A history of persecution: Examining and comparing converso experience in the Spanish and Mexican Inquisitions

The Spanish Inquisition was created in the late fifteenth century to address a heresy known as judaizing. The rulers of the time, Ferdinand and Isabella, wished to insure religious uniformity in their domain and feared their subjects might be tempted to stray from the Christian faith by persons who practiced the Jewish faith. From this mindset, the Inquisition was born and carried its unique practices to the New World colonies. Persons accused of judaizing in the New World, specifically Mexico, were punished harshly although the number of trials was relatively small. This paper will compare the experience of Jewish converts, or conversos, and their descendants in Iberia as well as in Mexico.