Establishment of the Spanish Inquisition Tribunal at Seville

Timeline

1. 1481Seville · Province of SevilleUnder authorization from Pope Sixtus IV and a Castilian royal decree, the Spanish Inquisition established a local tribunal at Seville, appointing inquisitors to conduct investigations and interrogations of suspected heretics. Seville, with its large Jewish and converso population, became a priority jurisdiction for the Inquisition.
2. 1481Seville · Province of SevilleThe Seville tribunal held the first public auto de fé ceremony in the history of the Spanish Inquisition; six people convicted of heresy were sentenced to burning at the stake and executed publicly. The ceremony proclaimed the Inquisition's authority and deterrent power to the entire city.
3. 1481–1482Andalusia · AndalusiaAfter the establishment of the Seville tribunal, the Inquisition rapidly extended its jurisdiction to other Andalusian cities such as Córdoba and Jaén, summoning large numbers of conversos for trial. The institutional operation of the Inquisition in the south, together with the contemporary Granada War, shaped the socio-political landscape of 1480s Iberia.