8 Tomas de Torquemada
Torquemada was the Grand Inquisitor of Spain from 1483 to 1498. He started the Spanish Inquisition, which was established on November 1, 1478 and disbanded in July 15, 1834. The Spanish Inquisition was an ecclesiastical tribunal run by the Spanish monarchy and established to root out heretics and other individuals who threatened the status of Roman Catholic Church in Spain. Torquemada’s spies turned friends against friends and they made sons and daughters testify against their parents. Torquemada without lack of evidence would order Jews to be tortured or killed because of his discrimination towards them. Countless of people were tortured, whipped, subjected to horrific physical punishments, and forced to surrender all of their property. Children sometimes died from starvation. People were often naked when they were tortured. Torquemada favored many forms of torture like foot-roasting and suffocation. People were sometimes burned alive, hanged, and grilled. Some ways of torture often went through sexual organs. One way to torture people was the garrucha, which pulled a prisoner’s arms and legs from their sockets. Another way of torturing Jews was the toca, a water torture, which was when water was forced down the victim’s throat. Another method was the porto which used tight cords to stop blood from flowing. Another method was the turtle which was when victims were crushed with heavy weights. Another method was when a victim would be pushed into a garroting chair, which had a sharp point in the neck region. Another method was the rack which stretched a person’s body a foot or more. Then an inquisitor would rip off the victim’s nipples, tongue, ears, nose, and genitals. Some people were skinned from their head to their waist. 2,000 to 10,000 Jews suffered death by being burned on stakes and more than 9,000 were punished by other methods. Many Jews died from starvation. By one account, he killed over 30,000 people. Torquemada’s hatred of heretics influenced King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to expel every Jew or Muslim that had not embraced Christianity which was 200,000 to 300,000. Most of them had ancestors that have lived in Spain for centuries. It is said that Torquemada himself had Jewish blood in him. Torquemada died of old age in 1478.
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