Wave of Inquisition Trials in New Spain (1670s)

Timeline

1. 1672Inquisition Plaza, Mexico City · Mexico CityA major auto de fe was held in Mexico City in 1672, with multiple persons accused of heresy, crypto-Judaism, or moral crimes tried before the public. Such ceremonies served both religious intimidation and political display, consolidating Spanish Catholic authority among the colonial elite.
2. 1674–1678New Spain · New SpainIn the mid-1670s the Inquisition intensified trials involving indigenous healers, love magic, and 'pacts with the devil', often targeting mixed-race and Indian women. Interrogation records reflect colonial authorities' anxiety over folk belief and gender transgression.
3. 1670–1679Mexico City · New SpainThe Inquisition continued to censor imported and locally printed books, forbidding the circulation of indexed prohibited works. In the 1670s such censorship ran parallel to the trials, constituting a routine mechanism of control over New Spain's intelligentsia and merchant class.