Peruvian Inquisition and Its Persecution of Natives and Mestizos Research Paper

Although popular imagination is used to think of inquisition as a Spanish institution, this perception is an oversimplification. Various regional inquisitions operated in late medieval Europe before the founding of the Spanish Inquisition, and, even within the Spanish Empire, there were regional branches. The limitations of the transportation and communication technology made it inevitable that the inquisitions in Spanish dependencies had a large degree of independence in carrying out their functions. This was certainly true for the Peruvian inquisition established in the late 16^th century and operational until 1820. Although it responded to the Spanish Crown, the long distance from Spain and the resulting autonomy, as well as the special administrative status, allow speaking of the Peruvian inquisition as a distinctly separate entity. Unlike the Spanish inquisition proper, which was mainly concerned with Jewish and Muslim converts, the Peruvian inquisition often dealt with the beliefs and practices of the native population. It impacted the lives of natives and mestizos, albeit usually indirectly, through religious persecution, discrimination, and outright corruption, and while its power gradually vanished, its operations only ended when it was formally disbanded in 1820.

Before discussing the specific impact that the inquisition left on the native and mestizo population of Peru, it is necessary to cover the origins of the Spanish inquisition itself. It was founded in 1478 by the so-called ‘Catholic monarchs’ Ferdinand II and Isabela I to counter the alleged threat posed by the presumably insincere Jewish and Muslim converts to Christianity (Silverblatt “Modern Inquisitions” 6). As mentioned above, late medieval Europe was no stranger to inquisitors who persecuted the perceived threats to the purity of the Catholic faith. What made the Spanish inquisition different, though, was the fact that it responded to the Spanish Crown rather than the Pope. This affiliation, as well as the highly efficient administrative apparatus in the interests of the state, made the Spanish Inquisition a remarkably modern institution for its own time. It operated by strict written rules, and its structure was based on a clear and unequivocal hierarchy (Silverblatt “Modern Inquisitions” 6). It is hard to tell whether the Spanish Crown aimed to get such an effective administration when creating the inquisition, but its efficiency ensured it would be introduced to Spain’s overseas possessions.

The Peruvian branch of the Spanish inquisition was founded in 1570 when its first representative came to establish a tribunal in Lima. At the time, the viceroyalty of Peru comprised the entirety of Spanish possession in South America after the Spanish conquistadores defeated the local Incan polities conquered much of the continent. However, although Peru had a capable secular administrator in Francisco de Toledo, the Crown was troubled by the insufficient effort in spreading Catholic faith in its colonies (Lea 319). The man to control the Peruvian inquisition was Servan de Cerezuela, a prominent Spanish clergyman eager to root out the perceived threats posed by heresy and idolatry (Lea 319). He quickly established the main tribunal in Lima and also created regional units in Santiago and Buenos Aires, making sure that the inquisition would have a greater reach (Lea 333). However, with the immense territory – the viceroyalty of Peru comprised all of South America except Brazil – the actual administrative reach of the inquisition beyond large population centers was modest. Still, it did not prevent it from pursuing its intended purpose with great vigor.

When speaking of the impact the Peruvian inquisition had on the natives and mestizos, it is important to note that its original primary goal was the persecution of heretics and converts from Islam and Judaism. Upon arriving at Lima, Cerezuela quickly asserted his power by putting Frenchman Mathieu Salado to trial and sentencing him to death for Lutheran heresy in 1573(Lea 319). This example demonstrates that the task of the Peruvian branch of the Spanish inquisition was largely the same as it was at home- to protect the purity of the Catholic faith against heretics. The local population, whether native or mestizo, was not necessarily the focus of inquisitorial activities – and, legally speaking, the inquisition did not even have jurisdiction over the natives (Vose 322). For example, the inquisition could and would persecute a Spanish person on suspicion of witchcraft but had no such authority over natives (Silverblatt “Modern Inquisitions” 127). Still, it left more than enough opportunity to persecute Christian mestizos and also leave an indirect yet clearly negative impact on the culture of the native population of colonial Peru.

One way in which the Peruvian inquisition impacted the life of the native and mestizo population was the effort to spread the Christian religion. Although proselytism was not a part of inquisitorial responsibilities and was largely carried out by various religious orders, it was still relevant for the inquisition indirectly. Since it turned locals into Catholics, it potentially created the possibility to charge them with heresy and other religious offenses. As a result, the native population was forced to abandon their beliefs, culture, and traditional ways of life. The foremost vehicle for this persecution was the charges of witchcraft. According to the inquisition, virtually all native cultural practices, up to the harmless custom of using lucky charms, constituted an act of witchcraft and, thus, a punishable offense (Silverblatt “Colonial Peru” 137). Even traditional natural medicine, such as the use of coca leaves, also became a valid reason for persecution (Silverblatt “Colonial Peru” 137). Although it mainly affected Spaniard immigrants and mestizos who interacted with the local population, it also had an indirect negative effect on the natives themselves by marking their cultural practices as socially undesirable.

