Similarities Between The Crucible And The Spanish Inquisition

In 1478 the Spanish Inquisition had begun, and the first year the atrocity they committed not only matches the witch hunt in salem, but far overshadows it. Given time however, the Inquisition slows, yet in Salem blood always flows. In the beginning years of the inquisition many were tortured, interrogated, and countless executions took place (“Spanish Inquisition” Groiler Online). Yet even after committing this horrid string of offenses they realised their inhumanity and took a step back, becoming much more reasonable and docile for the remainder of the inquisition. The courts of Salem however never stopped executing their accused and made no efforts to allow the accused to defend themselves in court. Even the courts of the inquisition who were fighting a holy war showed more decency than the small court of Salem. The spanish inquisition are alike and different very different in many regards, the punishments may be comparable in some cases but the courts and the value placed

Both in the Inquisition, and the witch hunt, there were those who were viewed as guilty before they were even tried. These who were tried by a biased court were at times tortured for confession, convicted, and at times executed(Dewald 272). Paranoia led to the escalation of at first suspecting the lower class, in Salem the poor, in spain the conversos, then to the upper class(Dewald 272, the rich and the moriscos(Dewald 202). It is actually amazing how fast a town and a nation turned upon one another in order to weed out those who did not fit the social standard. As in the time before talk of witchcraft everyone in salem was very kind to one another, yet then soon turned upon each other like rabid dogs. Just like in spain the Christian church lived in peace with others and granted religious freedom, then at the beginning of the 14th century all tolerance dispersed (“Spanish Inquisition” Groiler