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The Inquisition: A Captivating Guide to the Medieval, Spanish, Portuguese, and Roman Inquisitions
The paranoia and recriminations that have been unleashed by religious inquisitions are quite extraordinary.This book explores the Inquisition in depth, leaving no stone unturned to find the root of what drove these religious persecutions.Most people know about the Spanish Inquisition, but there were other inquisitions, such as those carried out by the Romans and the Portuguese. What was it that motivated these diehard religious zealots to squash all contrary views from their midst?It is rather easy to paint one side as the “good guys” and the other as the “bad guys.” But unless we are a bunch of kids playing cops and robbers, this is an overly simplistic, narrow-minded, and lazy interpretation of what is a very complex history. In this book, we explore all the dark nooks and crannies of what sparked massive inquiries into the faith of others and rampant persecution of religious beliefs.In this captivating book, you will discover the The root causes of the Inquisition;The real motivations behind the persecution;The harsh torture methods used to extract confessions;The estimated toll the Inquisition took on people’s lives;How the Inquisition ended;Its impact and legacy;And much more!Scroll up and click the “add to cart” button to begin learning about the Inquisition!
- GenresHistory
106 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 9, 2023
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67 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 22, 2025
Really torn between giving 3 or 2 stars, but ultimately settled at 2 for the reason of gross author bias.
As far are pros go, there is some merit to this very short read. It’s a short, precise overview of the inquisitions, and if you’re new to this era of history it would justify as a good introduction piece to a very complex period of history. The author does not waste his time chewing on unnecessary details, and has broken this book into digestible sections as if it is simply a long essay.
With that said, I believe the cons outweigh the pros with this book. If you are someone with even an intermediate knowledge of European history, skip this book. It will give you very little new information, and it will do so in a very pointed fashion.
My small griefs with this book are simple;
- while it is concise and straight to the point, it is also dry and extremely broad. To put in short, not very exciting to read.
- it often references other periods of time to support the views it is trying to portray, lots of straw-man arguments presented.
My big grief:
Bias. Oh my goodness the bias. This book clearly has an agenda, and it does a decent job at hiding that bias in historical presentism. The Iberian peninsula had been predominantly Christian lands for centuries, that is until Islamic conquest violently brought about Muslim belief systems, dominated the land, and subjected the Iberian to a newfound belief through physical means. Then, after several hundred years of being treated as second class citizens in their own native lands, the people of the Iberian reclaimed their land through violent means of their own.
I am not a defender of the inquisition, I want to make that clear, some of the torture and death that happened during this time is horrific, and I do not believe violence is the answer to violence. But with that said, whoever the author of this book is, they practice incredible hypocrisy with some of their assertions. The verbiage of this book will paint an image that these barbaric Christians out of nowhere disrupted a peaceful Iberian so that they could reinstate a primitive worldview similar to that of the Salem witch trials, which is not even slightly a historical understanding of the inquisition. The author literally skips over hundreds of years of Muslim conquest and subjugation, giving a small window into the context that led to the inquisitions in the first place, spending their time and verbiage to discuss the barbarity of the Christian’s who wanted to reinstate their own beliefs in their own land.
Just to give an example of the hypocrisy, in the first half of the book, the author admits that while there was a “relative peace” in the Iberian, the Muslims did enforce taxes on all Muslims and barred them from entry to areas of the city; but the author puts forward that this was merely one small thing, and that Jews Christians and Muslims were still living in peace. Whilst later, when the author explores how both the Spanish and Portuguese put forward the same tax on Muslims and Hindus, the author attacks this as an aimed and phobic response and disruption of the peace.
Another example; when discussing the Portuguese settlement in traditional Hindu territory, the author quoted a Portuguese king’s edict, which was along the lines of “respect the beliefs of the adults and complete families of the land and allow them to continue in their own faith, yet if there are any orphans in the land, have them brought to our universities so that they may be raised up with fathers who can teach them of Christ”; in retrospect this is an insanely progressive and fair edit - allow the adults to practice their faith, but take in their orphans to raise them Christian. Yet the authors language would have you thinking this is the work of the Devil, using phrases such as “subjugating them against their will”, “forcing the conversion”, “they forced all orphans into their fold”, “to indoctrinate them”, “attempting to avoid being subjected to such a fate” so on and so forth. Taking in homeless orphans to “raise and educate them” is apparent subjugation and tyranny in the eyes of this author.
—- in short, this book can be a good introduction if you are new to European history, but please be aware of author bias, dry reading, and a very broad overview
As far are pros go, there is some merit to this very short read. It’s a short, precise overview of the inquisitions, and if you’re new to this era of history it would justify as a good introduction piece to a very complex period of history. The author does not waste his time chewing on unnecessary details, and has broken this book into digestible sections as if it is simply a long essay.
