Goals And Methods Of The Spanish Inquisition In New Spain

Oftentimes, students and scholars think of the Inquisition as strictly a European phenomenon. In reality, the Spanish Inquisition had an immense presence in colonial Mexico, often referred to as “New Spain.” The Inquisition in New Spain was a powerful institution established by the Spanish crown in the 16th century with the nominal goal of enforcing religious orthodoxy and eradicating heresy and blasphemy among the colonized population. However, a closer examination of the Inquisition's operations reveals that Spain also used it as a tool to prevent conquistadors, indigenous noblemen, and other prominent male figures from gaining too much political power. Because of the Eurocentric focus of Inquisition scholarship, reliable sources on the Inquisition’s

Javier Villa-Flores outlines three stages of the Inquisition’s rule in New Spain, beginning with the Monastic Inquisition, from 1524-1534, followed by the Apostolic Inquisition from 1535-1569, and capped off with the two-and-a-half century-long reign of the Holy Office of the Inquisition from 1570-1820. The relatively brief first two stages of Inquisition rule in colonial Mexico primarily involved cases of blasphemy, which theologians of the time described as “not only a derogatory verbal assault on the Christian god, but also a profanation that could endanger the entire colonial enterprise.” Villa-Flores devotes a significant portion of his book Dangerous Speech to addressing the issue of blasphemy and examining speech patterns that the Inquisition viewed unfavorably. In the next section of this essay, after outlining the general agenda and strategies of the Inquisition in colonial Mexico, I will analyze specific cases of blasphemy and how the Inquisition selectively prosecuted cases based on the political priorities of the Catholic Church and the Spanish

The Inquisition brought Don Carlos in on charges of heresy, stemming from, according to Don Carlos’ defense, the fact that “he is the señor [leader] of the (his) village” of residence, with lots of power, wealth, and influence, and likely secretly practiced a native religion rather than Catholicism. In addition to suspicion of heresy, people from his village reported that Don Carlos had illegitimate children, an act that the Inquisition most definitely did not approve of. All in all, the trial, conviction, and seizure of land from Don Carlos serve as a reminder that the Inquisition in New Spain valued political power, wealth, and intolerance of non-Catholicism above all