As the first leader of the Spanish Inquisition, Tomás de Torquemada (1420–1498) directed the religious tribunals that condemned thousands of people to death in the fifteenth century. Aimed at eliminating “secret” Jews and Muslims—as well as heretics, adulterers, and sorcerers—the Inquisition was intended to ensure religious conformity in Spain, but it has come to be viewed instead as a symbol of misguided religious zealotry.
The number of individuals burned at the stake during Torquemada’s tenure has been estimated at around 2,000. Many others were tortured or jailed. As the Inquisition grew increasingly unpopular in Spain, Pope Alexander VI (1431–1503) eventually had to rein in the aggressive inquisitor—although the Spanish Inquisition itself continued to function into the nineteenth century.
Torquemada was a Dominican monk and close ally of King Ferdinand V (1452–1516) and Queen Isabella (1451–1504), the dual monarchs who had united Spain in 1479. He was Isabella’s personal confessor, and he used this access to the queen to advocate harsh religious policies. In the fifteenth century, Spain was one of the most religiously diverse countries in Europe, with large Jewish and Muslim populations that Torquemada—and many other Spanish Catholics—viewed as a threat to national unity. He was especially fixated on false converts who were outwardly Catholics but continued to practice their old faiths in secret.
In 1483, the monarchs appointed Torquemada grand inquisitor. He moved quickly to establish offices across Spain and expanded the list of offenses subject to the Inquisition to include a wide array of religious and moral offenses ranging from sodomy to usury. Punishments were meted out at autos-da-fé, elaborate ceremonies in which the religious authorities handed suspects over to the government for execution.
By 1494, Torquemada’s investigations had made him so unpopular in Spain that he traveled under armed guard. The pope put limits on his authority that year, although Torquemada remained nominally in charge of the Inquisition until his death four years later.
ADDITIONAL FACTS
- The Spanish Inquisition was formally abolished in 1834. The last recorded auto-da-fé took place in Mexico in 1850.
- Torquemada was played by Mel Brooks (1926–) in his 1981 comedy, History of the World: Part I. He was also portrayed by Marlon Brando (1924–2004) in Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992).
- Many of the defendants in the Inquisition were tried in absentia. If found guilty, they were burned in effigy.
