Inquisition Read online

  TOBY GREEN

  INQUISITION

  THE REIGN OF FEAR

  PAN BOOKS

  FOR IAN,

  ALWAYS AN INSPIRATION

  FOR ALL THOSE WHO SUFFERED

  AT THE HANDS OF THE INQUISITIONS

  OF PORTUGAL AND SPAIN

  First they came for the Jews

  and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.

  Then they came for the Communists

  and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist.

  Then they came for the trade unionists

  and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.

  Then they came for me

  and there was no one left to speak out for me.

  Pastor Martin Niemöller

  PICTURE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Credits are by page number in order from left to right and top to bottom.

  I – Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid / The Bridgeman Art Library; British Library. 2 – Mary Evans Picture Library. 3 – Libro Rojo, Archivo General de la Nación (Mexico) / Cambridge University Library; Mary Evans Picture Library. 4/5 – Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid / The Bridgeman Art Library. 6/7 – Mary Evans Picture Library (all). 8 – Mary Evans Picture Library (both). 9 – British Library; Mary Evans Picture Library. 10 – Brown University Library, Providence, Rhode Island / The Bridgeman Art Library. II – Mary Evans Picture Library; British Library. 12 – British Library. 13 – Libro Rojo, Archivo General de la Nación (Mexico) / Cambridge University Library (all). 14 – Bonhams, London / The Bridgeman Art Library. 15 – Prado, Madrid / The Bridgeman Art Library (both). 16 – Bibliothèque des Arts Décoratifs, Paris / The Bridgeman Art Library; Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris / The Bridgeman Art Library

  Acknowledgements

  This book is the fruit of over four years’ research, and almost fifteen years of living, travelling in and thinking about the Iberian worlds in Africa, America and Europe. Countless people have contributed directly and indirectly to it, and to my sadness I can only give thanks to a few of them here.

  This book would never have been written without the consistent support of my wonderful agents Jamie Crawford and Maggie Pearlstine. They believed that I could write it before I did, and spent many hours working with me to make sure that it became a reality. This was crucial input at a stage where I still struggled with the idea.

  At Macmillan, Richard Milner has proved again what a wonderful editor and friend he is. Not everyone would have dragged themselves through a bout of tonsillitis to make sure we could work together on this idea. In the editorial process he has contributed key suggestions which have fundamentally improved the book. I know how lucky I am to have had him steering this difficult ship. I would also like to thank Lorraine Baxter, Georgina Difford and Bruno Vincent for helping to move the book towards publication, and Hugh Davis for a very helpful copy-edit.

  Two of my biggest debts are to my teachers and friends Paulo Farias and Tom McCaskie. Their comradeship, wit and generosity guided me through difficult patches. They have always succeeded in imparting their intellectual honesty and showing me in countless ways how to become a historian.

  For a variety of reasons, the writing of this book occurred at a difficult moment in my life. I would like to thank Bob Fowke, Fuschia Fowke and Caroline Glanville for giving up some of their time so that I could get it done. The Arts and Humanities Research Board provided funding during which some of the relevant research was undertaken; Rahul Jacob commissioned my articles on southern Europe and so helped me to fund some more of it; Mark Epton came up with a great idea at an important moment.

  My work has benefited greatly from discussion of ideas with the historians Michael Alpert, Francisco Bethencourt and Philip Havik, among others. A big thank you too to the many librarians and archivists who have helped me locate the relevant information: to the staff of the British Library and the Main Library of Birmingham University; and at the archives of the Archivo Histórico Nacional in Madrid, the Archivo Generalde las Indias in Seville, the Instituto dos Arquivos Nacionais da Torre do Tombo and the Biblioteca da Ajuda in Lisbon, and the Archivio Segretto Vaticano; also to the staff at the Prado Museum in Madrid, the Museu Nacional da Arte Antiga and the Gabinete de Estudos Olisiponenses (both in Lisbon) and Argelía Martínez at Editorial Patria Cultural in Mexico City for helping in my search for illustrations.

  While I have made every effort to trace copyright holders for permission to quote, in one case this has proved impossible. Any omissions brought to my attention will be rectified in any future edition.

  Ian Rakoff is always a great friend to me through the writing process. This time, however, he has surpassed even his high standards of generosity, reading each chapter as it has come hot off the press and sharing with me the benefit of his many years in the business of making ideas and stories accessible. It has been a remorseless process for both of us. The readability of this book owes more to him than to anyone.

  My greatest and most lasting debt, however, must be to my family. Emily, Lily and Flora always bring light and life where before there may be furrowed brows. They were always there for me when I returned from my research trips, and without their love I could never have finished this book.

