Spain’s Long Road Through Power, Inquisition and Dictatorship

A Long Road in Spain

King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile and León took power in Spain after their marriage in 1469. The Pope at the time, Alexander VI, referred to Isabella and her husband as the Catholic Monarchs. For the first time, Spain was united as one kingdom, and the future appeared bright.

Their marriage marked the beginning of a golden age, and Spain became the leading European superpower. However, after the discovery of America, decline followed. When the Inquisition began in 1478, conditions grew increasingly harsh. In 1492, the Emirate of Granada was defeated, and Muslims and Jews were forced to flee. Some Jews converted to Christianity and were allowed to remain. Ferdinand was a capable Renaissance ruler, hardworking but ruthless in carrying out his plans.

The Spanish Inquisition

The Spanish Inquisition became the most brutal and relentless in Europe. For nearly 300 years, inquisitors exercised control, burning hundreds of thousands and torturing many more. Even popes demanded that it be stopped.

The Inquisition’s emblem was a green cross, an olive branch, and a sword. Anti-Jewish sentiment was intensified by both inquisitors and the monarchy.

In the 1400s, Spain consisted of several independent Christian kingdoms and the Muslim Emirate of Granada. Isabella ascended the throne of Castile in 1476. She had married Ferdinand six years earlier. Together they formed a unified Spain, derived from the Roman name Hispania.

At the palace in Seville, Isabella listened to the Dominican monk Alfonso de Ojeda, who proposed creating a Spanish Inquisition independent of papal authority. Soon, informants were recruited and rewarded for reporting suspicious behavior. Many innocent people were tortured into false confessions and burned at the stake, as the Church claimed it could not shed blood.

Property was confiscated and divided between church and crown. Ordinary citizens could be accused for trivial behavior. Fear dominated daily life.

Collapse and Consequences

Eventually, Spain weakened itself. Technological development stagnated while fear and persecution dominated society. Despite claims of greatness, Spain fell behind other European powers. The Inquisition was finally abolished after Napoleon’s invasion in 1808.

The first Jewish wedding in Spain after centuries of persecution took place in 1931.

Columbus and Global Consequences

Christopher Columbus, born in Genoa in 1451, sought to sail west to reach India. After years of rejection, Ferdinand and Isabella financed his voyage in 1492. He completed four journeys, believing he had reached India. His voyages became one of history’s greatest misunderstandings.

The discovery of America led to European expansion, conquest, enslavement, disease, and forced conversion of indigenous populations. Columbus was a skilled navigator but a poor leader. The name America derives from Amerigo Vespucci, who understood it was a new continent.

Franco and a New Dark Period

Francisco Franco ruled Spain from 1936 to 1975. He led a brutal civil war marked by executions and repression. Spain remained officially neutral in World War II but cooperated with both Axis and Allied powers. After the war, Spain was isolated and lagged behind economically and politically.

The civil war caused around 600,000 deaths and left deep political divisions that lasted for decades.