The Inquisition in the DR?

[M.A.R.]

Last night I watched a program about the Inquisition, in Spain. I have never really read much about it but what I've studied in High School or what I have seen in some movies. So I was wondering if the Inquisition was at its height in Spain at the end of the 1400's when Columbus set sail to the Americas, did he use these methods widely in the DR? The movies I've seen show that in Mexico it was a widely used method and I'm sure in other American countries.

here is a link with some history on the Inquisition, those people were NUTS!!!!
The Inquisition

[Mirador]

Originally Posted by M.A.R.

.... here is a link with some history on the Inquisition, those people were NUTS!!!!

No, they were not "NUTS!!!", they were fanatics, and of the worst kind, religious fanatics, convinced they were actually doing God's work. The Holy Inquisition was the work of a religious order with the pompous name of the Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universial Inquisition", later called the "Congregration for the Doctrine of the Faith", which still exists today, headed until recently by Cardenal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI. The Holy Inquisition began under Pope Paul III, in the year 1542, and officially ended in 1833...

[M.A.R.]

Originally Posted by Mirador

No, they were not "NUTS!!!", they were fanatics, and of the worst kind, religious fanatics, convinced they were actually doing God's work. The Holy Inquisition was the work of a religious order with the pompous name of the Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universial Inquisition", later called the "Congregration for the Doctrine of the Faith", which still exists today, headed until recently by Cardenal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI. The Holy Inquisition began under Pope Paul III, in the year 1542, and officially ended in 1833...

QUOTE from that Article:
"While many people associate the Inquisition with Spain and Portugal, it was actually instituted by Pope Innocent III (1198-1216) in Rome. A later pope, Pope Gregory IX established the Inquisition, in 1233, to combat the heresy of the Abilgenses, a religious sect in France. By 1255, the Inquisition was in full gear throughout Central and Western Europe; although it was never instituted in England or Scandinavia."

Different articles have different years when the Inquisition was instituted, I keep seeing 1400's for Spain.

[Mirador]

Originally Posted by M.A.R.

[/B]

QUOTE from that Article:
"While many people associate the Inquisition with Spain and Portugal, it was actually instituted by Pope Innocent III (1198-1216) in Rome. A later pope, Pope Gregory IX established the Inquisition, in 1233, to combat the heresy of the Abilgenses, a religious sect in France. By 1255, the Inquisition was in full gear throughout Central and Western Europe; although it was never instituted in England or Scandinavia."

M.A.R., Inquisitions have always existed, wherever a political-religious establishment has imposed their belief system through violence and persecution. Inquisitions have gone by many names since the dawn of times, it is not an exclusive invention of the Catholic Church. The point of my previous post has to do with you calling religious fanatics "NUTS!!!", which is actually the same term a religious fanatic would call you, for not believing in their faith...

[M.A.R.]

ok Mirador, well what I wanted to know is about the DR, were these tortures and persecutions performed in the DR?

Originally Posted by Mirador

M.A.R., Inquisitions have always existed, wherever a political-religious establishment has imposed their belief system through violence and persecution. Inquisitions have gone by many names since the dawn of times, it is not an exclusive invention of the Catholic Church. The point of my previous post has to do with you calling religious fanatics "NUTS!!!", which is actually the same term a religious fanatic would call you, for not believing in their faith...

Good point - many indingenous people in the Americas were also guilty of that as well. If anybody thinks that is a thing of the past just look to the middle east where people are still murdered or castigated for changing their beliefs. The fact is people are the same the world over and fanaticism wherever it is found is evil.

As far as the implementation of the Inquisition here in the DR we still don't have an answer do we?

[qgrande]

Well, the Spanish inquisition was certainly very active well into the 17th century, so after Columbus set sail for Asia. Their main aim were the many different protestant groups braking away from the catholic church at the time. I suppose there weren't many protestants in Hispanional in the early years, but maybe they kept a check on recent converts to catholicism too. Interesting question.

[Chirimoya]

I know it was active in Peru and Mexico, but what about the DR, which in the early years of Spanish conquest/settlement was an important centre?

[Mirador]

Originally Posted by M.A.R.

ok Mirador, well what I wanted to know is about the DR, were these tortures and persecutions performed in the DR?

Maybe we should wait for Mario Vargas Llosa's forthcoming book, titled "La Fiesta del Arzobispo"... ;-)

[Robert]

I visited the Spanish Inquisition museum in Cartagena (Colombia) a couple of weeks ago. Fascinating place with some really gruesome torture gear.

As others have said, interesting question, did it also happen in the DR?