 1616, his book De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, was placed on the list of
forbidden books.
His next book was called Saggiatore. In 1624 he went to Rome and had six lengthy
audiences with Pope Urban VIII, a good friend of Galileo. He wrote another book Dialogue on
the two great World Systems to give a conclusive proof of Copernican system. On September 23,
1632 Pope sent directions to Inquisitor at Florence to notify Galileo that he was to appear before
the commissary-general in Rome in October. He arrived in Rome on February 1633. Instead of
the Inquisition prison he was allowed to stay at the home of Tuscan ambassador. He was told
once again to appear before the Inquisition and on May 10th he appeared for the third time. At a
private meeting of Inquisition that was presided over by the Pope Urban, everyone agreed to try
him under threat of torture.
Finally, on June 22, 1633, he was led to the hall of Dominican Convent and his sentence
was read to him before a full assembly. Ten cardinals signed the document. Seventy years of age,
he was made to kneel before the Inquisition and make the abjuration. The prison sentence was
never imposed, though he remained under house arrest for rest of his life. In 1636, he had his
book Two New Sciences published from Amsterdam. By 1637 he was completely blind.
He died on January 8, 1642, was buried in the Church of Santa Croce in Florence. Nearly
a century after his death, the church authorities granted permission in 1737 for the erection of a
monument over his tomb. It was not until 1835 that his books would be taken off the Index.
Index of forbidden books
In 405 CE, Pope Innocent I published a list of forbidden books, and at the end of that
century a decree was issued that has been called the first Index of Forbidden Books. It listed the
genuine books of the Bible, the apocryphal books, and heretical books. Henceforth Popes and
Councils periodically published lists of forbidden books.
With the Council of Trent (1545-1563), the Church instituted a permanent institution to
deal with this subject. In 1542, the Congregation of the Inquisition was initially charged with
drawing up a complete list of forbidden books.
An Index of Prohibited books and authors was published in 1559 banning over 583
authors; it was the first to be called Index. The Pauline Index banned many northern European
scientific texts not because they contained heretical views, but because their authors were
Protestants. It was immediately subject to revision by a papal commission, which published its
result in 1564, the Tridentine Index. This comprehensive Index also provided rules for
censorship. For almost two centuries, the Index was updated periodically without major
revisions, but beginning in 1664 the Index listed forbidden books not according to categories but
simply alphabetically.
In 1757 and later in 1897 there were major revisions in the general norms governing
censorship and prohibition. The last edition of the Index was that of 1948; it was formally
abolished in 1966. The Catholic Church has, however, not relinquished authority to forbid the
reading of books that in its judgment are a danger to the faith and morals of Catholics.
Furthermore, books listed on the 1948 Index are not automatically permitted reading for
Catholics. For many books, permission from Church authorities is still required.
Freedom of thought and written and oral expression is a relatively recent development.
The idea that anyone could think and say or write what he wanted was considered abnormal few
hundred years ago.
The Spanish Inquisition
When Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand united Spain in 1479, they were paranoid in
their fear of revolt. When the queen's confessor, Tomas de Torquemada (1420-1498), of Jewish
origin himself, whispered into her ears that Christianized Jews were secretly practicing their
Hebrew faith and corrupting good Christians, Isabella was horrified and frightened. She asked
Pope Sixtus IV for permission to establish the inquisition in Spain. The permission was granted
without any hesitation.
Up until 1480, Spain had been one of the least Inquisitions ridden in Europe. The
stimulating influence of Jews and Muslims had helped it to stay culturally active and
intellectually creative. For centuries Spain had been multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, there was a
mixture of races, of creeds to be found in no other land.
The Spanish Inquisition was a court of inquiry instituted by King Ferdinand and Queen
Isabella in 1480 to enforce strict religious standards for all Catholics in Spain, especially the
suspected New Christians. The court was instructed not to conduct its work among professing
Jews. It is estimated that at the time the Inquisition started nearly one-half of all Jews had
converted to Christianity. While they attended churches regularly, at home they lit Sabbath
candles, abstained from eating pork and observed Jewish holidays.
As for Muslims, originally they were allowed to freely exercise their religion.
Nevertheless, in 1501 the Spanish sovereigns issued a decree ordering all Muslims to leave
Castile and Granada, except those who were willing to embrace Christianity.
