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Encyclopaedia Judaica

Persecution of the Jews: The Inquisition of the church against the Jews 1481-1834

How criminal Catholic "Christian" church and the criminal Pope justified anonymous allegations against the Jews and New Christians with torture, degradation, and burning - and confiscation of the property

from: Inquisition; In: Encyclopaedia Judaica 1971, Vol. 8

presented by Michael Palomino (2007)

8. Statistics of the Inquisition for Spain and Portugal

[Spain: Burnt persons: 31,912 - or 28,540]

<Statistics. FOR SPAIN.

It is estimated that in Spain, from the establishment of the Inquisition down to 1808, the number of heretics burned in person was 31,912; those burned in effigy, 17,659; and those reconciled de vehementi (see Procedure, below), 291,450 - a total of 341,021 in all.

Even these immense figures are apparently exceeded by the usually careful Amador de los Rios, who estimates that up to 1525, when the Moriscos first began to suffer, the number of those burned in person came to 28,540; those burned in effigy to 16,520; and those penanced to 303,847 - making a total of 348,907 condemnations for Judaism in less than half a century.

On the other hand, Rodrigo, the apologist of the Inquisition, puts forward the impossible assertion that less than 400 persons were burned in the whole course of the existence of the Inquisition in Spain. H. C. *Lea, the modern historian of the Spanish Inquisition, hesitates to give any definite opinion. It was in the earlier and most ferocious period of inquisitional activity that the secret Jews suffered above all, and they furnished therefore a disproportionate number of the victims. In the later period, the number greatly diminished.

Thus, from 1780 to 1820, out of 5,000 cases, only 16 were of Judaizing; but the majority of the charges at this period were light, and the sentences imposed in most cases comparatively negligible.> (col. 1390)

[Portugal: About 750 autos-da-fé - 1,175 persons burnt at the stake]

<FOR PORTUGAL.

As far as Portugal and its dependencies are concerned, the figures can be given with a much greater approach to precision. There are extant the records of approximately 40,000 cases tried before the Inquisition in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries in Portugal, the archives in this respect being virtually complete.

The sentences were carried out at autos-da-fé numbering something like 750 in all. In these, as far as can be ascertained, upward of 30,000 persons were condemned, 1,808 of them being burned at the stake (633 in effigy and 1,175 in person) and 29,590 being penanced.

In the two decades from 1701 to 1720, 37 persons were burned in person and 26 in effigy, while 2,126 were penanced. From 1732 to 1742, 66 persons were burned. From 1721 to 1771, 139 persons were burned in person, and 20 in effigy, while 3,488 were penanced.> (col. 1390)

[Statistics of the Inquisition for Spain and Portugal together]

<Elkan *Adler has compiled lists of a little less than 2,000 autos-da-fé which took place in the peninsula and its dependencies from 1480 to 1826. This number should, however, be further increased.> (col. 1390)

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