Black Legend of the Spanish Inquisition

The Black Legend of the Spanish Inquisition is the hypothesis of the existence of a series of myths and fabrications about the Spanish Inquisition used as propaganda against the Spanish Empire in a time of strong military, commercial and political rivalry between European powers, starting in the 16th century. The propaganda depicts the inquisition as the epitome of human barbarity with fantastic scenes of tortures, witch hunting and evil friars. As such, it is a part of the Spanish Black Legend propaganda, as well as of Anti-Catholic propaganda , and one of its most recurrent themes. Historian Edward Peters defines it as: a body of myths and legends that between the sixteenth and twentieth centuries, established the perceived character of inquisitorial tribunals that have influenced all subsequent attempts to recover the historical reality. Henry Kamen : At all times, imperial nations tend to suffer ... in the arena of public opinion, and Spain was no exception, becoming the first victim of a long tradition of polemic that picked on the Inquisition as the most salient point of attack.

The Black Legend of the Spanish Inquisition is the hypothesis of the existence of a series of myths and fabrications about the Spanish Inquisition used as propaganda against the Spanish Empire in a time of strong military, commercial and political rivalry between European powers, starting in the 16th century. According to its advocates, Protestant Revolutionary propaganda depicted inquisitions of Catholic monarchs as the epitome of human barbarity with fantastic scenes of tortures, witch hunting and evil friars. Proponents of the theory see it as part of the Spanish Black Legend propaganda, as well as of Anti-Catholic propaganda , and one of the most recurrent Black Legend themes.

Theory on propaganda during 16th century event This article is about the black legend concerning the Spanish inquisition. The Black Legend of the Spanish Inquisition is the hypothesis of the existence of a series of myths and fabrications about the Spanish Inquisition used as propaganda against the Spanish Empire in a time of strong military, commercial and political rivalry between European powers, starting in the 16th century. According to its advocates, Protestant propaganda depicted inquisitions of Catholic monarchs as the epitome of human barbarity with fantastic scenes of torture , witch hunting , and evil friars . Proponents of the theory see it as part of the Spanish Black Legend propaganda, as well as of anti-Catholic propaganda , and one of the most recurrent black legend themes.