Though most of the Muslim converts received baptism, many of them adulterated their
Christian rites with Muslim practices, even secretly apostatized.
The Inquisition began in Seville, and the cruelty and terror for which it is known began
immediately. The guilty had often their hands chopped off before they were burnt alive.
Thousands of Jews fled Seville, their property confiscated by the Crown through this ploy. Soon
the royal coffers were swelling with the loot of the Jewish victims.
The Vatican issued directions that all judges of the court must be at least 40 years of age,
of good reputation, noted for virtue and wisdom, masters of theology and must follow all
ecclesiastical rules and regulations.
On October 17, 1483, Pope Sixtus IV bestowed on the Dominican monk Tomas
Torquemando, the office of the Grand Inquisitor in Spain. This centralized authority of
Inquisition was characteristic of Spanish Inquisition. A network of prisons across the land was
set up. Informers were ready to turn in their neighbors. Torture was refined as a tool for
extracting confessions. Punishments ranged from fines, confiscation of property, and life
imprisonment to burning at the stake.
Because of Torquemando’s superior organizational skills there were 19 courts working in
1538. Later on there were courts instituted in South American cities of Mexico, Lima and
Cartagena. Some estimates suggest that nearly 8000 Jews were burnt alive as well as a small
number of Moriscos (Muslim converts) during the fifteen years Thomas Torquemada was Grand
Inquisitor.
The Inquisition could not be introduced into Italy, and the efforts to have it established in
Holland entailed dire consequences for Spain. In Spain, it remained operative until the 19th
century.
It’s original purpose was to route out Judaism and Islam but it was ineffective against
French rationalism.
Organization of Inquisition
The Inquisition in Spain was deeply centralized. The Grand Inquisitor, who was
nominated by the King and confirmed by the Pope, headed it. He delegated powers to other
persons suitable for the job and received appeals from the Spanish courts.
A Supreme Tribunal consisting of five members assisted him in his work. The Grand
Inquisitor appointed all officials. The Grand Inquisitor had the authority to appoint, transfer,
remove from office, visit, inspect and call to account all Inquisitors. All powers were
concentrated in this Tribunal. Without its permission no priest, or nobleman could be put in
prison or a auto-da-fe could be held. It heard all appeals and decided on disputed questions. The
prison was known by the euphemistic title of casa de la penitencia (House of Penitence) and was
less rigorous than the secret prison (carceles secretas).
The independent status enabled the Tribunal to hoard wealth, amassed by property
confiscations, and rendered itself a force to be reckoned with in political affairs of the country.
It had so much autonomy that it did not hesitate to start proceedings against bishops and
archbishops. For instance when Carranza, archbishop of Toledo’s book Comments on the
Christian Catechism was placed on the Index of banned books, Pope Pius IV called the case to
Rome, but King Phillip declared that the case must be tried in Spain only. In the end, Carranza
was sent to Rome in 1567 after eight years of imprisonment.
With so much authority vested in this Tribunal, the Spanish Inquisition soon became a
state within a state. The Inquisitors paid no taxes, gave no account of their confiscations. They
could bear arms and could prosecute their critics under the charge of heresy. In short it soon
evolved into a political institution. All Inquisitors were royal agents who received their
appointment from the king who could dismiss them at will. The institution continuously worked
to enrich the royal treasury
Despite all this it remained fundamentally an ecclesiastical tribunal. The Holy See
sanctioned this institution and accorded the Grand Inquisitor judicial authority concerning
matters of faith. Popes always admitted appeals from the Inquisition, called to themselves trials
at any stage of the proceedings, even deposed Grand Inquisitors. Therefore the church must share
the responsibility for proceedings of the tribunal, whose actions were marked by cruelty and
savagery. They have left black, ugly, and bloody stains on the pages of history.
The number of Tribunals in Spain totaled fifteen. They existed in Barcelona, Cordova,
Cuenca, Granada, Llerena, Logrono, Madrid, Murcia, Santiago, Seville, Toledo, Valencia,
Valladolid and Saragossa. Of these ones in Madrid, Seville and Toledo were more active than the
others due to large numbers of New Christians living nearby.
Towards the end of 15th century a central Tribunal officially termed El Consejo de la Suprema y
General Inquisicion came into being.

