Spanish Inquisition
...essful, as Pope Sixtus IV sanctioned the Inquisition only in the state of Castile. Later, Borgia was to have Spain's support for his own papacy as Pope Alexander VI. Sixtus IV was Pope when the Spanish Inquisition was instituted in Seville. He worked against it, but bowed to pressure from Ferdinand of Aragon, who threatened to withhold military support from his kingdom of Sicily. Sixtus issued the Bull establishing the order in 1478. Nevertheless Sixtus was unhappy with the excesses of the Inquisition and took measures to suppress their abuses. The Pope disapproved of the extreme measures being taken by Ferdinand, and categorically disallowed their spread to the kingdom of Aragon. He alleged that the Inquisition was a cynical ploy by Ferdinand and Isabella to confiscate the Jews' property. Despite his title of "Most Catholic King", and his ongoing attempts to woo the Pope to his side politically, Ferdinand continued to resist direct Papal influence in his lands. He decided to use strong-arm tactics against the Pope. Ferdinand had some important levers he could use to bend the Pope to his will. Venice, traditionally the defender against the Turks in the East, was greatly weakened after a protracted war with them which ran from 1463 to 1479. The Turks had taken possession of Greece and the Greek islands. France, as always, was looking for signs of weakness which it could use to its advantage. And in the midst of all these threats, in August of 1480 the Sultan had attacked Italy itself, at the port of Otranto, with several thousand janissaries. They pillaged the countryside for three days, largely unopposed. Under these conditions, Ferdinand's position in Sicily — he was king of Sicily as well as Aragon and several other kingdoms—gave him the leverage he needed. He threatened to withhold military support of the Holy See, and the Pope relented. Sixtus then blessed the royal institution of the Spanish Inquisition. Ferdinand had won everything he sought: the Inquisition was under his sole control, but had the blessing of the Pope, and the royal coffers were swelling with the loot of the Jewish and Moorish victims. Ferdinand and Isabella appointed Tomás de Torquemada in 1481 to investigate and punish conversos — Jews and Moors (Muslims) who claimed to have "converted" to Catholicism but continued to practice their "former" religion in secret. Some disguised Jews had even been ordained as priests and even bishops. Detractors also called converted Jews Marranos, a pejorative word that can also be translated "pigs". The Inquisition started by targeting Conversos in Seville, and tribunals were established in quick succession at Cordova, Jaen, and Ciudad Real, followed by Aragon, Catalonia, and Valencia. . Between 1486-1492, 25 auto-da-fes were held in Toledo alone, there would eventually be over 464 auto-da-fes targeting Jews between 1481 and 1826. In total, more than 13,000 Conversos were tried from 1480-1492. The Inquisition against the Conversos culminated in the expulsion of all of the Jews from Spain in 1492. Muslim Spain had proved a safe haven for Jews, and quickly became the center of Jewish and intellectual life. However, several months after the fall of Granada an edict of expulsion was issued against the Jews of Spain by Ferdinand and Isabella (March 31, 1492). It ordered all Jews of whatever age to leave the kingdom by the last day of July, but permitted them to remove their property provided it was not in gold, silver, or money. The reason alleged for this action in the preamble of the edict was the relapse of so many "conversos," owing to the proximity of unconverted Jews who seduced them from Christianity and kept alive in them the knowledge and practises of Judaism. No other motive is assigned, and there is no doubt that the religious motive was the main one. It is claimed that Don Isaac Abravanel, who had previously ransomed 480 Jewish Moriscos of Malaga from the Catholic monarchsby a payment of 20,000 doubloons, now offered them 600,000 crowns for the revocation of the edict. It is said also that Ferdinand hesitated, but was prevented from accepting the offer by Torquemada, the grand inquisitor, who dashed into the royal presence and, throwing a crucifix down before the king and queen, asked whether, like Judas, they would betray their Lord for money. Whatever may be the truth of this story, there were no signs of relaxation shown by the court, and the Jews of Spain made preparations for exile. Over 200,000 Jews were eventually expelled, many of whom fled to Turkey or North Africa, and tens of thousands died during the expulsion. The expulsion from Spain led to the creation of the Sephardic Jewish community, and was viewed as such a betrayal that Sephardic Jews were forbidden by tradition from ever resettling in Spain (which would have been impossible in any case until 1858, when the Edict of Expulsion was finally repealed) With the expulsion of the Jews, the Inquisition had free reign, as its authority was supposed to reach only Christians, not Jews or Muslims, but since every Jew in the King's states had been baptised (New Christians) or expelled. If they continued practicing the Jewish religion, they were sinful relapses ("fallen again"). Sixtus IV died in 1484, and was succeeded by Pope Innocent VIII. Innocent twice issued bulls asking for greater mercy and leniency for the conversos. He ordered all Catholic monarchs to extradite fleeing Jews back to Spain where they could stand trial. The Inquisition, as a religious court, was operated by Church authorities; however, if a person was found to be heretical, they were turned over ("relaxed") to the secular authorities to be punished, since "the Church does not shed blood". Torture was often used to gain repentance. Punishments ranged from public shame (dressing in the sambenito) to burning at the stake—dead after garroting (strangulation) for those who repented, alive for the unrepentant, or in effigy for those condemned in absentia. These punishments were conducted in public ceremonies (called au...