The Spanish Inquisition stands in our memory as a time where religious zealots got completely out of hand. During a long period, the various princes acting to protect the interests of the Catholic Church, systematically performed acts of torture that no church could condone. Of course, the church relied on the George Pell defense... "I didn't know what was going on". Historians have used the familiar retort... "You should have known." This morning, we made a bad judgement and visited a museum on the Spanish Inquisition... no explanations of history... just displays of the instruments of torture. The long period of the Inquisition allowed plenty of time to perfect these instruments... precision engineered... not slapped together by amateurs having a bit of fun. How the state (of that time) could allow such sadistic behaviour in its name... is beyond comprehension. How the church could allow people to use its proclamations to justify such behaviour is even more unbelievable.
So, Córdoba may have produced some of the most beautiful art from cooperation between different religions... but it has also produced some of the most obscene!
But the latest Inquisition is only the last step that has made life a misery for people of the Jewish faith.
In my school days, we were taught that the Spanish Inquisition was all about Catholic versus Protestant. The figures now available show that very few Protestants (Lutherans) were bought before the court... it was predominantly (over 90%) about clearing the country of citizens belonging to the Jewish minority ethnic group.
The historic tale of Jews in Spain has more twists than Chubby Checker. They arrived with the Romans... and were treated equally... given Roman citizenship.
When the Visigoths took over... they couldn't care less about religion... the Jews were not persecuted. But after many decades, the Visigoth king converted to Catholicism... and demanded that all his citizens do likewise. The Jews took the oath... but practiced their religion in private... and were persecuted whenever discovered.
The Islamists stated to invade Spain and set up small colonies. The Jews may not have provided active military assistance to the Islamists... but they helped with intelligence and resources. Upon Córdoba falling to the Islamists, the Jewish community was placed in the charge of the city's defences. The golden years for the Spanish Jews followed... 200 years of prosperity.
Islamic hold on Iberia weakened when fighting in North Africa drained Spain of Islamic troops. Some Islamic kingdoms not involved in North African fighting took over parts of Spain... and these new settlers with strong fundamentalist beliefs, persecuted the Jews. The Jews moved north... speaking Arabic and having a similar appearance to Islamists meant they faced lots of resistance.
As Christian kingdoms moved south and took land from the islamists, the Jews were valued for their skills in literature, numeracy and the arts. Spanish Jews played an important role in giving momentum to the renaissance movement. The new Christian states treated the Jews better than the islamists of that time. As usual, the Jews and any remaining islamists were made to swear on a stack of bibles that they really truly believe in Catholicism... but continued to practice their faith in private.
A turning-point in the history of the Jews of Spain was reached under Ferdinand III (who united permanently the kingdoms of Leon and Castile), and under James I, the contemporary ruler of Aragon. The clergy's endeavors directed against the Jews became more and more pronounced. The Spanish Jews of both sexes, like the Jews of France, were compelled to distinguish themselves from Christians by wearing a yellow badge on their clothing; this order was issued to keep them from associating with Christians, although the reason given was that it was ordered for their own safety.
Things got even worse when a monk pointed to Queen Isabella, the lack of smoke coming from the chimneys in the Jewish quarter on Saturdays... clear evidence of secret observance of the Jewish sabbath. He pointed to the large volumes of meat purchased from butchers who used to be Jews... evidence of kosher practices. His trump card was to show the number of ex-Jews on the street on Good Friday. Isabella was shocked. How could these people convert to Christianity and still follow heathen practices? "We'll ask them", said the monk... and provided some encouragement for them to tell the truth. Thus began the Spanish Inquisition.
Today, Spain only has 3 remaining synagogues... so the goals of the Inquisition were achieved.
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