The Inquisition Tribunal

In less than ten years, the Inquisition had become an established institution in many
European countries. By the end of the 13th century the Inquisition in each region had a
bureaucracy to help in this function. The judge or Inquisitor could bring a case against anyone.
The accuser had to testify against himself and had no right to question the accuser (usually a
member of the clergy).
In any town where a Tribunal was established it was customary to publish an Edict of
Grace, inviting heretics to come forward and confess their transgressions, on the understanding
that they would receive merciful treatment. A Term of Grace – a time limit
of 30 to 40 days - was assigned for this purpose. Once this period expired guilty persons were
liable to be proceeded against with the full rigor of the Inquisition.
An Edict of Faith was periodically issued summoning all the faithful to report to the
authorities any person whom they knew or imagined to be guilty of heretical offences.
It was acceptable to take testimony from criminals, persons of ill repute, even heretics.
Jealous relatives informed on each other, servants on their masters, students on their teachers.
The Confidants were the official Inquisition spies who sneaked through the narrow streets of
Marrano neighborhoods and peeked into windows. They listened to shop gossip and questioned
servants. They were particularly active on Friday evenings and on Saturdays, the day of Jewish
Sabbath. In one instance a women was turned over to the Inquisition when she set a white cloth
on her dinner table on a Friday evening.
The accused had no right to a lawyer. The sentences handed to guilty could not be
appealed. Inquisitors sometime questioned the entire village in their jurisdiction. Usually the
Inquisitor questioned the accused in the presence of two witnesses. The accused was given a
summary of the charges he was facing, and made to take an oath to tell the truth.
 To get the cooperation from the accused various methods were employed. Torture came
in to wide spread use by the middle of 13th century. The findings of the Inquisition were read
before a large audience, the repentant abjured on his knees with one hand on the Bible held by
the Inquisitor.
Sometime imprisonment was for life or may be death accompanied by confiscation of all
property which bore heavily upon the victims, their families and heirs.
The law decreed that heretics forfeited all of their property the day they wavered in faith.
The wealth willed to children and grandchildren was confiscated. Even people long dead were
brought to trial in absentia. If they found their graves, they were opened and the remains burned.
In Carcassonne, France parades were held by a group of people each carrying the
decomposed body of one or more burned heretics. A person who had died several decades ago
could be judged heretical, his property taken from his heirs. Such property was distributed
among the heirs of the persons who had discovered evidence of lapse from the faith. Others who
could share the confiscated property were members of the Inquisition, church officials and the
public treasury.
Usually as soon as a person was arrested for suspicion of heresy, his property was seized
by the officials. This rule was enforced in a rigorous way, officials inventoried every article of
the house furniture and provisions as well his real estate. In rare cases where his guilt was not
proven, the property was restored to him.
Some canonist maintained that the proceedings against the deceased heretic must be
started within five years however others asserted there was no time limit. The time started not
from the commission of crime, but from its detection. The time period against the Vatican was
one hundred years.
The punishment ranged from visits to churches, pilgrimages, wearing the cross of infamy
in public to burning at the stake. These punishments were conducted in public ceremonies called
auto da fe which lasted for a whole day. The clerical members of the tribunal were assisted by
civilians (familiares).
The guilty were often flogged, or some had their hands chopped off before they were
burnt, alive in many instances. Death was usually by burning at the stake that was carried out by
the secular authorities.
One source of Inquisitorial revenue was that of commuting for a fee the penance handed
out by the Tribunal. This yielded immense sums of money during the Middle Ages. In theory
such contributions were meant to be applied to defray the expenses of the Inquisition, or for
other pious purposes. In reality though, there was a great deal of embezzlement. In 1346, the
Republic of Florence rose against their Inquisitors. One witness swore to 66 cases of extortion, in
another case the sum amounted to 1700 gold florins.
The Inquisition Procedure
In the early period of the Inquisition, the Inquisitors rode through the countryside in
search of heretics. Soon they were empowered to summon suspects from their homes to such
places that were considerably safe. Gradually Inquisition Centers were established. For instance,
Paris was the headquarters for the Inquisitors in France.
