The Spanish Inquisition Essay -- European History

The Spanish InquisitionThe word inquisition means to examine. Inquisitors would examine suspected Heretics, people whose ideas do not match those of the Roman Catholic Church, and punish them accordingly. This included torture and burning. The great inquisition movement that took place in Spain, or Hispania as it was called before Spain united. It was called The Spanish Inquisition. It took place for approximately fivesome hundred years, from the late 15th century to mid 19th century. M whatever ironic elements were involved in the muniment of the Inquisition. The Spanish Inquisition lasted longer than any other preceding it, and was the most cruel, bloodthirsty, and festive of all. The objective of the inquisition, in its early state, was to convert all Jews into Christians, but later it mutated into an ugly machine whos wise objective was to rid the country of the newly converted Christians. In an age where there was such a close bond between church and state, competition to th e church was intolerable. The Inquisition caused Spain to become intellectually backward, and economically and industrially damaged. The powerful influence of the Inquisition forbade social influences, such as books from other parts of Europe, to calculate Spain. Consequently, the universities remained stagnant, unable to produce graduates understanding the world around them. from the lack of information on the other civilizations in the rest of Europe. As a result of this, they came into the twentieth century intellectually inferior and bankrupt. With the banished, tortured, and persecuted heretics in mind, it is possible that the Spanish Inquisition is perhaps one of the most cruel acts performed on innocent people in the name of religion.Before the Spanish Inquisition took place, several other inquisition movements appeared, but none quite so barbaric and brutal as the Spaniards did. Waves of opposition towards the church swept Europe in the Middle Ages. In the 12th century, it was a modern belief that a peaceful, utopian government could be obtained if all of the population of the society were pure and Catholic The Medieval Inquisition started in France and Italy. During this time a group of people called the Albigensies lived in northern Italy and gray France. They had established a religion called Manichaeanism, which was the belief in two gods, one for good and one for evil. Pop... ...r of the bigotry and the persecution that took place. It is only one of many persecuting acts that are piled on top of Jewish history. Many Christians look back onto the Inquisition with shame and humidity. The Spanish Inquisition has inflicted untold amounts of damage onto the Spanish society and everyone elses. It was one of the beat out religious acts of ignorance and bigotry ever orchestrated by a group of people.BibliographyLea, Henry Charles. 1966 A history of the Inquisition of Spain. AMD Press, advanced York, NY Llorente, Juan Antonio 1967 A critical history o f the Inquisition of Spain, from the period of its establishment by Ferdinand V to the reign of Ferdinand VII, composed from the original documents of the Archives of the Supreme Council of the Inquisition and from those of subordinate tribunals of the Holy Office. J. Lilburne Co. Williamstown, MA.Roth, Cecil. 1964 The Spanish Inquisition. Norton Press, New York, NY.Sabatini, Rafael. 1924 Torquemada and the Spanish inquisition a history by Rafael Sabatini. Houghton Mifflin Compan, Boston, MA/New York, NY.Turberville, Arthur Stanley. 1968 The Spanish Inquisition. Archon Books, Hamden, Conn.