ipl-logo

Goals And Methods Of The Spanish Inquisition In New Spain

3225 Words13 Pages

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 …show more content…

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 …show more content…

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

Show More
Related
1155 Words | 5 Pages

While reading the book “God’s Jury: The Inquisition and the Making of the Modern World”, I found a sense that while the book had very interesting and questioning connections with a variety of passed inquisitions and where or how there are similarities to our modern time. Which is explained greatly by Murphy, functioning as a guide to the readers, offering a tour of the Inquisition’s nearly 700-year-old. I also found that Murphy did a great job in defining and explaining in detail the various gruesome instruments and acts of torture through history and showing similarities and same techniques used today. My the one problem I had was I found it an overall amusing to read, but personally until the first 3-4 chapters the book is quite difficult to digest and connect with, but as the inquisitions began to be more modern era I could relate and see the points and connections that were being made. I found that Murphy’s focus was to demonstrate how the mind-set and some machinery of the Inquisitions are unpreventable products of the modern world that later surfaced in Stalin’s Russia,

Read More
347 Words | 2 Pages

Bernardo Espina for example, was described by Prior Sebastian Alvarez as a “Christian yet also

Read More
910 Words | 4 Pages

Matthew Restall’s book Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest takes a look at the history of the conquest of the New World, while at the same time, attempting to decipher through certain myths that have gained historical ground over time. He looks at what parts of these myths have some truth to them and what parts of them seem purely fabricated. While going through these myths, Restall starts from the beginning from the reader’s point of view. He does this in order to give the reader ideas of what the myths are, and where they come from. Restall then pushes aside what countless historians used to think to be true for hundreds or years, and shares a new, deeper look at some of the myths.

Read More
900 Words | 4 Pages

Matthew Restall’s Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest and the documentary version of Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel explore reasons behind the success of the Spanish Conquest. Restall argues against the traditional assumptions about the identity of conquistadors. Conquistadors were not “exceptional” men or members of the king’s army; rather, they were independent entrepreneurs who succeeded by following patterns of conquest and colonization. Restall points out that these entrepreneurs were frequently assisted in military operations by indigenous peoples and Africans, resisting viewing the Conquest as a victory of whites over natives. Next, Restall argues against traditional assumptions about the nature of the Conquest itself.

Read More
2260 Words | 10 Pages

The Inquisition also reduced local opposition to the monarchs. It strengthened the central government which gave way to less local oppression. The Inquisition also gave religious minorities less power because Catholicism was the law. Lastly, the Inquisition was a very lucrative system for Ferdinand and Isabella, and therefore Spain. One of the punishments for not being Catholic was confiscation of property.

Read More
573 Words | 3 Pages

Latin America Essay 1 In 1521, Hernan Cortes captured the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, ending the reign of the Aztecs in what is now modern day Mexico. However, does the riches, land, and power gained by the Spanish justify the killing and looting? This vanquishment, as well as the ethical predicament it creates, considerably affected Latin America and Europe. Before we get into the ethical portion of Cortes' conquest, we must first explore the conquest itself.

Read More
975 Words | 4 Pages

The Black Legend made the Spanish seem un-Christian. It made them look as if they were torturing Natives. Another important thing is that the Spanish seemed to only care about the wealth that was coming in. All of these things led to the Black Legend and de las Casas point of view. He made it seem as if they only cared about money, and

Read More
252 Words | 2 Pages

Reference Page Spanish Conquest of the new world: Walbert. D (n/d.) Spain and America: From Reconquest to Conquest. Learn NC Retrieved from: http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-twoworlds/1677

Read More
1083 Words | 5 Pages

The Inquisition Trial of Juan Luis in Xochimilco, Mexico in 1598 offers valuable insights into the beliefs and customs of the people during that era. On August 28th, he was arrested bec ause he was found counjuring spells. The denoucation adn testimonies influenced the church and Christians in the town. The Church during this time greatly is very suspicious and overbearing as Juan Luis explains his case and answer the questions he is asked. Additionally, the magistrate's commitment to pursuing justice adds to the intrigue and gravity surrounding the trial.

Read More
1507 Words | 7 Pages

Martin Luther King Jr has very specific views on the role and purpose of religious authoritative figures on their people and how the inner man of these religious figures is supposed to behave. On the other hand, Cabeza De Vaca has own views and ideals for these figures and he exposes these views quite clearly in the Chronicle of the Narvaez Expedition where he describes his growing religious authority over the indians. Martin Luther would disagree with Cabeza De Vaca’s practices and views of religious authority because Cabeza De Vaca’s works acted towards the native indians are committed for selfish reasons and not for the faithfulness in God due to the fact that Cabeza De Vaca’s inner man is corrupted. Due the fact that Martin Luther feels

Read More
731 Words | 3 Pages

In addition to control of marriage, forced labor, and various other factors; the Spanish had a main goal of widespread Catholicism. Ramon A. Gutierrez, a well-known and established professor in the area of history, breaks down the events leading up to the revolt, while directing the cause of the battle at religion, or “contempt for Catholicism” by the Pueblo Indians (39). In the beginning of the essay the abuse and restriction of Indian religion is quickly exposed through the beatings committed by Fray Salvador de Guerra. Gutierrez goes on to state, “Guerra Viciously whipped Juan until “he was bathed in blood.” A second beating was inflicted later that day inside the church.

Read More
184 Words | 1 Pages

The Moors were muslim inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula, that maintained the control over the majority of the area. The Spanish monarchs had established the Spanish Inquisition, “a state run system of courts where church officials put believers of religious ideas other than catholicism on trial.” They therefore believed that this would expand the Catholic religion. The regulation become more serious and it ordered Jews and Muslims to either convert to or leave Spain. However, the Spanish needed a bigger army to defeat the Moors.

Read More
880 Words | 4 Pages

Moreover, he involves the Apostolic Inquisitor, Don Alonso de Peralta, in the matter by notifying him and sending witnesses. Don Pedro's actions highlight the seriousness with which these allegations were treated and the significance of the involvement of religious authorities in combating perceived heresy. The role of the magistrate in the pursuit of justice contributes to the intrigue and gravity of the situation and Luis's lack of Christianity is absurd, as that should never happen and faith should always be with

Read More
1068 Words | 5 Pages

In this paper I will argue that European people of the early modern period had an attitude of superiority and righteousness towards the Indigenous people of the Americas due to the differences in culture between the two groups, the religious fanaticism of the time, and the subservient nature of relationships between Spanish explorers and the monarchy. When the Spaniards arrived in the Americas they were met when societies of people with different customs and culture than their own. This simple fact blossomed into the belief that European traditions and values were in some way superior to those of the people already

Read More
1472 Words | 6 Pages

Márquez’s novella ‘Chronicle of a Death Foretold’ tells the story of Santiago Nasar’s murder. It is based on the real-life incident that occurred in the 1950s in a small Colombian town, Sucre. Cayetano Gentile was murdered by the brothers of Margarita Chica for having allegedly stolen her virginity. This was revealed when she was returned to her family after her newlywed husband had discovered that she wasn’t a Virgin. In his novella, Márquez displays the influence of the social mores and shows how these supersede the law of the statute books and the authority of Catholicism, which was otherwise so important and therefore how these social mores affect the characters and their actions.

Read More

More about Goals And Methods Of The Spanish Inquisition In New Spain

Related Topics

Open Document