The Inquisitor could bring lawsuit against any person who might even vaguely be object
of the public rumor. When he was told of the charges leveled against him, he was required to
take an oath to tell the truth and thus testify against himself. The accused was kept in the dark as
to the identity of the witnesses for the prosecution. Blood relationship did not excuse a person
from testifying. The accused were denied services of court clerks and lawyers. By the rules of
Excommunicamus there was no appeal process.
Anyone suspected of heresy over the age of fourteen was tortured. Without any regard for
the sex of the heretic, the victim was stripped naked, and usually given a small covering round
the loins. For instance a girl, who was thirteen and survived the torture, was subjected to one
hundred lashes. Old men and women whether they were 60, 70 or 80 were tortured or burned
alive. Pregnancy offered no immunity either, except that she was tortured in a sitting position.
During the entire time of torture the secretary of the Inquisition stood by, recording every
cruel act and every shriek of agony. In 1568 a women was tortured because she refused to eat
pork and was suspected of being a Jew. Despite her declaration of innocence, her screams of
pain, the Inquisitor kept repeating, Tell the Truth.
The visitor to the Horniman Musueum in South East London are offered a glimpse into
the incredible savagery with which the Spanish Inquisition sought to eradicate Jews and
Muslims. A steel torture chair that was brought from Cuenca, near Madrid has a movable seat,
with pinion and rack, manacles for feet and hands and a skeleton helmet with screws to put
pressure on the top of victim’s head, to pierce the ears and to torture the nose and the chin. Then
there is a gag for the mouth with rack-action for forcing the mouth open and dragging forward
the tongue, & screw forceps for extracting toenails. Engraved on the mouth gag are the words:
‘Santo Oficio Caballero” – the noble Holy Office, the date given is 1676.
A man sentenced to be burned alive would be prevented from speaking by having the
tongue screwed tight between two irons. The tip of the tongue would be burned with a red -hot
iron causing it to swell up so that it could not be drawn back.
A forty years old women, Anna van den Hove, who read her Bible and belonged to
Protestant faith was brought to Brussels in 1597 to renounce her errors. On refusal she was led
out of the city to be buried alive.
What was the total number of persons burned at the stake during the Spanish Inquisition?
Some have estimated that between 1480 and 1808 nearly 32,000 persons were burned in Spain.
The French historian Langlois has reported that twelve hundred conversos, and relapse heretics
were present at the Inquisition session in Toledo in 1487.
Torquemada , the inquisitor-general of Spain, sentenced to the stake about 2000 heretics in twelve
years.
Execution by burning
Execution by burning has been a legal method of punishment for crimes of heresy,
treason and the practice of witchcraft. The form of execution in which the condemned is bound
to the large stake is called burning at the stake or auto de fe.
If the fire is big, the death occurs from carbon monoxide poisoning before flames actually
engulf the body. If the fire is small, the convict burns slowly and dies in great pain. Many of the
early Christian martyrs died in this way.
In 1184, the Synod of Verona legislated that burning was to be the official punishment
for heresy. Witch trials became very popular in Scotland, Spain, England, Austria and Germany
during the 14th and 15th centuries. By some estimates up to four million convicted witches and
heretics were burned at the stake during this time. Among the best -known convicted heretics
were Jan Hus (1415), Joan of Arc (1431) and Giordano Bruno (1600).
During the reign of Queen Mary in England (1553-58), two hundred and seventy seven
people were burnt at the stake for heresy against the Catholic Church.
Auto de fe
 In Spanish Auto de fe means ‘acts of faith’. It was the ritual public execution by fire or
humiliation of heretics and apostates that took place when Spanish Inquisition released the
condemned to the secular arm. Some of the prisoners who were obdurate, were burned alive, but
if they submitted to the church, they would be strangled at the stake before the fires were lit.
The auto-da-fe was an impressive ceremony to watch staged like a theatrical presentation.
Dignitaries dressed in colorful uniforms were prominently seated. Church officials wore their
finest vestments. When all was ready a procession was formed.
At its head flew the large banner of the Inquisition. Behind it marched the Inquisition officials,
next came the prisoners, dressed in unique costumes. They wore large vests upon which were
drawn designs and phrases indicating the crime: “This person has Judaized”. A cone shaped hat
sat on their heads, barefoot and each carried a tall yellow candle.
