The Spanish Inquisition began in 1478, but wasn’t official until 1834.

It was set up by King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile.

In 1480 the Turks attacked the city of Ortranto of south Italy. There were 12,000 people killed during this time and those who survived were made slaves.

The Inquisitors were chosen by the pope.

Inquisitors were usually members of mendicant orders. Which were usually monks that did not have any specific or special power.

Ille humani generis was a letter sent to a Dominican prior of Gregory IX ordering them to send inquisitors to deal with heresy.

In the 13th and 14th centuries the persecution of Spanish Jews increased greatly.

To identify the Jews easier they were forced to wear a yellow patch.

They would allow anyone, no matter what there status was to torture anyone they thought might be a heretic.

Torture methods during the Inquisition were known as garrucha, toca and the potro .

The garrucha was a method where the criminal limbs were pulled off from the ceiling to the floor. It also included many lifts and drops.

The toca forced the victim to feel as though they were drowning.

The potro forced the joints to slowly dislocate.

The Potro was the most commonly used torture device.

Some of the tortures were done in public, for everyone to see them suffer.