  Contents

  Acknowledgements

  Glossary

  Chronology

  Maps

  PROLOGUE

  One – THE END OF TOLERANCE

  Two – SREADING THE FIRES

  Three – TORTURED JUSTICE

  Four – ESCAPE

  Five – THE ENEMY WITHIN

  Six – TERROR ENVELOPS THE WORLD

  Seven – THE ISLAMIC THREAT

  Eight – PURITY AT ALL COSTS

  Nine – EVERY ASPECT OF LIFE

  Ten – THE ADMINISTRATION OF FEAR

  Eleven – THE THREAT OF KNOWLEDGE

  Twelve – THE NEUROTIC SOCIETY

  Thirteen – PARANOIA

  Fourteen – THE FAILURE OF FEAR AND THE FEAR OF FAILURE

  Notes

  Bibliography

  Index

  Glossary

  alfaqui – fortress

  alfaqui – Islamic scholar

  alfaqui – term given to communities of Muslims and Jews in Iberia

  alfaqui – term for a religious sect which concentrated on internal devotion rather than ritual. Alumbrados became increasingly associated with sexual excesses

  auto-da-fé – literally ‘trial of faith’ – ceremony of the punishment of heretics

  alfaqui – secular holy woman living in the community and frequently attracting a large following

  alfaqui – the fate of those convicted heretics who had died or escaped – their bones or an effigy were burnt at the stake

  alfaqui – a person charged with assessing the orthodoxy of published books, and whether they should be censored by the Inquisition

  alfaqui – income from a post in each diocesan cathedral of Spain which was given to the Inquisition and became a crucial part of the institution’s funding

  commissary – paid official of the Inquisition resident in larger towns

  alfaqui – name given to those who rebelled in Castile against Charles IV in 1521–22

  alfaqui – descendant of Jews who converted to Christianity

  alfaqui – the centuries of shared Christian, Jewish and Muslim life in Iberia

  Cortes – parliament

  crypto-Judaism – term for the faith of those who abandoned Catholicism and lived as secret Jews in lands governed by Portugal and Spain, from which the Jews had been expelled

  alfaqui – mystic of the 16th century who held that giving oneself to God was enough for mystical union

  edict of faith – pronounced by inquisitors on arri
ving in a town, giving people 30 days to come forward and confess their lack of orthodoxy or denounce the failings of others

  alfaqui – zone of Portuguese control in the Indian Ocean, including parts of east Africa, Arabia, India and the Far East

  familiar – spy of the Inquisition in towns and villages expected to keep an eye on behaviour and help with arrests and manhunts

  germanías – name given to the brotherhoods which led the revolt in Aragon against Charles V 1520–22

  alfaqui – cleanliness of blood – the absence of any Jewish or Muslim ‘impurities’ in lineage

  alfaqui – descendant of Muslims who converted under duress to Christianity

  Old Christian – ‘pure’ Catholic who had no Jewish or Moorish ancestry

  alfaqui – someone who refused to confess their ‘crimes’ to the inquisitors

  alfaqui – form of torture involving strapping victims to a trestle and forcing water down their throats

  alfaqui – mystic of the 16th century who sought to find peace and union with God through contemplation

  alfaqui – one who underwent more minor penances at the hands of the Inquisition such as lashing, imprisonment, the galleys and confiscation of goods, and was ‘reconciled’ to the Church

  alfaqui – literally ‘relaxed’ – term used by the Inquisition for someone to be transferred to the secular authorities to be put to death, either through burning or by being garrotted and then burnt

  alfaqui – the ‘Catholic Monarchs’, Ferdinand and Isabella, who united the kingdoms of Spain at the end of the 15th century

  alfaqui – garb of a penitent of the Inquisition – usually a white shirt decorated with demons, and worn even after the penitent had been reconciled. Sanbenitos were then hung up in the parish church of the penitent as a warning to parishioners and often remained there for centuries

  alfaqui – supreme council of the Spanish Inquisition

  alfaqui – a form of head covering inherited from the Moors and used in Spain in the 15th century by all and in the 16th century by moriscas

  alfaqui – a hole through which a torture victim’s legs were swung

  alfaqui – charitable giving by Jewish people, regarded as a moral obligation

  ultramontane – term used to describe those who support absolute papal authority

  Chronology

  711

  Moors invade and conquer most of the Iberian peninsula.

  1085

  Christians recapture Toledo.

  1236–48

  Key cities of Andalusia such as Cordoba (1236), Murcia (1241) and Seville (1248) recaptured by the Christians.

  1391

  Riots against the Jews of Spain, beginning in Seville and spreading elsewhere in the country; many Jews convert to Christianity.

  1449

  Riots against the conversos of Toledo; the authorities in Toledo issue a statute barring conversos from official positions.

  1453

  Turkish forces capture Constantinople from the Christians.

  1474

  Henry IV, king of Castile dies; his half-sister Isabella and purported daughter Juana ‘la Beltraneja’ fight for the crown. Juana is supported by the Portuguese, but the faction behind Isabella wins at the Battle of Toro in 1476.

  1478

  Sixtus IV issues a papal bull permitting the establishment of the Inquisition in Spain on 1 November.

  1480

  The first inquisitors of Castile, Miguel de Murillo and Juan de San Martín, are appointed.

  1481

  First autos-da-fé held in Seville.

