The Spanish Inquisition was the Inquisition acting in Spain under the control of the Kings of Spain. This Inquisition was the result of the reconquest of Spain from the Muslims and the policy of trying to convert Spanish Jews and Muslims to Christianity. The Inquisition was an important tool in enforcing the limpieza de sangre ("cleanliness of blood") against descendants of converted Jews or Muslims. Spanish Inquisition - Context. In the 15th century, Spain was not a single state but a confederation ...

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• Spanish Inquisition - Context
• Spanish Inquisition - Origin
• Spanish Inquisition - The Inquisition and the expulsion of the Jews
• Spanish Inquisition - Operation of the Inquistion
• Spanish Inquisition - Torture techniques used
• Spanish Inquisition - Death tolls
• Spanish Inquisition - The Spanish Inquisition in the arts

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In the 15th century, Spain was not a single state but a confederation of realms, each with their own administrations, such as the Crown of Aragon and the Crown of Castile, ruled by Ferdinand and Isabella, respectively. In the Crown of Aragon, a confederation of the Kingdom of Aragon, Baleares, Catalonia and Valencia, there was a local inquisition from the Middle Ages, as in the rest of the European countries ...

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Spanish Inquisition, Spanish Inquisition - Context, Spanish Inquisition - Origin, Spanish Inquisition - The Inquisition and the expulsion of the Jews, Spanish Inquisition - Operation of the Inquistion, Spanish Inquisition - Torture techniques used, Spanish Inquisition - Death tolls, Spanish Inquisition - The Spanish Inquisition in the arts

Read more here: » Spanish Inquisition: Encyclopedia II - Spanish Inquisition - Context

The Aragonese 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. A related explanation is that Spain, having been historically an area with regions with disparate traditions as well as disparate ethnic groups, needed a common religion-Catholicism-to serve as a point(and perhaps THE point)of unity. Also, many historians believe the Spanish Inquisition was instituted as a way of weakening Ferdinan ...

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Spanish Inquisition, Spanish Inquisition - Context, Spanish Inquisition - Origin, Spanish Inquisition - The Inquisition and the expulsion of the Jews, Spanish Inquisition - Operation of the Inquistion, Spanish Inquisition - Torture techniques used, Spanish Inquisition - Death tolls, Spanish Inquisition - The Spanish Inquisition in the arts

Read more here: » Spanish Inquisition: Encyclopedia II - Spanish Inquisition - Origin

Numbers are difficult to establish with accuracy for the Spanish Inquistion, and there is an ongoing debate between recent historical research supported by the Catholic Church, which holds that the previously accepted death toll of the Inquisition is greatly exaggerated, and other historians, who claim that up to hundreds of thousands, or even more, might have been killed. Some historians and Spanish scholars point to research that suggests that death tolls are exaggerated as evidence of the Black legend, which over-emphasizes the des ...

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Spanish Inquisition, Spanish Inquisition - Context, Spanish Inquisition - Origin, Spanish Inquisition - The Inquisition and the expulsion of the Jews, Spanish Inquisition - Operation of the Inquistion, Spanish Inquisition - Torture techniques used, Spanish Inquisition - Death tolls, Spanish Inquisition - The Spanish Inquisition in the arts

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According to a joint BBC/A&E production called "Myths of the Spanish Inquisition" (1994), torture chambers did not exist during the Spanish Inquisition, and the Spanish Inquisition used torture "very infrequently". For example, in Valencia, out of over 7,000 documented cases, less than 2% experienced any torture at all, usually for no more than fifteen minutes. Less than 1% experienced torture more than once. Researchers found no cases experiencing torture more than twice. Uncertainties surrounding the Inquis ...

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Spanish Inquisition, Spanish Inquisition - Context, Spanish Inquisition - Origin, Spanish Inquisition - The Inquisition and the expulsion of the Jews, Spanish Inquisition - Operation of the Inquistion, Spanish Inquisition - Torture techniques used, Spanish Inquisition - Death tolls, Spanish Inquisition - The Spanish Inquisition in the arts

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See also: History of the Jews in Spain Ferdinand and Isabella appointed Tomás 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 Inquisition started by targeting Conversos in Seville, and tribunal ...

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Spanish Inquisition, Spanish Inquisition - Context, Spanish Inquisition - Origin, Spanish Inquisition - The Inquisition and the expulsion of the Jews, Spanish Inquisition - Operation of the Inquistion, Spanish Inquisition - Torture techniques used, Spanish Inquisition - Death tolls, Spanish Inquisition - The Spanish Inquisition in the arts

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Sixtus IV died in 1484, and was succeeded by Pope Innocent VIII. Innocent twice issued bulls asking for greater mercy and leniency for the conversos. 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 ("relaxed") to the secular authorities to be punished, since "the Church does not shed blood." Torture was often used to gain repentance. Puni ...

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Spanish Inquisition, Spanish Inquisition - Context, Spanish Inquisition - Origin, Spanish Inquisition - The Inquisition and the expulsion of the Jews, Spanish Inquisition - Operation of the Inquistion, Spanish Inquisition - Torture techniques used, Spanish Inquisition - Death tolls, Spanish Inquisition - The Spanish Inquisition in the arts

Read more here: » Spanish Inquisition: Encyclopedia II - Spanish Inquisition - Operation of the Inquistion