Tribunal de la Inquisición
Item
-
Country
-
PE
-
Name of institution (English)
-
General Archive of the Nation
-
Language of name of institution
-
spa
-
Contact information: postal address
-
Jr. Camaná 125 con Pasaje Piura s/n, Cercado de Lima
-
Contact information: phone number
-
0051426 7221
-
Contact information: email
-
agds@agn.gob.pe
-
Title (English)
-
Inquisition Tribunal
-
Title (official language of the state)
-
Tribunal de la Inquisición
-
Language of title
-
spa
-
Creator / accumulator
-
Tribunal de la Inquisición de Lima
-
Date(s)
-
1574/1815
-
Language(s)
-
spa
-
Extent
-
10,894 storage units
-
Type of material
-
Textual Material
-
Scope and content
-
This fonds comprises documentation produced by the Inquisitorial Court of Lima. From 1569 to 1820, the Inquisition of Lima prosecuted about 1,474 people, 32 of whom were condemned to death. Among them were 23 Conversos accused of "crimes of Judaism". The fonds reflects the activity of this court, which had a strong connection with other inquisitorial courts, royal institutions in Madrid and local agents (the so-called "comissários"), who were crucial for extending the territorial implementation of the court.
The documentation is organised into four main series: 1) judicial files (1671-1817); 2) "autos" (judicial documents part of any judicial trials) (1699-1820); 3) documents related to the last years of the Inquisition of Lima (1796-1820); 4) "ofícios", i.e. instructions and orders (1570-1793).
The fonds mainly contains documentation related to judicial procedures, reappraisal of goods, embezzlement of funds, inventories and seizure of assets, and irregularities in the administration of sacraments, among other matters. It also includes royal decrees, provisions related to the court's functioning, and some notarial deeds.
In the National Historical Archive of Chile, researchers have access to the information they might require through microfiches, which are difficult to read. The archive has a complete typed inventory.
The National Archives of Chile and Peru contain documentation from the Inquisition Court established in Lima. Those archives also contain documentation produced by the courts and court officials of Cartagena and Mexico and documents related to several "comissários" (inquisitorial officials) of Guatemala and other Spanish-American territories.
-
Administrative / Biographical history
-
On January 25, 1569, the Spanish Crown established new Inquisition courts in Lima and Mexico. From its origin to 1820, when the Tribunal of the Inquisition in Lima was abolished, 40 "autos da fé" were held, and about 300 people were trialled, 48 of whom were "relajados" (condemned to death). According to Jose Toribio Medina (1956), about 20% of the trials were of bigamy, the most common crime punished by the tribunal. The "crime of Judaism" represented nearly 17% of the Inquisition of Lima's trials.
The first suppression of the Tribunal of Lima dates back to July 30, 1813. Restored in 1814, it maintained a nominal existence until 1820, when it was definitively suppressed.
-
Sources:
-
National Historical Archive website (Chile)
-
Guía de Fondos Del Archivo Nacional Histórico: Instituciones Coloniales y Republicanas. 2009. Santiago do Chile: Dirección de Bibliotecas, Archivos y Museus.
-
Vassallo, Jaqueline. 2010. “Archivo Nacional Histórico. Santiago de Chile. Sección Instituciones Coloniales: Fondo Inquisición.” Anuario II: 46–49
-
Author of the description
-
Kevin Soares, 2023
