Spanish Inquisition

1. Spanish Inquisition * Until 1100s most of Spain controlled by Moors, a Muslim people * Christians fight Reconquistawhich drive Muslims out of Spain, 1100-1492 -The Reconquista was the effort by the Spanish to drive the Muslims from Spain. * By 1492 the Muslims had been driven out and Spain was back in control of their country under the reign of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.

2. The Spanish Inquisition The Spanish Inquisition was used for both political and religious reasons. Following the Crusades and the Reconquista 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.

3. RELIGION WAS NOT THE ONLY REASON THAT PEOPLE WERE ACCUSED, ALTHOUGH IT WAS STATED THAT IT WAS THE SOLE REASON. The Jewish people were often merchants who had money and property and by being accused of being Jewish….that propert went to the country as well as the inquisitors who “questioned” the accused. The Pope, King and Queen justified the taking of property as a way to finance their holy wars against all heathens. In their minds it was permissible to steal from heretics in order to fight heresy.

4. The Spanish Inquisition Conversos, converts to Christianity, who were accused of secretly practicing Judaism immediately forfeited his property to the court. He was also required to walk through the streets wearing a yellow shirt covered with images of the cross that only came to the waist, leaving the rest of the body exposed. A public flogging followed this humiliation. At certain periods during the Spanish Inquisition, the accused were required to wear red patches on their outer garments to identify themselves. They were forced to live in walled neighborhoods called aljamas (ghettos), and their doctors were forbidden from practicing medicine. And this was the punishment for simply being a suspect.

5. Heretics fork This instrument consisted of two little forks one set against the other, with the four prongs rammed into the flesh, under the chin and above the chest. A small collar supported the instrument in such a manner that the victims were forced to hold their head erect, thus preventing any movement. The forks did not penetrate any vital points, and thus suffering was prolonged and death avoided.

6. The rack is commonly considered the most painful form of medieval torture. It was a wooden frame usually above ground with two ropes fixed to the bottom and another two tied to a handle in the top. The torturer turned the handle causing the ropes to pull the victim's arms. Eventually, the victim's bones were dislocated with a loud crack. If the torturer kept turning the handles, some of the limbs were torn apart, usually the arms. This method was mostly used to extract confessions, as not confessing meant that the torturer could stretch more. Sometimes, torturers forced their victim to watch other people be tortured with this device to implant psychological fear.

7. The head crusher was widely used during most of the Middle Ages, especially the Inquisition. With the chin placed over the bottom bar and the head under the upper cap, the torturer slowly turned the screw pressing the bar against the cap. This resulted in the head being slowly compressed. First the teeth are shattered into the jaw; then the victim slowly died with agonizing pain, but not before his eyes were squeezed from his sockets. This instrument was a great way to extract confessions from victims as the period of pain could be prolonged for many hours if the torturer chose to. This could be done by repeatedly turning the screw both ways. If the torture was stopped midway, the victim often had irreparable damage done to the brain, jaw or eyes. Many variants of this instrument existed, some that had small containers in front of the eyes to receive them as they fell out of their sockets.

8. The Spanish Tickler This terrible device was used in most of Europe during the Middle Ages. It's a very simple instrument that was used to tear a victim's skin apart. Due to its shape, neither bones nor muscles were spared. The victim was naked and tied making him or her completely defenseless. Then the torturers began the (sometimes public) act of mutilating the victim. They often began with the limbs and slowly moved into the chest, back, neck and finally the face.

9. The Garrotte Very common in all the world, the Garrotte received its Spanish name due to its popularity in the area. The Spanish also perfected this instrument to cause a painful and decisive death. The victim was tied to the instrument and his or her neck forced inside the iron collar. With the handle that can be seen in the picture, the executioner slowly crushed the victim's neck causing death from asphyxia. The garrote was widely used during the Spanish Inquisition in order to kill heretics who confessed to their crime. If he didn't confess, he was burned at the stake alive instead. The reason is that being killed by the garrote takes a few minutes at most, while being burned alive takes much longer.

10. The victim's fingers were placed inside the instrument and slowly crushed as the torturer turned the handle on top. This method was primarily used to extract confessions as it was both painful and very lasting. If the victim refused to speak, the torturer could choose from many other torture methods. The same instrument was also used to crush victim's toes. Thunbscrew torture

11. The knee splitter was mostly used during the Inquisition. What this instrument accomplished was to permanently render the knees useless. Even though the name implies that this instrument was only used for "splitting" knees, it was also used in other body parts including: the elbows, arms and even the lower legs. As the torturer turned the handle, the claws slowly slammed against each other mutilating any skin in between.

12. Toe wedging The victim's feet were secured on a small platform. Using wooden or metallic wedges, the torturer slowly fixed the wedges underneath the victim's nails, almost exclusively for confessionary purposes. What followed next was agonizing pain for the victim, as failure to confess would mean wedging the next nail, and the next. Toe wedging was considered the prelude to more painful and humiliating torture methods that would ensue if the victim failed to confess

13. Denailing Denailing was widely used during the inquisition to extract confessions from witches. The instruments required for this torture method could be found anywhere, which made it incredibly popular. Additionally, in the right hands this method could be extraordinarily painful and leave no permanent damage. This torture method is still being used today in certain countries.

14. Types of water torture Dunking - the victim was tied to a chair which was elevated or lowered by the torturer. If he noticed that the victim was going to pass out, he elevated the chair. When he needed information and the victim was unwilling to cooperate, he lowered it. This method was widely used during the Spanish Inquisition and in England and France. The victim was usually intermittently submerged for many hours until he or she revealed information or death occurred Drops of Water - A very painful method of torture consisted of fixing a victim's head under a small tube that constantly filtered drops of water. These fell on the same spot of the victim's head leading to, in prolonged periods of time, perforation and eventually death. Toca, also called tortura del agua, or waterboarding, consisted of introducing a cloth into the mouth of the victim, and forcing them to ingest water spilled from a jar so that they had the impression of drowning. One source has claimed that the use of water as a form of torture also had profound religious significance to the Inquisitors.

15. Was the inquisition effective in obtaining confessions? True confessions? Why would the Pope agree to allow these inquisitions? What do you believe the result of the inquisitions was? Can you relate the Spanish inquisitions to other times in history? What about current times? Why would people refuse to testify for their friends and family?