With that said, I believe the cons outweigh the pros with this book. If you are someone with even an intermediate knowledge of European history, skip this book. It will give you very little new information, and it will do so in a very pointed fashion.
My small griefs with this book are simple;
- while it is concise and straight to the point, it is also dry and extremely broad. To put in short, not very exciting to read.
- it often references other periods of time to support the views it is trying to portray, lots of straw-man arguments presented.
My big grief:
Bias. Oh my goodness the bias. This book clearly has an agenda, and it does a decent job at hiding that bias in historical presentism. The Iberian peninsula had been predominantly Christian lands for centuries, that is until Islamic conquest violently brought about Muslim belief systems, dominated the land, and subjected the Iberian to a newfound belief through physical means. Then, after several hundred years of being treated as second class citizens in their own native lands, the people of the Iberian reclaimed their land through violent means of their own.
I am not a defender of the inquisition, I want to make that clear, some of the torture and death that happened during this time is horrific, and I do not believe violence is the answer to violence. But with that said, whoever the author of this book is, they practice incredible hypocrisy with some of their assertions. The verbiage of this book will paint an image that these barbaric Christians out of nowhere disrupted a peaceful Iberian so that they could reinstate a primitive worldview similar to that of the Salem witch trials, which is not even slightly a historical understanding of the inquisition. The author literally skips over hundreds of years of Muslim conquest and subjugation, giving a small window into the context that led to the inquisitions in the first place, spending their time and verbiage to discuss the barbarity of the Christian’s who wanted to reinstate their own beliefs in their own land.
Just to give an example of the hypocrisy, in the first half of the book, the author admits that while there was a “relative peace” in the Iberian, the Muslims did enforce taxes on all Muslims and barred them from entry to areas of the city; but the author puts forward that this was merely one small thing, and that Jews Christians and Muslims were still living in peace. Whilst later, when the author explores how both the Spanish and Portuguese put forward the same tax on Muslims and Hindus, the author attacks this as an aimed and phobic response and disruption of the peace.
Another example; when discussing the Portuguese settlement in traditional Hindu territory, the author quoted a Portuguese king’s edict, which was along the lines of “respect the beliefs of the adults and complete families of the land and allow them to continue in their own faith, yet if there are any orphans in the land, have them brought to our universities so that they may be raised up with fathers who can teach them of Christ”; in retrospect this is an insanely progressive and fair edit - allow the adults to practice their faith, but take in their orphans to raise them Christian. Yet the authors language would have you thinking this is the work of the Devil, using phrases such as “subjugating them against their will”, “forcing the conversion”, “they forced all orphans into their fold”, “to indoctrinate them”, “attempting to avoid being subjected to such a fate” so on and so forth. Taking in homeless orphans to “raise and educate them” is apparent subjugation and tyranny in the eyes of this author.
—- in short, this book can be a good introduction if you are new to European history, but please be aware of author bias, dry reading, and a very broad overview
May 6, 2023
This book starts with the information that Muslims, Christians, and Jews coexisted in peace throughout the Iberian Peninsula for generations. Over time, the Christians began to worry about the heretics. This led to the earliest Inquisition.
Medieval Inquisition: Catholics considered the Cathars as heretical because they believed humans were angels trapped here by an angry god. Cathars also believed in the form of reincarnation and two gods (the Good God of the New Testament and the evil God of the Old Testament). However, this early Inquisition wanted to convert the heretics, not burn them. Thus, there were fewer deaths than in later Inquisitions. This Inquisition lasted from 1184 to 1240 CE.
Spanish Inquisition: This Inquisition lasted longer (from 1478 to 1834 CE) and is the most famous of the four Inquisitions. Ferdinand and Isabella had just reconquered the Iberian Peninsula from the Muslims and were nervous that the Jews would join the Muslims to take back Spain.
They forced the Jews to leave the country or convert to Catholicism. Later, they forced Muslims to convert or leave the country. Not taking people at their word, neighbors turned in people they thought were still practicing their old religion. People learned to admit to minor sins because denying any wrongdoing would bring torture to the unfortunate person being questioned. This lasted almost 400 years! Conservative estimates are that 300,000 people died during this Inquisition.
Portuguese Inquisition: As nautical traders, the Portuguese gained footholds in India, Pakistan, South America, and Africa. Their Inquisition began in 1536 and ended in 1821. The Portuguese started with the Hindus of India and the Muslims of Pakistan. Later, the Portuguese went after the Nestorian Christians living in India. These Christians were Orthodox Christians, not Catholics. Thus, the Portuguese went after these Christians too.
