Torquemada, Tomas de

views updated May 14 2018

Torquemada, Tomas de (1420–98). Grand Inquisitor in Spain. A Dominican, he joined the Inquisition in 1482, and was responsible for about 2,000 executions and for the expulsion of those Jews from Spain (in 1492) who refused baptism. His methods were summarized in the handbook, Instrucciones de la santa Inquisición (1484).