Auto Da Fe – World History – Free PDF Download

AUTO DA FE

• An auto-da–fé or auto-de-fé was the ritual of public penance of condemned heretics and apostates that took place when the Spanish Inquisition, Portuguese Inquisition or the Mexican Inquisition had decided their punishment, followed by the carrying out by the civil authorities of the sentences imposed.
• The most extreme punishment imposed on those convicted was execution by burning.

INQUISITION

• The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy. The Inquisition started in 12th-century France to combat religious dissent.
• During the Late Middle Ages and the early Renaissance, the concept and scope of the Inquisition significantly expanded in response to the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counter-Reformation.
• It expanded to other European countries,resulting in the Spanish Inquisition and Portuguese Inquisition. The Spanish and Portuguese operated inquisitorial courts throughout their empires in Africa, Asia, and the Americas.

INQUISITION

• The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy. The Inquisition started in 12th-century France to combat religious dissent.
• During the Late Middle Ages and the early Renaissance, the concept and scope of the Inquisition significantly expanded in response to the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counter-Reformation.
• It expanded to other European countries,resulting in the Spanish Inquisition and Portuguese Inquisition. The Spanish and Portuguese operated inquisitorial courts throughout their empires in Africa, Asia, and the Americas.

PROCESS

• The first recorded auto-da–fé was held in Paris in 1242, under Louis IX.
• In spite of this social discontent, in the following years between 1487 and 1505 the Chapter of Barcelona processed more than 1,000 people, of whom only 25 were absolved.
• The monarchs immediately began establishing permanent trials and developing bureaucracies to carry out investigations in most cities and communities in their empire.The exact number of people executed by the Inquisition is not known.

PROCESS

• The Portuguese Inquisition was established in 1536 and lasted officially until 1821. Autos-da–fé also took place in New Spain, the State of Brazil, and the Viceroyalty of Peru.
• The auto-da–fé was a major aspect of the tribunals, and the final step in the Inquisition process. It involved a Catholic Mass, prayer, a public procession of those found guilty, and a reading of their sentences.
• An Inquisition usually began with the public proclamation of a grace period of 40 days. Anyone who was guilty or knew of someone who was guilty was urged to confess.

PROCESS

• If the accused were charged, they were presumed guilty. Officials could apply torture during the trial.
• The ritual took place in public squares or esplanades and lasted several hours with ecclesiastical and civil authorities in attendance.
• The prisoners were taken outside the city walls to a place called the quemadero or burning place. There the sentences were read. Prisoners who were acquitted or whose sentence was suspended would fall on their knees in thanksgiving, but the condemned would be punished.

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