Just like the Spanish, the Portuguese did not trust the conversion of these Hindus, Muslims, and Orthodox Christians. They constantly tested the transformations of these people. Later, they went after the Buddhists, not allowing them to practice their faith. Then, the Portuguese went after orphan children, forcing conversion on children without parents.
Roman Inquisition: In the 16th century, Rome was part of the Papal States. These lands were reeling from the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counter-Reformation. As countries became Protestant or Catholic, the Catholic Church desired to reassert its mastery. Their Inquisition began in 1542 and ended before 1800 CE. This policing of Christians took place more quietly than the other Inquisitions. Even someone as famous as Galileo was called before the tribunal for teaching that the earth moved around the sun. Galileo barely squeaked by the tribunal with his life.
The last chapters of this book covered the papal involvement and impact of the Inquisition. The author's summation includes the view that intolerance rears its ugly head whenever we are not vigilant. He cites the McCarthy years (chasing Russians in America) as a point. This is certainly a thought-provoking book.
Medieval Inquisition: Catholics considered the Cathars as heretical because they believed humans were angels trapped here by an angry god. Cathars also believed in the form of reincarnation and two gods (the Good God of the New Testament and the evil God of the Old Testament). However, this early Inquisition wanted to convert the heretics, not burn them. Thus, there were fewer deaths than in later Inquisitions. This Inquisition lasted from 1184 to 1240 CE.
Spanish Inquisition: This Inquisition lasted longer (from 1478 to 1834 CE) and is the most famous of the four Inquisitions. Ferdinand and Isabella had just reconquered the Iberian Peninsula from the Muslims and were nervous that the Jews would join the Muslims to take back Spain.
They forced the Jews to leave the country or convert to Catholicism. Later, they forced Muslims to convert or leave the country. Not taking people at their word, neighbors turned in people they thought were still practicing their old religion. People learned to admit to minor sins because denying any wrongdoing would bring torture to the unfortunate person being questioned. This lasted almost 400 years! Conservative estimates are that 300,000 people died during this Inquisition.
Portuguese Inquisition: As nautical traders, the Portuguese gained footholds in India, Pakistan, South America, and Africa. Their Inquisition began in 1536 and ended in 1821. The Portuguese started with the Hindus of India and the Muslims of Pakistan. Later, the Portuguese went after the Nestorian Christians living in India. These Christians were Orthodox Christians, not Catholics. Thus, the Portuguese went after these Christians too.
Just like the Spanish, the Portuguese did not trust the conversion of these Hindus, Muslims, and Orthodox Christians. They constantly tested the transformations of these people. Later, they went after the Buddhists, not allowing them to practice their faith. Then, the Portuguese went after orphan children, forcing conversion on children without parents.
Roman Inquisition: In the 16th century, Rome was part of the Papal States. These lands were reeling from the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counter-Reformation. As countries became Protestant or Catholic, the Catholic Church desired to reassert its mastery. Their Inquisition began in 1542 and ended before 1800 CE. This policing of Christians took place more quietly than the other Inquisitions. Even someone as famous as Galileo was called before the tribunal for teaching that the earth moved around the sun. Galileo barely squeaked by the tribunal with his life.
The last chapters of this book covered the papal involvement and impact of the Inquisition. The author's summation includes the view that intolerance rears its ugly head whenever we are not vigilant. He cites the McCarthy years (chasing Russians in America) as a point. This is certainly a thought-provoking book.
March 23, 2023
I was really looking forward to this book and I was not disappointed. In this short little volume I was able to learn that not only the Spanish Inquisition existed, but also elsewhere, and although in a different form, even today it can happen that someone can be accused in a way against which he is unable to defend himself.
I was shocked to read what cruelties some people and the church were capable of in the name of Christianity, and to what depths human evil can rise. As I read the book, I was able to imagine the tortures and the agony of the victims, and at the same time I was shocked by the callousness and evil nature of the torturers and the church authorities.
I think the Inquisition was one of the darkest chapters of the Middle Ages, along with the Crusades, and although life is still challenging today, I am very glad that I am not living in that age.
I was shocked to read what cruelties some people and the church were capable of in the name of Christianity, and to what depths human evil can rise. As I read the book, I was able to imagine the tortures and the agony of the victims, and at the same time I was shocked by the callousness and evil nature of the torturers and the church authorities.
I think the Inquisition was one of the darkest chapters of the Middle Ages, along with the Crusades, and although life is still challenging today, I am very glad that I am not living in that age.
January 10, 2024
Thank you!
