← Explore on the interactive map

Spanish Inquisition (Tribunal)

Type Object Region Spain Time 1478–1600

Established in 1478 by papal authorization in Castile and Aragon, the Spanish Inquisition was controlled by the Spanish crown rather than Rome;…

Timeline

  1. 1478Seville (first major tribunal) · SevilleFerdinand and Isabella obtained authorization from Pope Sixtus IV to establish the Inquisition, initially targeting suspicions of 'crypto-Judaism' among converted Jews. The institution was led by inquisitors appointed by the Spanish crown, distinguishing it from the Roman Inquisition model under direct papal control.
  2. 1500–1580Tribunals across Spain (Toledo, Salamanca, etc.) · SpainUnder Charles V and Philip II, Inquisition tribunals spread across Castile, Aragon, and the American colonies, establishing an index of prohibited books, censorship of printed matter, and procedures for trying heresy cases, becoming a core judicial-religious institution for upholding Catholic orthodoxy and royal religious authority.
  3. 1590–1600Madrid (central tribunal) · MadridIn the 1590s, amid the Morisco question and religious wars, the Inquisition intensified surveillance of converted Muslim communities, paving the way for the 1609–1614 expulsion of the Moriscos. It continued to censor infiltrating Protestant ideas and prohibited books; by around 1600 the institution was an indispensable component of Spain's religious-political order.

Sources