1. The Spanish Inquisition

3. This inquisition was different from others because it was operated under royal authority and it occurred in Spain and in all the Spanish territories and colonies. 1478 King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile set up the Spanish Inquisition and the Pope Sixtus IV approved it. King and Queen of Spain

4. The inquisition was principally after Jewish and Muslim people; both groups still were in Spain after the end of the Islam control of Spain, who came under suspicion of continuing to follow their old religion or of having fallen back into it. Somewhat later the Spanish Inquisition took an interest in Protestants of practically any sect, particularly in the Spanish Netherlands. In the Spanish possessions of the Kingdom of Sicily and the Kingdom of Naples in southern Italy, which formed part of the Spanish Crown’s hereditary possessions, it also targeted Greek Orthodox Christians. The Spanish Inquisition, tied to the authority of the Spanish Crown, also examined political cases.

6. 1610 A new Inquisition seat established in Cartagena (Colombia) administered much of the Spanish Caribbean in addition to Panama and northern South America.