Fall Edition︱History
The Inquisition | By Isabella
The Spanish Inquisition was established in 1478 to impose the Catholic Church and police the rising heretics from deviating from Spain's state religion. This Inquisition infamously condemned people. It was very harsh, as simply practicing another religion (especially Islam and Judaism) could get you tortured and/or killed. The Inquisition was infamously known for being strict and brash. Often, people were accused of heresy, which is practicing or stating something that goes against Catholic beliefs. People living in 15th century Spain who were practicing other religions, or their own versions of Catholicism were also accused of heresy. The Catholic Church was strict, and did not want any other religion to have as much power. Heresy was becoming more and more difficult to filter out, especially when they began to grow rapidly, gaining followers each day. One example of heresy was Binitarianism; it was very similar to Catholicism, but claimed that there was only the Father and the Son, while Queen Isabella believed in the Holy Trinity: God as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
But there were standards imprinted into Spanish society, as Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand (who were in charge at the time) aimed to make the entire newly-united nation fully Catholic. The Catholic Church considered heresy to be on the rise in 15th century Spain, and saw many cases as posing a threat to Catholic Spain–a state too closely aligned to its religion. The Queen was known for being very Catholic, as she even made an oath to protect her religion. According to Britannica.com, Catholic Spain had a large population of Jews, which led them to be constantly targeted by Spain, especially in the year 1492. After a while, the attacks on the Jewish population did not go far enough for Spain’s monarchy.
Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand decided to create the Edict of Expulsion, which sought to expel the Jewish population in a matter of three months or force them to convert. It was immediately put to use the same day it was decreed, on March 31st, 1492.
In only 3 months, thousands of Jews were permanently exiled forever, or convert and risk it all by faking it. There was even a term for them: conversos. Although many Jews converted, they were not accepted as “true” Catholic. In the efforts to eliminate the Jewish and Muslim influences, the Spanish Inquisition later targeted converso families who had converted to Catholicism. There's been cases recorded where religious authorities referred to the New Christians’ descendants a conversos still. Some historians have suggested, as in this digital page by Georgia Southern, that the Spanish Catholics believed that “the Jews had too much economic influence over the kingdoms, and this resentment, combined with religious prejudice, led to the expulsion.”
Spain’s religious policies from the Inquisition are a lesson against intolerance: even though the Jewish population was targeted very much, many Jews were known widely for being great physicians, doctors, and bankers. Many families’ lives were uprooted and Spain expelled its own people, all because of their religion.
Which do you Prefer? Columbus Day or Indigenous People’s Day | By Kira
This year, Columbus Day took place on October 14. It is celebrated every second Monday of October. The holiday became official in 1937 and there’s a lot of history behind this day as it came to be. Columbus Day commemorates the arrival of Columbus to the Americas in 1492. People celebrate it for his achievements and he is seen as a symbol for Italian-American heritage. Italian-Americans wanted this to become a holiday because they wanted to highlight their contributions to American history.
However, some people don’t celebrate Columbus Day. Instead, they refer it to Indigenous Peoples’ Day because many Indigenous cultures experienced genocide and violence following the arrival of Columbus. This history can be traced back to the late fifteenth century, when Columbus exploited the Taino indigenous people to his advantage and sold them off. Because they thought of this day as a cultural pride celebration, Italian Americans were displeased when they heard many people were taking down statues and changing the name of the day. It is still a hotly debated issue, but in New York we now celebrate Italian Heritage Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day.