The Purpose Of The Spanish Inquisition

During the time period of 1478-1834, Spain held an inquisition through the Christian government. The purpose of the Spanish Inquisition still remains a debate of whether it was enacted for political, government advances, or a religious cleansing. Spain wanted to purify the blood of the Christian race by banning interreligious marriage. The Jewish population was strongly encouraged to convert to Christianity with the threat of death. Although many Jews converted, their faith and belief was questioned greatly by the Christians, because they would in fact still practice their Jewish belief. The converted Jews were referred to as Conversos.
The prosecution of the minorities started with public hangings. However, the Grand Institutor and a council of five members decided to make the executions more brutal. The executions were then performed in front of large crowds containing royalty. The first Grand Institutor, Tomas de Torquemada, performed an estimate of two thousand public burnings at the stake. As reformation came to Spain, the Protestants were found to have the same fate as the Jews and Muslims.
An estimate of four thousand to six thousand people were executed during the Spanish Inquisition. In 1834, the Spanish
Above the pendulum is an hourglass. The clock is a reference to the passing of time. The narrator realizes that the pendulum is razor sharp and is a scythe, a long sharp tool used by farmers to cut large amounts of crops or grass at one time. However, in this short story it is being used the kill the narrator of the story instead of cutting corn. A combination of the clock and the falling pendulum or scythe represent the Grimm Reeper. As the narrator realizes this, he finds himself in a panic as he awaits his death. However, the scholarly narrator spreads meat on the ropes for the rats to chew through in order free