Spanish Inquisition: The Brutal Truth (2000)

Synopsis
For over 350 years, Spain's political and religious leaders carried on an Inquisition that terrified thousands of Non-Catholics by ruthlessly interrogating, torturing, or killing them. This documentary explores how the broad interpretation of the word "heresy" allowed these violent rulers to destroy so many lives. Viewers are introduced to some of the major figures behind this gross reign of terror and some of their most vulgar punishments.

Quote:
The Spanish Inquisition was a tribunal established in 1480 by Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. It was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms, and to replace the Medieval Inquisition which was under Papal control. It became the most substantive of the three different manifestations of the wider Christian Inquisition along with the Roman Inquisition and Portuguese Inquisition.

The Inquisition was originally intended in large part to ensure the orthodoxy of those who converted from Judaism and Islam. This regulation of the faith of the newly converted was intensified after the royal decrees issued in 1492 and 1501 ordering Jews and Muslims to convert or leave.

Various motives have been proposed for the monarchs' decision to fund the Inquisition such as increasing political authority, weakening opposition, suppressing conversos, profiting from confiscation of the property of convicted heretics, reducing social tensions and protecting the kingdom from the danger of a fifth column.

The body was under the direct control of the Spanish monarchy. It was not definitively abolished until 1834, during the reign of Isabella II, after a period of declining influence in the previous century.

Runtime: 50 Minutes
Year: 2000
Language: English