The first auto-da-fe in Seville took place on February 6, 1481 when six people were
burned at the stake in front of a large crowd of nobles, clergy and citizens. By coincidence
1481marked the beginning of a terrible plague that lasted until 1488. In Seville 15,000 people
died. Some saw the plague as a punishment.
In Lisbon, Portugal the Rossio square was the popular burning place. Prisoners were
brought in carriages among the insults of the gathered crowd. Some time bystanders would try to
persuade the prisoners to repent to spare themselves of being burned alive.
In Seville, Spain auto de fe took place in 1481 when six men and women were executed
in a public square. The last Auto de fe execution in Spain was a school teacher, Cayetano Ripoll
on July 26, 1826 whose trial lasted for two years. He was accused of being a deist, and
substituting in his school the words ‘Praise be to God” for “Ave Maria Purissima”. In Portugal,
the first formal auto-da-fe took place on September 20, 1540, lasting until 1765.
Auto de fe also took place in Mexico, Brazil, and Peru and has been recorded by
contemporary historians like del Castillo.
Against scientific inquiry
The Inquisition offends modern ideals of justice and spiritual freedom besides
contradicting the teachings of Church Fathers such as St Bernard, who said “Faith must be the
result of conviction and should not be imposed by force.”
. The Inquisition often denied elementary justice to the defendant, it showed hostility to
the spirit of scientific inquiry (Galileo) and it permitted torture and infliction of death penalty. It
has to stand as a symbol of cruelty, intellectual terrorism and religious intolerance.
However, one ought to remember that penalties inflicted by the Inquisition were those in
current use in their day. For instance, counterfeiters were burned alive, those giving false weights
and measures were scourged, burglars were led to the scaffold, and thieves were put to death.
Still more revolting was the torture of the wheel, on which the victim was left with broken bones
and limbs to die a lingering death. John Calvin had no scruples in having his opponent Michael
Servetus burned to death.
It would be unfair to say that greed and avarice were the motives of the Inquisition.
But the thought of financial support was never far from the minds of the Inquisitors.
Without the financial backing, their work would certainly have remained ineffective.
Avarice and fanaticism were the motive for hundreds of years of unrelenting persecution.
Treatment of Jews
At the Council of Vienna in 1311, Pope Clement V issued directions to all princes to
prohibit Muslim muezzins to make the public call for prayer (adhan) from the minarets. For over
one hundred years this decree was ignored until the reign of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella
when it was enforced.
Jews were given the privilege to have Jewish witnesses to testify against Jewish
defendants. As a common practice Christians patronized Jewish physicians because of their
expertise. Soon rumors started circulating that Jews took advantage of their position to bring
about deaths of their Christian patients. Accordingly, a law was passed forbidding the
employment of Jewish doctors. This was re-enacted in 1335 and 1412.
In 1412 it was decreed that Jews and Muslims should be isolated in their ghettos
surrounded by a wall with only one gate. They were forbidden to attend Christian weddings and
funerals. As a result, both communities experienced distressing circumstances.
When Black Death was ravaging Spain in 1348, a great number of people blamed it on
the Jews. Pope Clement VI rejected this charge and showed how the plague raged in areas where
there were no Jews. In the city of Seville a Holy War against the Jews was launched in 1391 by
Martinez, the archdeacon of Seville. A mob tore down the synagogues and stormed the Jewish
ghettos, those who survived accepted baptism. Soon it spread to cities of Valencia, Toledo,
Palma, & Saragossa, the choice was always between baptism or the sword.
Soon the conversos were so many that they formed a definite class in Spain. By 1449
some of the noblest houses had Jewish blood in them like King Ferdinand, the Grand Inquisitor
Torquemado and archbishop of Granada.
On March 30, 1492 the government of King Ferdinand passed a decree expelling all Jews
or convert to Christianity. It gave the entire Jewish population until July 31 to leave Spain under
penalty of death. This meant all of their possessions must be sold at reduced prices and in many
cases they could not collect the debts. For those Jews who overstayed total confiscation was
enforced. Whatever possessions they could carry, upon arriving at the seaport, they were told to
pay export duty per head, the daily wages of 120 laborers.
