[Click the back button on your web browser to return to the section of “Signs of the Times” for which the following serves as an annotation.]
Inquisition: In an effort to reform the church — and therefore the government in Spain — Queen Isabella set up the Spanish Inquisition, a court that attempted to rid the country of non-Catholics, particularly Jews and Jewish converts to Christianity. The Inquisition has a reputation for its torture of non-Christians, even though it led to the creation of a new and stable government in Spain. Thomas Carlyle ridicules the government of Spain for this terrible strategy. He believes that the Inquisition was done in vain as Christianity should not be forced onto a person because of political affiliation. Carlyle would argue that the Government is a type of machine that should not interfere with the persons relationship with God. This Inquisition therefore lowered Spain's status in Carlyle's opinion.
Last modified 25 March 2010