Setting the Record Straight: What Did You Expect? The Spanish Inquisition?

Surprise!  What we assume about the Spanish Inquisition is mostly false, part of the slanders of the Black Legend promoted by the British to provide cover for their own far worse behavior in persecuting Catholics.  Because it was both professional and efficient, the Spanish Inquisition kept very good records. These documents are a goldmine for modern historians. Thus far, the fruits of that research have made one thing abundantly clear — the myth of the Spanish Inquisition has nothing at all to do with the real thing. The inescapable conclusion is that, by the standards of its time, the Spanish Inquisition was positively enlightened.