During the great exodus whose last date set by the royal decree was August 2, 1492, more
than two hundred thousand fled Spain, of that about 120,000 went to Portugal. The permission to
reside in this country was one ducat per person for a period of six months after that they faced
conversion or expulsion again. The wealthy Jews purchased further stay while the poorer went
into exile again, over the sea to North African countries. Others sailed to Italy, Holland and
Mediterranean ports.
The Turkish Sultan Bajazet II made them particularly welcome and looked forward to
having his nation enriched by their knowledge of business and finance just as Spain once was. In
Constantinople they became wealthy international traders. They spoke Spanish and surrounded
themselves with their old culture. By the middle of 1500’s over fifteen thousand Jews were
living in the Turkish capital of Istanbul.
When 24 Jews of Ancona, Italy, were burned in an auto-da-fe in 1556, the Jews of
Turkey banded together to retort with an economic boycott. The Sultan even sent an ambassador
to Ancona to demand the release of Jews held in the Inquisition prisons.
It is of interest to note that the tolerance shown by Muslims for all Spaniards has been
described as ‘the golden age of Jews’ in Spain for five hundred years. (The Other 1492, By N.
Finkelstein, 1989, page 12).
The 1492 Expulsion Edict of Ferdinand and Isabella were officially withdrawn on
December 16, 1968.
Persecutions of Muslims
 The wholesale expulsion of Jews is no less pitiful than the expulsion of Muslims
(Moriscos or Moors) from Spain. It has been described by Cardinal Richelieu as one of the most
barbarous in human annals. Under threat of torture, most of native Muslims accepted baptism but
remained Muslim at heart.
In Castile, many of the Mudejares abandoned their native dress and language to blend in
with the locals. After persuasions and vile threats, an Edict of Expulsion was issued in 1502 for
the Muslims. The measure was intended for baptism. All the children were detained and
baptized, expatriation was made very difficult. They were prohibited from taking with them any
gold, silver or certain articles. They were told they could not go to a Christian country, Turkey or
to North Africa.
In the kingdom of Aragon, Moores succumbed to such threats. In September 1525, King
Charles V proclaimed that no Muslim should remain in his kingdom. In view of these
circumstances whole communities in some places embraced Christianity.
In 1538, a group of Moorish slaves was punished on the charge of coming together at
night to play musical instruments and perform zambras (Moorish dances) and to eat Kuskus.
In 1252 Alfonso X laid down the law that Mudejars and Jews must kneel when they met
a Christian priest carrying the Host in a public procession. A Mudejar who took the name of
Christ or Virgin Mary in vain was to be whipped, and have his tongue cut out for a third offence.
Mudejars were required to pay tithes to the church on any land. It was a regular practice for
Christian conquerors to convert mosques into churches. That is why the great mosque of
Cordoba still stands. In both Aragon and Castile the death penalty awaited Christian converts to
Islam.
A Moorish slave girl was suspected of being a disguised infidel. A Moorish spy won her
affection and having seduced her, reported to the Holy Office her habits in the matter of sexual
hygiene, that were sufficient to secure her conviction.
In 1556 the spirit of fanaticism triumphed with Phillip II came to the throne. In 1566 a
member of Supreme Council of the Inquisition in Granada was ordered to carry out rigorous
policy of suppression. In this respect an edict was issued and duly enforced. Use of Arabic
language was forbidden, no one could wear Moorish garments, the Moorish baths were to be
closed down, Christians midwives were to be present at all births so as to ensure baptism, all
doors were to be left open on feast days, henna could not be used for staining hands. In Granada
all baths were destroyed including those of Alhambra.
Next year orders were issued to abandon Moorish costumes at once, and to surrender all
children between the ages of three and fifteen to the priests so as to teach them Christian
doctrine. These stringent measures resulted in a rising in December 1568 by the Muslims of
Granada but it did not last long. Don Hernando whose Muslim name was Muhammad ibn
Humeya, a descendant of the royal house of Ommayads, led this rebellion.
In 1570 a prohibition was put in place against having any Arabic book. This happened
only three years after the capture of Granada when a wholesale literary holocaust took place on
January 1st, 1567 under Torquemada’s auspices which had no parallel in Europe until 1933.
