TORQUEMADA

 Born into a family of Jews who were forced to convert to Christianity, Tomás de Torquemada, (Thomas of Torquemada), O.P. (1420 -- September 16, 1498) was a 15th-century Spanish Dominican friar. He was the first Grand Inquisitor in Spain's movement to restore Christianity among its populace in the late 15th century. Torquemada was one of the chief supporters of the Alhambra Decree, which expelled the Jews from Spain in 1492.Torquemada's manual of instructions to the Inquisition (Copilación de las Instruciónes del Offico de la Sancta Inquisición) did not appear in print publicly until 1576, when it was published in Madrid. In his capacity as grand inquisitor, Torquemada reorganized the Spanish Inquisition, which had been set up in Castile in 1478, establishing tribunals at Sevilla (Seville), Jaén, Córdoba, Ciudad Real, and, later, Zaragoza. In 1484 he promulgated 28 articles for the guidance of inquisitors, whose competence was extended to include not only crimes of heresy and apostasy but also sorcery, sodomy, polygamy, blasphemy, usury, and other offenses; torture was authorized in order to obtain evidence. These articles were supplemented by others promulgated between 1484 and 1498. The number of burnings at the stake during Torquemada’s tenure has been estimated at about 2,000.