The Spanish Inquisition

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at how, in 15th century Spain, for foreseeable social, political, economic reasons, the Spanish royalty felt propelled to exercise a kind of regime of terror on behalf of the then official state faith of Catholicism. It discusses how the Spanish Inquisition is considered unique as it was the first time a secular state authority enforced religious orthodoxy upon its populace, in contrast to the medieval Inquisition enforced by the church.

From the Paper:

"Although relatively homogeneous today, at the time Spain was a nation-state divided between many different belief systems. It contained Christians, Jews, and Muslims. "Following the Crusades and the Re-conquest of Spain by the Christian Spaniards the leaders of Spain needed a way to unify the country into a strong nation. Ferdinand and Isabella chose Catholicism to unite Spain and in 1478 asked permission of the pope to begin the Spanish Inquisition to purify the people of Spain. They began by driving out Jews, Protestants and other non-believers" (Kreger 1997). Pope Innocent III of Rome formally approved these actions ("The Inquisition," The Jewish Virtual Library, 2007). "

Sample of Sources Used:

• "The Inquisition." The Jewish Virtual Library. 2007. 30 Apr 2007. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Inquisition.html
• Kreger, Kirstan. "The Spanish Inquisition." 5 May 1997 Text copyright 1996-1999 by David W. Koeller. All rights reserved. 30 Apr 2007. http://www.thenagain.info/Webchron/WestEurope/SpanInqui.html
• "Spanish Inquisition." Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World. The Gale Group, Inc, 2004. Answers.com 29 Apr. 2007. http://www.answers.com/topic/spanish-inquisition

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