After Granada and the remaining followers of Spanish Islam fell in 1492 to the armies of Ferdinand and Isabella, Torquemada then had to decide how he was going to deal with the Moors. The Moors were not large in number but they were a highly influential Jewish community that had flourished in Spain. Although it is uncertain how much influence the Muslims and Jews had had on the Moors, they were still expelled by the thousands, including many who were not guilty of any offence.
In the first ten years the Inquisition is known to have tried and punished thousands of people, including many conversos. Those people who were judged to be heretics were executed, often by burning them at the stake. Those Jews that were ordered to leave Spain, emigrated to North Africa, the Ottoman Empire and other parts of Europe.
Later in the Spanish Inquisition, the Inquisitors sought to discipline people who were suspected of practising Protestantism.
methods of torture
After those on trial had been found allegedly ‘guilty’, they were marched back to the cells and then brought before the examiners. The examiners were shrouded in secrecy wearing black hoods that covered their faces. The guilty person was made to sit before a table covered in a black cloth and dimly lit by candles. He was then asked if he or she was guilty and although the person had no idea what they had done, the inquisitor delighted in making the prisoner confess by various methods of torture.
One horrifying method was something they called ‘the Silence of God’, which involved a wedge-shaped piece of wood being placed in the person’s mouth which that be screwed to open wider and wider until the jaw virtually became dislocated. After hours of this torture the prisoner would be asked again, ‘Are you guilty?’ If they were still reluctant to confess, the inquisitor would heat a pair of branding irons up in front of their eyes. This usually had the desired effect and they were thrown into the cells to contemplate their fate.
The following day, the prisoner would be asked the same question, but by this time to avoid further punishment they would confess to anything. However, Torquemada had already preempted the prisoner’s reaction and would arrange for them to go back for more of the same torture. As a tally as to how many days the prisoner had been tortured they would lose a finger daily.
Other forms of torture included forcing confessions by placing a thick piece of cloth over the prisoner’s head. Then a bucket of water was poured over their head and the weight of the cloth would slowly asphyxiate the victim. However, just before the victim gasped his or her last breath, the cloth would be removed so that he or she could feel the benefit of the next cruel torture.
The accused would have his thumbs tied behind his back and then he would be hung up by a rope until he was just suspended by his two digits.
And so the days went on with a new torture devised for each day. Red hot pincers, teeth tearing, head screw and so on. The very last resort was the act of evisceration. The abdomen was slit open and the entrails removed, followed by a pair of hot irons pushed into the accused’s body. This operation required great skill, because it was considered a major sin if the prisoner died while in the hands of the inquisitor. They had to ensure that their prisoner had enough life left in him to be aware of his final execution. This always took place on a Holy day and to most death was a welcome end.
the aftermath
Although the Spaniards considered the Inquisition to be a major success it was a disaster in terms of economy. Many of Spain’s economically important citizens had been expelled from the major cities, depriving the crown of a much-needed tax revenue. The Church, with royal approval, censored many books and prohibited students to study abroad for fear of bringing Protestant ideas back into Spain. This had the effect of excommunicating Spain from other intellectual developments in Europe. This had a roll-on effect, which made it harder for Spain to catch up with the rest of Europe in later centuries.
Torquemada was hated by many. Several attempts were made on his life and he retaliated by sending his inquisitors out on the streets to round up anyone who had the audacity to walk about in daylight. Of course he got away with it because he was allegedly ‘saving people’s souls’. It has been estimated that Torquemada may have tortured or killed as many as 20,000 people.
The Spanish Inquisition’s reign of terror was finally suppressed in 1834. It is an example of the Church’s violent and corrupt past and has been compared with the scandals connected with the Crusades.
Mountain Meadows Massacre
The early history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) is certainly fascinating but also reveals some quite shocking facts. The Mormons, as the followers of the church were known, insisted that their faith was the only true Christian church and that other groups had deviated from the true teachings. This belief and many others caused strained relationships with other Christian organisations, which often ended in extreme violence.
In November 1999 the LDS made a rather disturbing discovery while they were restoring a monument to the victims of a gruesome massacre that took place in 1857 in south-west Utah. Members working on the restoration uncovered the bones of at least 29 people, who were pioneering men, women and children that were among those killed in a bloodbath incited by religious fervour. The discovery was embarrassing to the Church because the bodies had originally been buried in haste a year and a half after the dreadful massacre by federal troops.
Right from the beginning, the LDS was at odds with the federal government and its members were frequently persecuted for their unorthodox beliefs. One of the most disturbing and tragic events that took place in the history of the Mormons took place on 11 September 1857, and became known as the Mountain Meadows massacre. Even today the massacre has remained a topic of controversy, historians still struggle to understand why this event took place and it has left the Church with a feeling of guilt.
the build up
The first Mormons settled in Salt Lake City in 1847. They were the first wave of pioneering members of the LDS who had been driven out of Nauvoo in Illinois by angry mobs. Over the next couple of years the remainder of the members reached the valley and the Great Salt Lake City was built, under the direction of a man named Brigham Young.
By 1850 Utah was established as a US territory, with Brigham Young as its first governor. Scandals arose about the behaviour of some of the Mormons and, rather than face up to their own failings, they started to rebel against federal authority. When the news reached Washington, there was uproar and they demanded that something had to be done and the president, James Buchanan, ordered federal troops to advance on the area.
