"In the early years of the 16th century, to combat the rising tide of religious unorthodoxy, the Pope gave Cardinal Ximinez of Spain leave to move without let or hindrance throughout the land, in a reign of violence, terror and torture that makes a smashing film. This was the Spanish Inquisition..."
NO ONE EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!
In a response to the Albegensian Crusade, the papacy instigated one of the first inquisitions against the Cathar heretics. Though it was only moderately effective against the Albegensians, it became a weapon of the papacy against heretics.
During the end of the 15th century, Spain was a melting pot for many religions. Mulsims, Jews, Protestants, and Catholics all were packed into the small country. In order to combat this, Pope Sixtus IV laid the papal bull Sinceras Devotionis Affectus which served to establish the inquisition under the control of the Spanish monarchy in Castile. In 1483 Tomas de Torquemada was appointed to grand inquisitor. He established a structure to the inquisition, and began it on the reign of terror that would make the movement infamous. Thousands were accused and killed, and often the inquisitors would already know the victims guilt and require only a confession, which they obtained with harsh questioning and torture. The papacy was astonished by the ferocity and indiscriminate accusations of the inquisition, but was unable to put a slow its advance. It continued in force for the next fifty years, pursuing heretics, witches, blasphemy and any other threat to the church. Though the ferocity of the inquisition subsided around 1530, it remained a political tool for the Spanish monarchy until the papacy finally ended it in 1843.
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