What a gem of logic and reasoning exposing our inherent weaknesses and shortcomings. This author includes some of the thoughts of the likes of the French philosopher Voltaire. Another French philosopher Count Volney nailed it when he stated in his 1791 work titled "The Ruins," when addressing the religions of the world, he surmised that all religions have flaws and shortcomings. He had it right, just as the author of this literary work has it right! Human nature dictates that we are still capable of and willing to repeat similar atrocities as those committed in the inquisitions. Thanks for the wakeup call!
.
What a gem of logic and reasoning exposing our inherent weaknesses and shortcomings. This author includes some of the thoughts of the likes of the French philosopher Voltaire. Another French philosopher Count Volney nailed it when he stated in his 1791 work titled "The Ruins," when addressing the religions of the world, he surmised that all religions have flaws and shortcomings. He had it right, just as the author of this literary work has it right! Human nature dictates that we are still capable of and willing to repeat similar atrocities as those committed in the inquisitions. Thanks for the wakeup call!
.
July 20, 2024
Little known history
A well written book on a little understood time in history. a look in to the sociological underpinnings of the time and the basis for religious intolerance that led to a dark period of western history. Additionally, a warning statement that all forms of intolerance persist and, I f not careful, we could again see loss of freedom, loos of rights and loss of life in the name of the supposed greater good.
A well written book on a little understood time in history. a look in to the sociological underpinnings of the time and the basis for religious intolerance that led to a dark period of western history. Additionally, a warning statement that all forms of intolerance persist and, I f not careful, we could again see loss of freedom, loos of rights and loss of life in the name of the supposed greater good.
March 30, 2023
The Inquisitions in a Nutshell
A simple, logical examination of the genesis, treatments, and conclusions of the multiple inquisition s mankind has heaped upon itself. Few examples of methodology are given. This is not a " How to Conduct an Inquisition" handbook, but rather a what, why, and when of the abuses of power and supposed,authority.
A simple, logical examination of the genesis, treatments, and conclusions of the multiple inquisition s mankind has heaped upon itself. Few examples of methodology are given. This is not a " How to Conduct an Inquisition" handbook, but rather a what, why, and when of the abuses of power and supposed,authority.
December 31, 2023
Interesting read. History repeats itself once again. With the rise of former pres T. and the MAGA group, the whole movement is outlined in the horrible Inquisitions. The short, but informative treatise was written before the Trump debacle, but the conclusions discussed a right on mark for what we see today...2023 turning to 2024.
June 29, 2025
Inquisition thoughs
This is an easy quick read.. Some slang and repetition are present but the gist is perceived. Given what's going on in the US now, it was telling. Sadly, it appears humanity will never easily move away from ignorance and fear. I was so hoping we were due for an evolution...
This is an easy quick read.. Some slang and repetition are present but the gist is perceived. Given what's going on in the US now, it was telling. Sadly, it appears humanity will never easily move away from ignorance and fear. I was so hoping we were due for an evolution...
August 20, 2023
A snapshot of the Inquisition. While covering the religious aspects, the secular influences are given slight coverage. There is almost no coverage of the opposition to the Inquisition that existed with in the church.
May 2, 2023
Thought,
Mob mentality and ignorance
The seed of January six
If a madman should again come to power that mindset d would again fester
Mob mentality and ignorance
The seed of January six
If a madman should again come to power that mindset d would again fester
July 3, 2025
Enjoyed this
Another great informational read. Recommended to gain a basic foundation in a topic. None of the books in this series have disappointed.
Another great informational read. Recommended to gain a basic foundation in a topic. None of the books in this series have disappointed.
December 3, 2025
The Inquisition was basically an attack on women and free thinkers.
The religious inquisitiion was asking questions about those who asked the wrong questions. It aimed to get everyone to believe in one particular dogma. If you asked too many questions you could end up being burned at the stake.
The book goes into the people who started the Inquisition, the use of brainwashing and propaganda, Pope Innocent VIII talking about women and demons, neighbors accusing neighbors and other things.
The Spanish Inquisition is covered along with The Reformation, the Council of Trent and how the inquisitions ended.
Most importantly it shows the consequences of the inquisitions such as the scarcity of doctors, damage to business and damage to scientific inquiry. this is all related to McCarthyism in the U.S.
Extremely interesting book.
The religious inquisitiion was asking questions about those who asked the wrong questions. It aimed to get everyone to believe in one particular dogma. If you asked too many questions you could end up being burned at the stake.
The book goes into the people who started the Inquisition, the use of brainwashing and propaganda, Pope Innocent VIII talking about women and demons, neighbors accusing neighbors and other things.
The Spanish Inquisition is covered along with The Reformation, the Council of Trent and how the inquisitions ended.
Most importantly it shows the consequences of the inquisitions such as the scarcity of doctors, damage to business and damage to scientific inquiry. this is all related to McCarthyism in the U.S.
Extremely interesting book.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews