The inquisition in the Spanish dependencies: Sicily—Naples—Sardinia—Milan—the Canaries—Mexico—Peru—New Granada — John Shaqi
The inquisition in the Spanish dependencies: Sicily—Naples—Sardinia—Milan—the Canaries—Mexico—Peru—New GranadaLea, Henry Charles
History
The inquisition in the Spanish dependencies: Sicily—Naples—Sardinia—Milan—the Canaries—Mexico—Peru—New Granada
Lea, Henry Charles
Inquisition
There is not much evidence of activity at this period, but an auto de fe
was celebrated, August 11, 1506, in which was burnt Olivieri de Mauro,
a renegade Christian.[18] Probably this was followed by others, of which
the records have not reached us, but the troubles of the tribunal were
not yet over and, in 1509, it was practically suspended for awhile, for
the Bishop of Cefalù was transferred to Naples, as we shall see
hereafter; Belorado died, the receiver Obregon was in Spain, and the
other officials apparently dispersed, as there was no money to pay their
salaries. At length a successor was found in Doctor Alonso Bernal, whose
appointment Ferdinand announced to the viceroy, January 19, 1510, but he
was in no haste to assume the duties for, on April 2d Ferdinand was
obliged to furnish him with sixty ducats to expedite his departure from
Valencia. Obregon accompanied him and, as the whole staff of the
tribunal had disappeared, he was empowered to fill their places and
regulate their salaries, which were to be paid out of three hundred
ducats to be advanced by the royal treasurer and to be repaid out of the
first proceeds of the expected confiscations.[19] The need of money was
doubtless an incentive to active work. Bernal lost no time in getting
the tribunal into shape and, by August 27th, we hear of his having many
prisoners, for whose safe-keeping he had spent fifty ducats in arranging
a gaol.[20] The result of this industry manifested itself in an auto de
fe, celebrated June 6, 1511, in which eight persons were burnt.[21]
He was speedily furnished with a colleague, for royal letters of June
18th and 24th inform us of the appointment of a second inquisitor, in
the person of Doctor Diego de Bonilla, promoted from the position of
fiscal, to whom Obregon was ordered to pay a salary of 6000 sueldos,
while the new fiscal, Leonardo Vázquez de Cepeda was to receive 2000 and
the notary, Pedro de Barahona the same. It was one thing, however, to
grant salaries and quite another to get them paid, in the habitual
mismanagement of inquisitorial business. From a letter of September 17th
we learn that Obregon had left Sicily in the fleet, placing as his
substitute his son, a boy of 15 or 16. The salaries had fallen greatly
in arrears and the boy declared that he had no funds save twenty ounces,
while Inquisitor Bernal asserted that he had imposed fines and pecuniary
penances to the amount of thirteen hundred ducats, besides considerable
confiscations, which should be ample to meet all salaries and expenses,
whereupon Ferdinand ordered the viceroy to investigate the accounts and
discover where the money had gone.[22]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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