The Inquisition was a quasi-legal governing body of the Catholic Church, primarily in Spain but also in Portugal, Italy, and the Americas for three hundred fifty years. It still occupies a place in the popular imagination today. Meant to enforce orthodox Catholicism, this court became a complex mechanism where law and religion intersected. Using law, religions, gender, and race as tools of analysis, this course examines the function of the Inquisition from its early inceptions in Medieval Europe across the Atlantic to the Spanish American colonies in the Early Modern Era. Students will learn to understand the institution in its various forms and locations, the differences between the regional offices and their concerns, and the popular use of and resistance to Inquisitorial and Imperial authority. Students will build familiarity with the history of Inquisition structures, functions, historiography, and the various forms of primary sources it created.
