How to Teach the Spanish Inquisition

Trials in Spain were intended to determine whether a person was Catholic.

The Spanish Inquisition, as one of the most controversial topics in all of history, can be a very difficult subject to grasp. Because it relied upon principle of religious intolerance, many people today are unable to understand why it occurred, or how it was conducted. Despite this confusion and misunderstanding, teaching this subject can actually be quite engaging, as several activities may be utilized in order to help your students understand this topic.

Instructions

1. Establish the context for the Inquisition by constructing a timeline. Before the Inquisition could take place, for example, the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella had to secure their power, re-conquering Spanish lands from Islamic Invaders. You may want to include other important events contemporary with the Inquisition, such as the Columbus expedition, the English Civil War, the Glorious Revolution, the American Revolution, and the French Revolution.

2. Lead a discussion concerning competing ideologies and governments. In the Inquisition, non-Catholics were sought out for the perceived threat they posed to a Catholic monarchy, so your discussion should try to uncover the importance of religion during this time period, as well as its impact upon the legitimacy of the rulers. The Glorious Revolution of 1688 is an excellent topic for comparative analysis in how non-Catholics might resist a Catholic ruler.

3. Host your own Inquisition. Instruct your students to construct questions specifically designed to uncover their peers' religious beliefs, as well as answers to these questions which might veil those beliefs. This practice will help your students to understand the nature of the Inquisition as an institution designed to identify a person's religious beliefs.

4. Write a governmental constitution positing equal rights of men together with your students. Generally speaking, the concept of equality found in American and French Revolutions spread across Europe and formed the main reason why the Inquisition ended. Equality, in the sense that it contributed to religious tolerance, should be included in your constitution, just as it was the such constitutions effected the Inquisition.

References

• "Early Modern Europe: An Oxford History"; Euan Cameron; 1999
• "Early Modern Europe: Issues and Interpretations"; James Collins and Karen Taylor; 2006
• "Christ the King Lord of History"; Anne Carroll; 1993
• "The Historical Atlas of Knights and Castles"; Ian Barnes; 2007