Ferdinand and Inquisition

History of Inquisition is really terrible and it goes on to show how the ugly aspects of human nature can show up at any point in time if the circumstances permit for it. Ferdinand wanted control of not only political power but religious power as well. It was by attaining total control of mind and body he thought he would be able to control the spanish empire, and it was a super power at one point in time. He created the Inquisition to find and destroy the heretics. And Inquisition operated on roman rules where testimony obtained through torture was more reliable one. They picked up Jews from small villages and even if they had slightly different way of behaving from the norm they were tortured until they said they were indeed not christian, perhaps only to stop them from torturing, but this resulted in public burning. This mindset of total submission also effected Latin America that at one point in time were part of the Spanish empire. It was good fit for some parts of the Latin Americas such as the Aztec Empire, which itself was built on Mayan empire, public sacrifices were a common aspect of this civilization. Another idea that was entertained in the lecture is the myth that if you have democratic values in one country the neighboring nations are also going to adopt such viewpoints. How many latin american nations can we name today that are truly democratic. Not many.