Tortures of the Spanish Inquisition
During the Spanish Inquisition people suffered through many tortures if they did not follow the right beliefs. Anything that one could imagine was done to the poor people. A minor punishment might have consisted of being thrown in a damp, moldy pit with rats crawlng all over you, and that also limited you to scarcely enough food to survive. Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand thought that everyone should follow the same beliefs back then. In a modern sense it was kind of like what Hitler did to the Jews, except that this spanned hundreds of gruesome years full of pain. The main people that were affected by this were of course the Jews. They were thrown into their cockroach ridden cells without reason nor conviction. They would be left unknowing in their cell for weeks, months, years, or possibly even decades no tknowing why they were first put there. This will not be pleasant to fathom, but it will give you a sense of what happened to these poor people.
One of the most gruesome tools of the torture arsenal was the oral, rectal, and vagina pear. It was forced into an opening of the victim and therefore forced in even further by a screw. The inside of the opening would be horribly mutilated almost always resulting in death. There were pointed prongs at the end of the pear that were best used for ripping into a throat or cervix. It was made up of bronze segments, a key, and an iron screw. Another one of these tortures which was less common was called the strappado. It consisted of a persons hands being tied behind their back and hung in the air. They would be dropped and right before hitting the ground the rope would be tightened.
During later periods of the Inquisition, torture was recognized as either ordinary or extraordinary. Some of the worst tortures of this time were everything bu tpleasant and quick. One torture consisted of lashing a persons wrist to an iron ring in the wall and securing his feet to another ring. The would then pull the ropes until the persons joints were painfully dislocated. One of the worst tortures was water treatment. It consisted of thirty pints of water being forcibly put into the victims throat. Somebody that was sentenced to death would be brutally lashed to a cross, and then the executioner would break the bones of the victim with blows from an iron bar. They would then be burnt while having the least bit of life left within them. The victim would also be latched to a wheel that ascended high into the air and then they would be eaten by hungry crows or other birds. Another method of finishing off the victim was to put them into a cage and string them high above the public for all to see.
Another method of torture was called the turtle. This involved the victim being placed under a board and having heavy weights being dropped upon them crushing them. In some cases the victim would have a wodden wedge placed under his or her back. Other tortures that were used involved victims being slowly roasted in an oven that had the shape of a bull, or the victims would also be grilled over an open fire. Probably the most recognized method of torture was called the rack. It had rollers with spikes attached to them so that when the person was put n the board they would immediately feel the pain of the spikes. They were then stretched for days and the bodies in some cases were stretched a whole foot or more, of course, this resulting from severe dislocation of every joint in the body. This was tied in with cries of help, pain, and suffering. While the victim was stretched, even more tortures would be applied. The inquisitor would take red-hot pincers and rip off the victims nipples, tongue, ears, noses, and genitals. Intestines were also slowly wound onto pulleys before the poor persons eyes, and crosses were also branded into the flesh. Another one of the gruesome tortures was the very painful garroting chair. The victim would be placed into the chair with a sharp point sticking out from the back of the chair near the neck region. The victim would be forcefully pushed back into the chair and would then have a restraint put around their neck. They would then have the point screwed into the victims neck by a handle on the back of the chair.
Life was truly hard back in these times as you have just heard and witnessed. Knowing you would be tortured like that to the fullest extent would just send the shock of disbelief and What did I do to deserve this? We should all be truly thankful that we do not live in those times of horrible pain. Life is in no way as horrible as it was back then.
This Page was Created by:Jared & Dylan
Return to the 9th Grade Compact English Page