Inquisition

The Inquisition was a tribunal initiated by the Catholic Church and established by Pope Gregory IX in the 13th century to combat heresy. Its extension in Spain, the Spanish Inquisition, which lasted from 1478 to 1834, was used to maintain Catholic orthodoxy and persecute Jews and Muslims that converted to Christianity suspected of heresy. The Edict of Expulsion in 1492 forced Jews to convert or leave Spain. Due to the expulsion and persecution in previous years, thousands of Jews converted to Christianity and thousands were expelled. Jews that converted back to Judaism were killed. In New Spain, the Spanish Empire in the New World, many Jews were executed for practicing the Jewish religion.

Many Spanish Jews left Spain for Portugal and were persecuted there too. An edict of expulsion in Portugal forced Jews to be expelled or convert to Christianity. During the Portuguese Inquisition that started in the 16th century, Jews that converted to Christianity suspected of secretly practicing Judaism were killed.

Victims of the Inquisition
During the first year of the Spanish Inquisition, over 300 Jews were killed. 37 Jews from Mallorca were killed.

Some of the Jewish victims that were killed included:
 * Cornelio de Montalcino, 1554
 * Francisca Nuñez de Carabajal with her children, Isabel, Catalina, Leonor, and Luis, 1596
 * Francisco Maldonado da Silva, 1639
 * Isaac de Castro Tartas, 1647
 * Rafel Valls and siblings Caterina and Rafel Benet Tarongí, 1691
 * Maria Barbara Carillo, 1721
 * Ana de Castro, 1736
 * Antonio Jose da Silva, 1739