Special Sub-Topic: The Mexican Inquisition Click Here To Play: The Mexican Inquisition

The Spanish Inquisition was officially sanctioned by the pope in the 15th century. However, the pope did not sanction a formal inquisition in the Americas till the end of the 16th c. What religious position had the power to engage in inquisitorial procedures before the formal founding of the Inquisition in colonial Mexico?

bishop. Church procedure held that bishops had the power to investigate and punish religious crimes of the faithful.

What name best describes the inquisitorial procedures before the formal arrival of a papally sanctioned court?

apostolic inquisition. Although the bishop presided over a diocese these types of procedures were called apostolic because they were operated by clerics under the control of the bishop as chief prelate of the diocese.

Who was the first bishop of New Spain (colonial Mexico) and consequently the first to engage in inquisitorial proceedings?

Fray Juan de Zumárraga. All four men were famous Franciscan friars involved in 16th century missions to convert the indigenous inhabitants of New Spain. Zumárraga was consecrated bishop in 1533. Motolinia, Sahagún and Torquemada all wrote chronicles of their experiences which have preserved some record of Nahua (Aztec) culture and society as it existed in their time. All three also learned and spoke Nahuatl, the language of the Aztec Empire.

Mexico lacked a formal inquisition for many decades before the pope authorized the creation of a formal inquisition modeled on its Spanish counterpart. In what year was this Mexican Inquisition founded?

1571. In 1571, the Mexican Inquisition was officially founded, although it was not established in the colony until 1572. It borrowed procedures from the existing Spanish Inquisition, and like the Spanish Inquisition it was overseen by the king of Spain who had the power to appoint his inquisitors pending papal confirmation.

Indigenous people were subject to the formal Mexican Inquisition.

f. Indigenous members of society were subject to the earlier apostolic inquisition. However, continuing problems in bringing about lasting conversions and a low opinion of 'indian' reason led the Mexican Inquisition to exclude them from investigation and persecution. They were still subject to the local bishop who retained the power to investigate religious crimes among native subjects.

Both the Spanish and Mexican Inquisitions recognized torture as viable practice in their procedure. What was the 'official' rationale behind using torture in Inquisition procedure?

verify truthfulness. In early modern criminal institutions, both secular and religious, torture was seen as the only way to absolutely verify if a statement was true. However, it was generally only used when the testimony of the accused changed between interviews or was vastly different from other witness testimony. For the Inquisition the punishment imposed on the guilty party served as penance for the crime and led to absolution and reconciliation with the church.

Punishments for similar crimes were similar regardless of the social/ethnic/racial status of the accused?

f. Early modern European societies were highly stratified. In Mexico this social hierarchy was complicated by the presence of many different ethnic and racial groups. Punishments tended to be more severe for individuals from the lower rungs of the social/racial ladder. For example, for the crime of blasphemy a Spaniard might be punished by public penance and a fine while a mestizo (a person of Spanish/Indian descent) would receive public penance and 100 lashes.

Inquisition courts were composed of several inquisitors who served as judges on the tribunal. After gathering information on the crime how did they reach their verdicts?

all members cast a vote. Innocent verdicts tended to be rare, because cases were often simply suspended rather than thrown out if evidence was lacking. However, if a case proceeded to judgment all of the members of the tribunal cast votes and the majority decision determined guilt. (A suspended case could be re-opened).

Modern judicial systems contain many rights for the accused. However, so did the Inquisition, which of the following rights was NOT given to defendants of the Mexican Inquisition?

presumption of innocence. Like most other early modern judicial systems innocence was not assumed. However, defendants did have a right to counsel and would be appointed counsel even if they could not pay. They had the right to call for witness testimony in their defense. They also had a limited right to appeal the court's ruling. Often this involved appealing the punishment rather than the verdict itself.

Finally, which of the following groups prosecuted by the Inquisition in Spain were not prosecuted in Mexico?

they all were. Although supposedly banned from immigrating to the colonies, conversos often made their way to the Americas where they could face the Inquisition if they were discovered. Most cases against protestants were brought against English pirates and privateers captured in Spanish territory. Finally, like in 17th c. Europe supposed witches were prosecuted in the Americas.