Spanish Inquisition

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 converting 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.

Origin

While the Castilian Isabella was a devout Catholic, 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. Many historians believe the Spanish Inquisition was instituted as a way of weakening Ferdinand's primary political opposition at home. It is also possible that there was a financial motivation. Jewish financiers had lent Ferdinand's father many of the funds which he had used to pursue the alliance by marriage with Castile, and many of these debts would be wiped if the noteholder were condemned in court. The Inquisitor whom Ferdinand installed in Saragossa Cathedral was assassinated by New Christians .

Related Topics:
Castilian - Catholic - Aragon - Saragossa - New Christian

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Ferdinand was an astute politician, and developed close ties with St. Peter's in Rome as part of his political manoeuvering, aimed at consolidating the independent realms (joined by his marriage to Isabella) into a single state to be left to his heir. However, he did not want the Pope to control the Inquisition in Spain, as he was jealous of any other power within his borders.

Related Topics:
Pope - Inquisition

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The Pope did not want the Inquisition established in Spain at all, but Ferdinand insisted. He prevailed upon Rodrigo Borgia, then Bishop of Valencia and the Papal Vice-Chancellor as well as a cardinal, to lobby Rome on his behalf. Borgia was partially successful, as Pope Sixtus IV sanctioned the Inquisition only in the state of Castile. Later, Borgia was to have Spain's support for his own papacy as Pope Alexander VI.

Related Topics:
Rodrigo Borgia - Bishop of Valencia - Cardinal - Pope Sixtus IV - Pope Alexander VI

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Sixtus IV was Pope when the Spanish Inquisition was instituted in Seville. He worked against it, but bowed to pressure from Ferdinand of Aragon, who threatened to withhold military support from his kingdom of Sicily. Sixtus issued the Bull establishing the order in 1478. Nevertheless Sixtus was unhappy with the excesses of the Inquisition and took measures to suppress their abuses.

Related Topics:
Sixtus IV - Pope - Seville - Ferdinand of Aragon - Sicily - Bull - 1478

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The Pope disapproved of the extreme measures being taken by Ferdinand, and categorically disallowed their spread to the kingdom of Aragon. He alleged that the Inquisition was a cynical ploy by Ferdinand and Isabella to confiscate the Jews' property. Despite his title of "Most Catholic King", and his ongoing attempts to woo the Pope to his side politically, Ferdinand continued to resist direct Papal influence in his lands. He decided to use strong-arm tactics against the Pope.

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Ferdinand had some important levers he could use to bend the Pope to his will. Venice, traditionally the defender against the Turks in the East, was greatly weakened after a protracted war with them which ran from 1463 to 1479. The Turks had taken possession of Greece and the Greek islands. France, as always, was looking for signs of weakness which it could use to its advantage. And in the midst of all these threats, in August of 1480 the Sultan had attacked Italy itself, at the port of Otranto, with several thousand janissaries. They pillaged the countryside for three days, largely unopposed.

Related Topics:
Venice - Turks - 1463 - 1479 - Greece - France - 1480 - Italy - Otranto - Janissaries

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Under these conditions, Ferdinand's position in Sicily — he was king of Sicily as well as Aragon and several other kingdoms—gave him the leverage he needed. He threatened to withhold military support of the Holy See, and the Pope relented.

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Sixtus then blessed the royal institution of the Spanish Inquisition. Ferdinand had won everything he sought: the Inquisition was under his sole control, but had the blessing of the Pope, and the royal coffers were swelling with the loot of the Jewish and Moorish victims.

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