Torquemada, Tomas de, << tawr kay MAH dah, toh MAHS day >> (1420-1498), a Roman Catholic friar, was inquisitor-general (chief official) of the Spanish Inquisition for 15 years. During that time, 2,000 people were condemned to death by the Inquisition for heresy (beliefs contrary to those of the church) and executed.
Torquemada used the Inquisition for religious and political reasons. He believed punishment of Christian heretics and the exclusion from Spain of non-Christians—chiefly Jews and Muslims—was the only way to achieve political unity in Spain. He was partly responsible for the royal edict of 1492 that expelled 200,000 Jews from Spain. Many people admired him but feared his power. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain were among his supporters.
Torquemada was born in Valladolid. His ancestors included Jews who converted to Christianity. Torquemada became a friar in the Dominican monastery in Valladolid, and later was prior of the monastery of Santa Cruz, at Segovia, for 22 years. He served as confessor to Isabella after she became queen. Torquemada became assistant to the inquisitors in 1482 and the first inquisitor-general for most Spanish lands in 1483. He set rules of procedure and formed branches of the Inquisition in various cities. He retired to a Dominican monastery at Avila in 1496 but continued to direct the Inquisition until his death on Sept. 16, 1498.
