About this episode

This episode explores the experiences of English sailors caught up in the Spanish Inquisition between 1558 and 1604.

In this episode we uncover some fantastic stories of English sailors being caught up in the Spanish Inquisition. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Theresa Tinsley, who explores in detail how, between 1558 and 1604, more than 400 subjects of Elizabethan England found themselves in contact with the Inquisition. Fabulous records survive which detail their experiences and testimonies, and which provide a fresh perspective on this crucial period of religious divergence that occurred in a world bursting with new maritime trade and exploration. The varied experiences of merchants, sailors, diplomats, and prisoners of war highlight cases of persecution, conversion, and a healthy bit of religious ambivalence. By exploring the actual workings of the Inquisition in detail, it encourages us to question the cruelty and scale of the Inquisition's actions against the English, rumours and myths which fed anti-Spanish propaganda at the time, and which continue to colour our perceptions today. In particular we hear about how the Spanish Inquisition worked in ports - hotbeds of suspicion because of the cultural exchange that inevitably happened there, caused by hugely varied populations of…

People in this episode

Host: Dr Sam Willis

Guest: Theresa Tinsley

Topics covered

• Spanish Inquisition
• English Mariners
• Elizabethan England
• maritime trade
• religious divergence
• cultural exchange

Keywords

• Spanish Inquisition
• English sailors
• Elizabethan England
• maritime trade
• religious persecution
• Theresa Tinsley
• Dr Sam Willis

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Society for Nautical Research, Lloyds Register Foundation

Books & works: English Encounters with the Spanish Inquisition: Faith, Nationhood, and Heresy

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