Rumors were circulating that the Muslims from North Africa with the aid of Moriscos
would invade Spain and re-establish Muslim rule once again. Therefore, King Philip II decided
to forbid them their dress, their baths and their language Arabic. The Inquisitional law of tale-
bearing was still in force i.e. pitting children against their parents and wives against their
husbands. Two bishops proposed two measures to Philip II, one was to appoint special
Inquisitors who would so thin them out that remaining would give no further trouble. The other
suggestion was to deport them to cold & barren country of Newfoundland, castrating all males,
old and young.
Eventually in 1610 King Phillip II ordered the expulsion of 300,000 Moriscoes (Muslims
who had converted to Catholicism) under penalty of death. All Muslims were to leave their
villages or towns and head for the ports assigned to them. In some cities they were banned even
to sell their possessions and where they were permitted their treasures were sold at cheap prices.
On the ships many of them were plundered again, many children and women were taken
as slaves. They were prohibited from carrying any money or jewels and in violation of this
decree more than 30 Muslim refugees were hanged in Burgos. Those who managed to reach
North African countries had to contend with hostility of their Arab brethren.
The process of deportation was not completed until 1615. One historian Vacandard has
estimated that more than half a million Muslims and Jews were banished from Spain, about
1/16th of the total population. This measure greatly weakened Spain by depriving her of some of
the most skillful, and industrious citizens. This in fact proved to be an economic disaster, which
took hundred of years to overcome.
During the Islamic rule population of Spain had reached 30 million, while the united
populations of England, France, Germany and Italy of that time were 15 to 20 millions. In 1586
the population of Spain was 8 millions but by 1700 it had dwindled to about five million. During
this period there were 22 Inquisition courts operating, with an army of 20,000 salaried staff.
In 1769 existence of a secret mosque was reported at Cartagena and in 1728 members of
an Islamic secret religious group were punished at Granada. Even today there are some areas of
the country where Islamic characteristics are so marked that Christianity seems little more than a
veneer. Marranos who were scattered all over Spain
continued practicing their rites in deepest secrecy.
Inquisition in other countries
The Inquisition was more benign in northern Europe: in England it was never instituted,
and in Denmark, Norway and Sweden it had no impact.
In Spain under King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, the Spanish Inquisition became
independent of Rome. Spanish Inquisition was instituted in Seville in 1478 by order of Pope
Sixtus IV. Ferdinand used religion as a means of controlling his people. He wanted Jewish and
Muslim religions wiped out in his domains, and Inquisition was his method to achieve that. It is
very likely there was a financial motivation. Jewish financiers had provided money which
Ferdinand’s father used to pursue the alliance by marriage with Castile. Many of these
promissory notes were accordingly wiped out by the condemnation of the holder.
The Church authorities operated the court, but if a person was deemed heretical, he was
turned over to the secular authorities for punishment. In the interest of Justice, the church did
provide educated adjudicators.
Though Pope did not want Inquisition established in Spain at all, but Ferdinand lobbied
and succeeded. Ferdinand and Isabella appointed Thomas de Torquemada in 1481 to investigate
and punish conversos – Jews and Muslims who claimed to have converted to Catholicism but
continued to practice their former religion in secret. The Jews were often referred to as
Marranos, a word that can be translated as ‘pigs’.
In 1484 Pope Innocent VIII supported the Spanish Inquisition wholeheartedly. He
ordered all Catholic monarchs to extradite fleeing Jews back to Spain where they could stand
trial. Of all the Inquisitions ( Medieval Inquisition, Roman Inquisition), Spanish Inquisition
was the worst for cruelty, terror, corruption and malice. It has been suggested that as many
as 32,000 people were burnt alive, or in effigy, in 340 years of its existence. It was an
important tool in enforcing limpieza de sangre (cleanliness of the blood) against the
descendants of Jews and Muslims.
The Inquisition was used against early Protestantism, Erasmism, Illuminism and French
Illustration. Inquisition was used in Holland during their war for independence againt Spain. It
was removed during Napoleon’s rule (1808-12) in France but reinstituted when Ferdinand VII of
Spain recovered his throne.

Conclusion:

One wonders why the pontiff, College of Cardinals, bishops, or the priests did not raise
their voices against such a cruel treatment of two communities. Why did the rulers of other
European countries not condemn this pogrom or did something to prevent it? When Nazis tried
to annihilate the Jewish population in Germany, there was worldwide condemnation. Many
nations in fact joined the Second World War to express their abhorrence.