  1483

  Jews expelled from Andalusia.

  1484

  Torquemada issues the first instructions for the operation of the Spanish Inquisition.

  1485

  Assassination in Zaragoza of Pedro de Arbues, inquisitor of Aragon; large numbers of autos follow over the next few years.

  1492

  In January Ferdinand and Isabella conquer the last Moorish kingdom of Spain, Granada. The Jews are expelled from Spain in August, and many of them go to Portugal. Columbus ‘discovers’ America.

  1494

  Treaty of Tordesillas divides the world of the discoveries between Spain and Portugal, with Spain responsible for most of America and Portugal for Africa and Asia.

  1497

  Forcible conversion of the Jews of Portugal.

  1502

  Expulsion of all Muslims from Granada.

  1504

  Tribunal of the Spanish Inquisition founded in the Canaries.

  1504–6

  Inquisitor Lucero sentences hundreds of people to death for Judaizing in Cordoba; riots break out and Lucero is forced to flee.

  1506

  Approximately 2,000 conversos killed by mobs in Lisbon.

  1510

  Portugal conquers Goa under Afonso de Albuquerque.

  1517

  On 31 October Martin Luther posts his 95 Theses on the door of the castle in Wittenberg.

  1520–2

  Civil wars in Aragon and Castile led by comuneros and germanías against the court of Charles V; in Aragon and Valencia the germanías forcibly baptize many Muslims.

  1522

  Charles V of Spain bans conversos or moriscos from legally emigrating to the New World.

  1524

  First alumbrado arrested by the Spanish Inquisition.

  1525

  Spanish Inquisition issues first edict of faith regarding alumbrados.

  1526

  Expulsion of all Muslims from the kingdom of Aragon. A meeting in Granada draws up a series of repressive measures to be directed at the cultural practices of moriscos.

  1528

  First auto in the New World: two conversos burnt in Mexico City.

  1529–36

  Purges of the followers of Erasmus by the Inquisition in Spain.

  1536

  Papacy gives permission for a Portuguese Inquisition with reduced powers.

  1540

  First auto-da-fé in Lisbon.

  1543

  First burning ordered under inquisitorial law in Goa.

  1547

  Papacy gives permission for a Portuguese Inquisition with full powers. A statute of purity of blood is promulgated in the cathedral of Toledo.

  1547–66

  Fernando de Valdés, inquisitor-general of Spain, pushes through many important reforms of the Inquisition.

  1551

  Jurisdiction of the Tribunal of Lisbon is expanded toencompass Portugal’s Atlantic islands (Azores and Madeira), Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea and São Tomé.

  1553

  Inquisitor-General Valdés introduces the Concordia, which standardizes the use of familiars across Spain.

  1557

  Holy Roman Emperor Charles V retires as king of Spain and is replaced by his son Philip II.

  1559

  Great autos in Valladolid and Seville. Archbishop Carranza of Toledo is arrested by the Inquisition. The most detailed index of censorship to date is published in Spain.

  1560

  First inquisitors appointed to Goa by the Portuguese Inquisition.

  1561

  Inquisitor-General Valdés issues General Instructions which standardize inquisitorial procedures.

  1566

  The measures drawn up in Granada in 1526 on the moriscos are implemented.

  1568–70

  Uprising of the moriscos of Andalusia; after their defeat, most are dispersed throughout the rest of Spain.

  1569

  Foundation of the Tribunal of the Inquisition in Lima, Peru.

  1571

  Foundation of the Tribunal of the Inquisition in Mexico City.

  1576

  Carranza is finally sentenced to abjure in Rome in April, and dies 18 days later.

  1580

  The crowns of Portugal and Spain are united under Philip II.

  1591–5

  Inquisitorial officials dispatched
to the Azores, Brazil and Madeira from Lisbon to perform trials and receive denunciations.

  1609

  Foundation of the Tribunal of the Inquisition in Cartagena de las Indias, in modern Colombia.

  1609–14

  The moriscos of Spain are expelled, beginning in Valencia (1609) and ending in Murcia (1614).

  1610

  Grand auto in Logroño sees the last ever burning of witches by the Inquisition in Spain.

  1618, 1627

  Further inquisitorial visits to Brazil.

  1633

  Philip IV of Spain orders the Council of the Inquisition to create two courts, one of which deals solely with handling proofs of genealogy.

  1636–49

  Portuguese communities throughout Latin America are persecuted by the Inquisition. Great autos in Lima (1639) and Mexico City (1649).

  1640

  Portugal begins its war of independence against Spain.

  1648

  Spain recognizes the independence of the Dutch United Provinces.

  1650–1700

  Decline of Portuguese power in the Estado da Índia.

  1668

  Spain recognizes Portugal’s independence.

  1680

  Grand auto of Madrid, perhaps the most lavish auto in the history of the Inquisition.

  1700–46

  Reign of Philip V of Spain. Rekindling of the Inquisition, with 54 autos and 79 people ‘relaxed’.