What kind of torture did the Inquisition use?
What kind of torture did the Inquisition use?
A century later, during the Spanish Inquisition, interrogators began using more elaborate forms of torture, such as the rack, the pulley and waterboarding. They also began parading their victims through the streets in elaborate displays of punishment.
Why did they torture people in the Spanish Inquisition?
Torture was used only to get a confession and wasn’t meant to actually punish the accused heretic for his crimes. Some inquisitors used starvation, forced the accused to consume and hold vast quantities of water or other fluids, or heaped burning coals on parts of their body.
Who was targeted during the Spanish Inquisition?
Who did the Spanish Inquisition target? Originally, the Inquisition was to ensure that those who had converted to Catholicism from Judaism or Islam had done so properly. This regulation intensified after two royal decrees were issued (in 1492 and 1501) ordering Jews and Muslims to choose baptism or exile.
What were people accused of during the Inquisition?
Inquisitors hunted down people accused of witchcraft, scholars who read banned books, and Jews who had converted to Catholicism but still secretly practiced Judaism. In Italy, the Inquisition often went after nationalist movements in regions like Lombardy in the north, Venice, or Sicily.
What were the punishments of the Inquisition?
Those who confessed received a punishment ranging from a pilgrimage to a whipping. Those accused of heresy were forced to testify. If the heretic did not confess, torture and execution were inescapable. Heretics weren’t allowed to face accusers, received no counsel, and were often victims of false accusations.
What is the Toca torture?
It was known variously as “water torture,” the “water cure” or tormenta de toca — a phrase that refers to the thin piece of cloth placed over the victim’s mouth.
Why is salt water used in torture?
The National Ocean Service summarizes exactly why: Drinking saltwater causes the body to become desperately thirsty and to urinate to excess in an attempt to rebalance itself. The effects of being forced to do so regularly, with no other sustenance, are too ghastly to dwell on.
