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711
Iberian Peninsula
The Christian Goths ruled the Iberian Peninsula until a group of Moors (Muslims) took over. Some of the Christians fled to a near by mountain to plan their return. Image: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.worldatlas.com%2Fpeninsulas%2Fiberian-peninsula.html&psig=AOvVaw2tTmDxTxv_Up6YL3lh5bf_&ust=1637858611647000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCJjCw_q4sfQCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD -
800
La Reconquista
The significance of la Reconquista in Spain was that it was a period marked by Christian reconquest of Christian territory that had been seized by the Muslim kingdoms. The idea was to expel the Moors (Muslims) from the Iberian Peninsula ending Muslim rule in the region. Image: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/reconquest-of-spain -
1391
Jews
During a time of rising anti-Semitism in Spain, mobs carry out riots in Sevilla. The Jewish population of the kingdom of Castile faces the choice between Christian baptism and death. -
1469
Catholic Monarch unites
The marriage of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile unites the Spanish and Catholic Monarchy. They met for the first time in Valladolid in 1469 and married within a week. They were young when they married. Isabella was 18 and Ferdinand was 17. This is a key event to the start of the Spanish Inquisition. Image: https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1201-1500/ferdinand-and-isabellas-edict-against-jews-11629894.html -
1478
Spanish Inquisition begins
The Spanish Inquisition was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile. It was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms. The Inquisition was originally intended primarily to identify heretics among those who converted from Judaism and Islam to Catholicism. -
1478
Papal Bull
King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I were worried about the people who were in the Peninsula that would not convert to Catholicism. So they went to Pope Sixtus IV to issue a Papal Bull, which is a written order from the Pope that is essentially a law, stating that all religion is illegal except for Catholicism. The Papal Bull allowed them to name inquisitors to address the issue of Marranos, Moriscos, and Conversos. -
1481
Public Sentencing Begins
The first auto-da-fé (act of faith) of the Spanish Inquisition takes place. These public trials of alleged heretics sentence the convicted. Those who are sentenced to death are turned over to authorities for execution. Presided over by a council called council suprema. Image: https://www.britannica.com/summary/Spanish-Inquisition-Timeline -
1484
Tomás de Torquemada
Grand inquisitor Tomás de Torquemada calls an assembly to normalize the Inquisition. He issues 28 articles that outline crimes that can be investigated by inquisitors as well as ways used for interrogation and punishment. Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomás_de_Torquemada -
1492
the Alhambra Decree
Ferdinand and Isabella issue a mandate that Spanish Jews have a choice between exile and baptism. As a result, more than 160,000 Jews are expelled from Spain. The decree will not be formally rescinded until December 16, 1968, more than 476 years later. -
1498
Torquemada dies
Torquemada dies. During his 15 year tenure as grand inquisitor, approximately 2,000 people have been burned at the stake. -
1507
Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros
Francisco, Cardinal Jiménez de Cisneros, is named grand inquisitor nine years after Torquemada’s death. He pursues the persecution of Moriscos, Muslims who have converted to Christianity. Image: https://dbe.rah.es/biografias/12171/francisco-gonzalo-jimenez-de-cisneros -
Moriscos Expelled
Philip III, King of Spain and Portugal, signs a decree expelling Moriscos from Spain. Approximately 300,000 of them are then forcibly relocated, for the most part to North Africa. Current accounts estimate that some 50,000 are killed while resisting expulsion while another 60,000 die before reaching their destinations. -
Spanish Inquisition Ends
In 1808, Napoleon conquered Spain and ordered the Inquisition there to be abolished. After Napoleon’s defeat in 1814, Ferdinand VII worked to reinstate the Inquisition. Spanish queen regent María Cristina deBorbón issues a decree abolishing the Spanish Inquisition.