Strengthening The Spanish Inquisition

Words: 271
Pages: 2

In the face of these challenges, the Church responded harshly to heretics, or anyone who disagreed publicly with official Church doctrine. After completing the “reconquest” of Spain from the Muslims in 1492, the Spanish King Ferdinand established the dominance of the Church by strengthening the Spanish Inquisition, an investigation by the Catholic Church that had been enforcing church doctrine for over ten years. The inquisition investigated, tortured, and punished any dissenters from Catholicism. This included Jews, Muslims, and all varieties of Protestants. The chief inquisitor was Tomás de Torquemada, who ordered the burning of approximately 2,000 people between 1484 and 1498. Many of his victims were “conversos” – Catholics whose ancestors