The main author and executioner of this expulsion was Juan de Ribera, archbishop of
Valencia in 1568. Yet he was beatified which is one degree below sainthood. Beatification
means that the person being honored is a holy man and is a model for all Christians. This
crowning victory of a despotic state came about through partnership with church. It appears the
king and the pope was in cahoot when it came to persecution of Jews and Muslims.
Did Jesus son of Mary (AS) not admonish his followers: “ The Son of Man did not come
to destroy men’s lives, but to save them”. (Luke 9:52-56).
Spain had succeeded in getting rid of Jews and Muslim, that is to say of the intelligence
and industry of Spain. Nothing substantial was left except indolence, pride, cruelty, and
superstition. The country was deprived of some of its most skilled artisans, its most industrious
peasantry, and its keenest brains. This was in fact worst kind of brain-drain.
They destroyed all freedom of thought, and for many years the sky was livid with the
flames of Auto da fe; burning people for thinking, for investigating, for expressing honest
opinions. The net result was that darkness of ignorance settled over Spain, pierced by no star and
shone upon by no rising sun for hundred of years.
The finest system of irrigation established by Muslims fell into disrepair, the terraced
hillsides were allowed to lose their soil, population dwindled to its former level, and what had
once been the garden of Spain under Muslims became a desert. The land in which the former
inhabitants had tended every inch of ground was now so depopulated that, a man might travel
through it for a day’s journey without seeing more than a handful of half-ruined hovels.
Though the political power of Muslims had been broken, Islam remained nearly as
powerful a force as it had been a century before. Even the old Islamic dietary laws were
observed. Moriscos would eat meat if slaughtered by another Muslim. This was soon countered
by an edict forbidding any person belonging to Arab race to act as a butcher.
It must be noted that the Muslims ruled Spain for more than five hundred years, there is
not a single incident of such an investigation or persecution of any community. In fact for Jews
this period was the most peaceful & prospering period of their turbulent history. Those who call
Islam an intolerant religion should read this article once again.

Glossary:
Who were the Moors:
Around 46 BC the Roman army entered West Africa where they encountered black Africans
whom they called Maures from the Greek adjective mauros, meaning dark or black.
Traditionally, the Moors were the African people who occupied northwest Africa, or present-
day Morocco and Mauritania. These North African people became converts to Islam in the
seventh century and have since been mistakenly identified by western European scholars as
Arabs.

Morisco (Spanish "Moor-like") is a term referring to a kind of New Christian in Spain and
Portugal. From the late 1400’s to the early 1600s Moors (Spanish Muslims) were forced to
convert to Catholicism.

Mudejars: derived from Arabic al-mudajjar, person allowed to remain. Prior to their forced
conversion, the Moriscos were known as Mudejars, and were allowed to practice Islam among
Christians with certain restrictions.

Mozarab: Christians who lived under Muslim rule.

Conversos: New Christians who were Moors previously.

Marranos: a baptized Jew who in public behaved like a Christian but inwardly considered
himself a Jew. Marranos, the Spanish word for pigs, was the term given by Catholics to these
New Christians.

Note: In Islam the first and only Inquisition took place in 827 in Baghdad, capital of Islamic
World when Caliph al-Mamun declared the Mutazilah as the state religion. He sent messages to
his provincial governors that he believed in the “creation (khalq) of the Quran”. An edict was
issued that any judge who did not subscribe to this dogma could not hold office or be appointed
as judge. An Inquisitional tribunal was instituted at his orders.

The Mihnah continued under his successor Caliph al-Mutasim (833-842) but was abolished by
Caliph al-Mutawakil in 848. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, the revered Imam of Baghdad who
stubbornly refused to recant headed the list of tribunal’s victims.
He was jailed for two years. Zakaria.virk@gmail.com

References:
1. John O’Brien, The Inquisition, New York 1973
2. Cecil Roth, The Spanish Inquisition, London 1937
3. S. P. Scott, History of the Moorish Empire in Spain, Philadelphia in 1904
4. R Fletcher, Moorish Spain, New York,1992, page 139
5. B. Netanyahu, The Origins of Inquisition in 15th century Spain, NY 1995
6. Edward Peters, Inquisition, London 1988