Analysis Of Ferdinand And Isabell Political And Religious Reform

The Spanish Inquisition lasted from 1478 to 1834. The goal of the Spanish Inquisition was to expel, convert or kill all Non-Catholics from Spain in Spain. When people were accused heresy they would be pit on trial, but before they could be on trial they had to sit in jail which most of them were unsanitary and people were given little food to eat. The punishments people received if they were found guilty were: torture, public humiliation, and death. The trials were unfair, unjustified and not necessary. The Spanish Inquisition did not help spread Catholicism and in fact slowed the spread because of the fear that it instilled in Non-Catholics.

What was Spain like before the Golden Age? King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella ruled the kingdoms that eventually became the country of Spain. Ferdinand and Isabella were intent on having a kingdom free of any faith other than Christianity. Many people were killed or even banished from the country. King Ferdinand and Isabella moved their kingdom into a great age for Spain, but did not achieve this in the best way.

Ferdinand and Isabella knew that in order to bolster Spain they needed new sources of funding themselves. They turned to the pope and he gave them rights to build the Catholic Church in areas where the Moors had been driven from. He also published decrees giving them control over the funds in the Americas. The Church became a crucial utensil in developing royal absolutism. The New World also proved to be a great source of revenue for Spain (“Ferdinand V”).

Religion played a big role in shaping the values, attitudes, and conduct of the Spanish during the Age of Discovery and Conquest (1492-1579). The colonial church provided control and a standard of conduct and living for the new world. In fact, the colonial church had even more power in Spanish America then it did in Spain. Why this is important though, is because it limited the possibility of rebellion and opposition. As long as the church was in place, there was Spanish order, and as long as there was Spanish order, the colonization process could continue to run smoothly and prosper.

Alternately, behind the movement for converting Indians lay some important influences in Spain. The Spanish Crown established royal controls over the ecclesiastical benefices and over the immense wealth of the church.[ii] Two papal bulls were issued in the year of 1493 that established the

The Counter-Reformation sought to reform four major elements; ecclesiastical reconfiguration, religious orders, spiritual movements, and political dimensions. Seminaries for proper training of priests, returning of orders to their spiritual foundations, and new spiritual movements focusing on ones devotional life and relationship with Christ. Among these reforms was the Inquisition. The Inquisition was responsible for the "purifying" of Christians. They were mostly peaceful but were also known for burning many people at the stake. At times as many as two hundred in one day were burned under accusations of witchcraft. They aimed to retake areas that had previously been converted to

The Inquisition mostly dealt with the conversos, or "Jews who had converted either under duress or out of social convenience, and were suspected of secretly practicing the Jewish faith." (The Spanish Inquisition, n.d.) While this is given as a definition of conversos, some people believe that the majority of conversos were excellent

The Spanish travel to America for gold but in the failure of finding any they simply focus on building and protecting their new empire in America.

This is a similar tone to that of other articles written regarding the topic. The articles by Joan Bristol and Ruth Behar discuss witchcraft in a negative light with the same tone as the primary case. They both also discuss the seriousness in which the Inquisition views acts of sorcery and religious deviance. For example, a healer received “200 lashes” for using a “potion” in the article and another woman underwent domestic abuse that went ignored due to her supposedly cursing her husband. The strength of the Inquisition and its ability to persuade others to accept their beliefs is represented in the above secondary articles, but also in primary diary entries by Brazilian slaves that describe the Catholic church as controlling marriage between slaves. The Inquisition held a role of control, and they utilized it in many aspects which is represented

It was said that, “The church felt that business people considered it more important to make money, than to save their souls” (Brun 374). This quote exemplifies that attendance has declined in the churches because of the Europeans larger focus on Economic factors in their lives. It is significant because it portrays that although religion was important, economic components topped religion factors. Brun says, “They felt they could more easily control a country in which all the inhabitants shared the same ideas and beliefs” (Brun 382). This was executed by Isabella to consolidate the country with Christianity to increase their power. The queen, Isabella, ruled spain and had an influence on the people that later made an enormous affect on the society. When everyone had the same perspective, it was easier to change and control people's actions and beliefs. Religion components throughout exploration development was not as influential as economic circumstances, however, it was more significant than technology

Before Columbus landed in the West Indies in 1492, The Spanish Inquisition made it known to anyone within Spain’s domain of influence that if a person was not of the Catholic religion, they were to be punished severely and sometimes even fatally. This influence would undoubtedly be brought over to the Americas a century later, as the colonization of the New World would begin by then. While it was very essential for the Spanish (as well as the Portuguese) to improve their economy by using the resources they found in Latin America, it seemed to a number of them as if that was the only reason for being there, or the main reason at the very least. During the Spanish Inquisition and from that point after, it was the Pope’s main goal, to

Interbreeding folk traditions and catholic piety presented a danger to the Catholic Church being viewed as tainting the potential for redemption of souls and spreading the true message. Menocchio became an imperfect model of everything the church wanted to purge itself of. He was a danger not because he was a Lutheran, Turk, Jew, or Witch saturated full of folk tradition but because he blurred the lines between them and Christianity. Menocchio did not attempt to convert the community to Protestantism—one of the catholic church’s biggest perceived enemies—but confused the message of the Catholic doctrine. Menocchio posed himself as an internal threat to the Christian religion instead of an external one. The inquisition was constructed to rid itself of internal risks like Menocchio. There is a direct relationship between inquisitors’ reaction and the goals of the church in Catholic reformation. This is evident through the inquisition preoccupation with fundamental dogmas of Christianity such as the Holy Trinity, the Virgin Mary, and Christ’s relationship to his body. These concepts proved especially hard to teach to a popular culture influenced by a long line of rural folk traditions. The inquisition, as a tool of the Catholic Reform Movement, attempted to

Ferdinand was the son of John II of Aragon and Juana Enríquez, both of Castilian origin. His father named him apparent heir and governor of all his kingdoms and lands. Ferdinand future was assured when he came of age in 1466 and he was named King of Sicily,in order to impress the court of Castile. 3 years later he married the Princess of Isabella of Castille in Valladolid in October 1469.The marriage commenced into this dark and troubled life because Ferdinand fought on the Castilian and Aragonese’s fronts in order to impose his authority over the noble oligarchies.After that Queen Isabella gave him 4 children: Juana, Joan, John,Catherine and Maria. But his marriage with Isabella was not very romantic but more of political and he grew more

Lower down on the map of North America were the Spanish colonies. After Columbus discovered the New World, the Spanish Crown began governing the area. With the arrival of various explorers and colonizers like Columbus, there were rivalries for the land within the South. By the middle of the 1500s, Spain organized themselves politically and economically in the Southwest and the Spanish gained a tight hold on their land of New World. Until the 19th century, Spanish America was divided into viceroyalties and governed through a Council of the Indies in Spain. The viceroys were not just governors, they were the king of Spain’s representative and therefore, were treated as royalty. This system of “under-kings” was developed by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. He also organized judicial courts of appeal throughout the Spanish lands with appointed judges to ensure justice was dispensed throughout the New World, the King's rights were upheld, and that taxes were collected. There was a vast military presence in the Spanish colonies to protect them intrusion by other world powers (Politics in Spanish Colonization).