In Spain, during the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, on account of an alleged plot to overthrow the monarchy, by the Jews and Heretics, in the year 1478, on application to Pope Sixtus IV., they were permitted to take over, as it were, the whole tribunal formerly handled as a Church affair, into the hands of the State, and with this new regime, the Spanish Inquisition had its origin. Inquisitors were now appointed by the Crown, instead of the Church and under the career of Thomas de Torquemada, in 1483, the reign of terror commenced in Spain. Llorente, the historian of the Inquisition, places the number of persons burned to death, during Torquemada’s tenure of office, in sixteen years, in Spain, at 9,000, and during the term of office of the second head of the Inquisition, Diego Deza, in eight years, 1,600 met a similar death, by fire, as this was the customary punishment inflicted upon this hated class of innocents who opposed the ruling powers in Church and State.[51] The procedure of the Inquisition is not without interest. The person suspected of heresy or unbelief, was arrested and thrown into prison, to be brought to trial when it suited the pleasure of his judges. The proceedings of the trial when the unfortunate one was brought into court, were secret; he was not faced with his accusers, nor were their names disclosed. The evidence of a guilty accomplice, without corroboration, was received against the accused and the person undergoing trial was liable to be put to torture, in order to extort a confession from him. When convicted, the punishment was death by fire, or on the scaffold, imprisonment in the galleys for life, or for a term of years, with forfeiture of his property, and civil infamy, if the offense was deemed not of sufficient gravity to justify burning to death.[52] After confession, under torture, the prisoner was customarily remanded to prison and when brought before the judge, if he persisted in his profession, he was condemned. If the confession was withdrawn, he was tortured again and if he recanted a second time, he was tortured a third time, for while the theory was that he could not be convicted, unless he let his confession stand, he was tortured until he confessed and was not allowed to voluntarily retract it, oftentimes.[53] Three judges were necessary to approve the infliction of torture to extract evidence from a person accused, in the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella,[54] but this law was often violated and the strappado, the scourge, hanging the accused by the arms, while his back and legs were loaded with heavy weights, fire, applied to the soles of the feet and pouring water down the throat were a few of the many tortures applied[55] to extort confessions from the poor unfortunates who fell into the hands of these religious zealots, imbued with a superhuman inclination to torture their fellow-men.