Catholicism and the Inquisition

Queen Isabella sought to unite Spain was through the Inquisition. The Inquisition is highly debated as to whether it was a productive movement, or a negative cruel movement. In the mind of Isabella I, the Inquisition sought to unite Spain under one religion. She believed that one religion would help restore peace and order (Ortiz 217). The queen wanted to emphasize the fact that God and the monarchy were partners and that both should be feared and respected (Liss 178). As more cities were conquered, the question of what to do with those who were not catholic but lived in Spain became a problem. Isabella and Ferdinand decided that other faiths within the kingdom would only prevent unity and prosperity. It was decided that one must convert to Christianity, or leave Spain. Many Muslims and Jewish people had to leave Spain in order to remain faithful to their religious doctrines; many others decided that staying was worth converting and abandoning their religions. Those who converted and stayed were then called, “conversos.” The Inquisition sought to separate the “conversos” who had truly converted to Christianity and those who had only acted as if they had converted and were truly still Jewish or Muslim. The false “conversos” who had not truly converted were punished and their property was often confiscated. Punishment included being burned at the stake. The support of the Inquisition by the monarchy caused the people of Spain to become suspicious of all “conversos” and riots and prejudice ensued. The public killed many “conversos” unjustly. Isabella immediately punished both the false “conversos” and the instigators of the riots. Yet, the Inquisition continued and many false “conversos” were executed or punished. Through the Inquisition, Isabella believed that she was preventing the staining of the Catholic Church by other religions through the eradication of those religions. She did not want any false “conversos” affecting the Church’s power so she ridded her country of them. Without this stain, she believed that civil unrest within the country would lessen and that peace could be achieved (Mariejol 39-41).

Liss, Peggy K. Isabel the Queen: Life and Times. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. 1992.

Mariejol, Jean H. The Spain of Ferdinand and Isabella. Rutgers University Press: New Jersey. 1961.

Ortiz, Antonio Domínguez. The Golden Age of Spain 1516-1659. Trans. James Casey. New York: Basic Books Inc: 1971