In addition to that, the Peruvian inquisition also affected the life of the native population in another way. Although it had no direct authority over the natives, the legal and organizational frameworks established by the inquisition were often used in the campaigns targeting the indigenous population specifically. As mentioned above, the Spanish inquisition was one of the most modern and efficient administrative organizations of its time (Silverblatt “Modern Inquisitions” 6). Given that, it is not surprising that the campaign against ‘idolatry’ in colonial Peru, which targeted the natives for their religious practices, drew heavily on inquisitorial legal and administrative procedures (Vose 322). Even if the inquisition did not persecute the native population directly, it created the tools for the other branches of the Spanish administration to do so.

Apart from everything mentioned above, one should not confuse the letter of the law with its actual application, especially since the immense territorial extents of colonial Peru and poor communication necessitated decentralization. The autonomy of the local agents of the Peruvian inquisition led to numerous cases of authority abuse and rampant corruption. Even the Spanish contemporaries themselves described the inquisitorial commissioners as “vicious, dishonest and turbulent persons” (Lea 335). Even Cerezuela, the first head of the Peruvian inquisition, had to admit this problem existed but justified it by the fact it was hard to secure enough honest officials (Lea 335). This excuse did little to help the native end mestizo population, who had to suffer through all manner of abuses. Trials rested on the presumption of guilt, often involved the use of torture, and people arrested on mere suspicion could spend years in prison before their case was even heard (Silverblatt “Colonial Peru” 133). Considering the high degree of autonomy enjoyed by the local agents of the inquisition and the possibility to exploit their position for profit, the inquisition was a dreadful ordeal for the people of colonial Peru.

While the oppressive role of the inquisition in the early Modern prior is not to be underestimated, it began to lose influence. The activity of the inquisitorial tribunal in Peru has been declining since the 18^th century (Lea 447). This process was only facilitated by the spread of Enlightenment philosophy and the ideas of rationalism and secularism. By the late 18^th century, the high point of the Peruvian inquisition’s power was far behind, but it still existed and, at least in theory, had considerable authority.

It only came to an end by the early 19^th century, when, after two and a half centuries of operating on Peruvian soil, the Spanish Inquisition was officially disbanded in Peru. By that time, the once-fearsome inquisition lost whatever moral authority is possessed, as the image and behavior of its members left much to be desired (Lea 448). The Napoleonic Wars proved the weakness of the Spanish Crown and undermined the willingness to succumb to the institution that was essentially the religious branch of its administration. On 22 February 1813, all activities of the Peruvian inquisition were suspended by the decree on the newly-assembled Spanish parliament (Lea 447). On 21 July 1814 Peruvian inquisition was reestablished, but the local population was not willing to acquiesce to its authority anymore (Lea 448). The last documental traces of the Peruvian inquisition performing its assigned responsibilities dates back to 1817, and in March 1820, it was finally abolished for good (Lea 449). Such was the end of the Peruvian branch of the Spanish inquisition that exercised control over the purity of religion in Spanish South America for a quarter of a millennium.

As one can see, the Peruvian inquisition left a notable, if often indirect, impact on the lives of both natives and mestizos in colonial Peru. Originally established to safeguard the catholic faith from the perceived threats in the late 15^th century, the Spanish inquisition came to Peru in 1570 with largely the same tasks. Although it had no authority over the native population, its persecution of witchcraft severely undermined local cultural and medical practices. Apart from that, the administrative and legal frameworks established by the Peruvian inquisition were used by other branches of the Spanish government in their persecution of the natives. The Spanish inquisition, including its Peruvian branch, was arguably the most modern administrative institution of its time – an efficient hierarchically-organized government machine of persecuting dissenters. With this in mind, any modern government agency tasked with monitoring and persecuting certain groups in the interests of the state is, in a manner of speaking, a spiritual heir of the inquisition.

Works Cited

Lea, Henry C. Inquisition in the Spanish Dependencies. Cambridge UP, 2010.

Silverblatt, Irene. “Colonial Peru and the Inquisition: Race-Thinking, Torture, and the Making of the Modern World.” Transforming Anthropology, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 132-138.

Modern Inquisitions: Peru and the Colonial Origins of the Civilized World. Duke University Press, 2004.

Vose, Robin. “Beyond Spain: Inquisition History in a Global Context.” History Compass, vol. 11, no. 4, 2013, pp. 316-329.