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In-Depth Information
the large island of Fernando Poo (or Po) as
well as several smaller islands in the Gulf of
Guinea, notably Annobón, the Elobeys
(Grande and Chico), and Corisco. Spain
placed Fernando Poo under British admin-
istration in 1829 to permit Great Britain to
police more effectively the slave trade. The
island was reclaimed by Spain in 1844, and
the entire colony (with an area slightly
more than 10,000 square miles) was con-
firmed to Spain by international agreement
in 1900. With a relatively small population
and modest economic base Spanish Guinea
was not deemed worthy of argument when
anticolonial criticisms were directed against
M
ADRID
. In 1968 it was accorded indepen-
dence under the name Equatorial Guinea.
After the restoration of the monarchy in
Spain (1975) this former colony was
included in a royal tour of Spanish-speak-
ing areas of the world. The king and queen
were greeted with such vociferous enthusi-
asm and so many demands for a return to
Spanish rule that the Madrid government
was obliged to make it quite clear that it
had no such desire or intention.
announced purpose of rooting out Jewish
converts to Christianity (conversos) who
secretly persisted in their original faith.
Almost from their beginning these councils
functioned as one, commonly known as the
Spanish Inquisition. By the early 16th cen-
tury the mission of the Inquisition had
shifted to discovering covert Muslims
(Moriscos) and Protestants and its employ-
ees included a small army of informers,
policemen, and jailers. Totally under gov-
ernment control and functioning as one of
the state councils, the Inquisition drew
upon ecclesiastics only in matters of doctri-
nal expertise. Those subjected to interroga-
tion were, in many cases, judged to be the
object of frivolous or malicious charges and
released, while others were subjected to
orders of recantation or minor punishment.
Prisoners judged worthy of physical chas-
tisement, including torture or death, were
handed over to secular authorities for impo-
sition of such measures. Although the num-
ber of capital sentences carried out under
the mandate of the Inquisition has never
been reliably established, the death penal-
ties imposed over its more than three cen-
turies of existence seem to have been
relatively few. The public burnings, how-
ever, created a terrifying and lasting impres-
sion. The secret procedures of the
inquisitorial bodies also contributed to a
mysterious and sinister image.
Local tribunals of the Inquisition were
established as part of the regular adminis-
trative apparatus throughout Spain's over-
seas empire, as well as in countries
temporarily subjected to Spanish domi-
nance, including Portugal. By the mid-18th
century the Inquisition was functioning
primarily as a court to oversee matters of
morality and petty social offenses. These
Spanish Inquisition
Originally an investigative body established
by the papacy to root out heresy, the Inqui-
sition spread from Rome to virtually every
country of Catholic Europe during the Mid-
dle Ages. In 1479 I
SABELLA
I successfully
petitioned for the establishment of an inqui-
sition in C
ASTILE
. Somewhat reluctantly,
because of the sweeping powers stipulated,
Rome granted this request, a parallel autho-
rization being given to Isabella's consort,
F
ERDINAND
V, for his realm of A
RAGON
. Each
kingdom was to have a council composed
of bishops, theologians, and lawyers for the
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