In the summer of 1857 roughly 1,500 United States troops were marching towards Salt Lake Valley. News of the approaching army spread fast and preparations were made to defend themselves. The Mormons were still reeling from having been forced to leave their homes and this time they were determined they would not be driven away again. This conflict, known as the Utah War, was resolved peacefully, but it was the Baker-Fancher emigrants that were caught up in the forthcoming massacre.
heading for trouble
The Baker-Fancher wagon train consisted of approximately 120–140 people who were heading for California from Arkansas and Missouri. They were a group of men, women and children who were led by John T. Baker and Alexander Fancher, bringing with them a plentiful supply of cattle, horses and mules.
The wagon train arrived in Salt Lake City at the end of July 1857 and set up camp just outside the city on the Jordan River. Their arrival did not give rise to any concern and they were advised to circumnavigate the city by circling round the northern edge on their way to California. However, they changed their route when they reached Bear River and went round the southern side. There were no reports of any problems until the Baker-Fancher wagon reached Fillmore which was about 241 km (150 miles) south of Salt Lake City.
Apparently at this point in their journey there were rumours going round that the emigrants had threatened violence against the Mormons and that they had poi
soned the water in their springs, which resulted in the death of some local Paiute Indians. It was common knowledge that the emigrants had come from the Arkansas region, where earlier in the year a Mormon apostle, Parley Pratt, had been murdered. It was also thought that some of the members of the Baker-Fancher train had participated in Pratt’s murder and that they had bragged about it after the event. Of course, these were only rumours, but whatever the truth of the matter the presence of the train in the area did nothing to alleviate the tensions that were already present.
making plans
The Baker-Fancher train set up camp at a place called Mountain Meadows, unaware that some of the residents of Cedar City had decided that some type of action was needed against them. Cedar City was the last place on the route to California where the emigrants could stock up on supplies, but the essential goods were not available in the town and the local miller was trying to charge exorbitant prices to grind just a small amount of grain. Weeks of hardship, drought and frustration caused the situation to get out of hand and it is claimed that one of the emigrants took a gun and killed the miller, Joseph Smith. Fancher was fuming and rebuked the men for their action. Although the town marshal attempted to arrest some of the men as they tried to leave town, he was forced to back down, but the residents of Cedar City were not prepared to let the matter rest. They contacted the local militia and asked them to follow the men and arrest the offenders. However, the militia leaders had decided against direct interference with the train because of the federal troops that were heading their way. They suggested that the Mormons collected their supplies together because they would need these if they had to flee into the mountains when the troops arrived.
Meanwhile a meeting was held in Cedar City with William Dane, the district militia commander, and the Mormons pursued the matter of arresting the offending members of the wagon train. Dane denied their request and said: ‘Words are but wind – they injure no one; but if they [the emigrants] commit acts of villence against citizens inform me by express, and such measures will be adopted as will insure tranquillity.’
Annoyed that no one was prepared to help them, the leaders of Cedar City decided to formulate their own plan. If they couldn’t use the militia to arrest the men, then perhaps they could persuade the local Paiute Indians to intervene by killing some of the men and stealing their cattle.
They planned the attack to take place on a part of the track that narrowed as it ran past the Santa Clara River canyon, just a few kilometres outside of the Mountain Meadows camp. This area came under the jurisdiction of Fort Harmony, which was controlled by Major John D. Lee. The Cedar City mayor and Major Isaac Haught went to discuss the planned attack with Lee. They talked late into the night concerning what to do about the emigrants, during which time Lee told Haight that he thought the Paiutes would ‘kill all the party, women and children, as well as the men’ if they were pushed to attack. Haight agreed with Lee and the two of them decided that they would lay all the blame of an attack at the feet of the Paiute Indians.
When the Paiutes were first told of the plan, they were reluctant to take part because they had lived in peace for many years. Although they had been known to kill the odd emigrant to obtain food, they had not made any large-scale attacks for a long time. However, using plunder as a lure and assuring them that the approaching troops would kill as many Paiutes as Mormons, they eventually agreed.
On Sunday 6 September Haight returned to Cedar City and held a meeting with a council of local leaders who held church, civic and various other military positions. When he told them what was planned, they met the news with stunned resistance, which sparked off a very heated debate. When everything calmed down, the council leaders asked Haight if he had informed the president, Brigham Young, of his plans, and when he told them he hadn’t they suggested that he sent an express rider with a letter explaining the situation and what he felt should be done.
the first attack
The following day, before Haight had even had a chance to send the letter to Young, Lee and the Paiutes made a surprise attack on the camp at Mountain Meadows, instead of at the planned location in the Santa Clara canyon. Although several of the emigrants were killed, they managed to fight off their attackers and forced them to retreat. Aware that their assailants would probably return the emigrants quickly took evasive action. They formed their wagons into a tight circle and by doing this they created a barrier and survived a further two attacks from Lee and the Paiutes.
When the Cedar City militia heard about this premature attack on the train, they decided to intervene to try and alleviate a volatile situation, but instead they made the matter worse. When they spotted two emigrant men riding outside of the corral, they fired on them, killing one of them. The second man managed to get back to the camp and told his companions that his friend had just been killed by a white man not a Paiute Indian.
This left the Mormons in a very delicate position. Not only were the emigrants now aware that they were involved in the attack, but they also knew that the military commander would soon be informed that they had blatantly disobeyed his orders. A letter was quickly despatched to Brigham Young about what had happened, and the news that both white men and Indians had attacked the emigrants was not well received. If the surviving emigrants were allowed to continue their journey into California, the news that they had been attacked by Mormons would spread quickly. If the approaching army got wind of what had happened, retaliatory action was certain. Added to that, the fact that other emigrants were heading towards Mountain Meadows, Young and the Cedar City leaders were well aware that the situation could quickly become explosive.
disobeying orders
On 9 September Haight with two militia captains once again went to see Dame to ask permission to enlist the help of the militia. But Dame said that he felt the emigrants should be allowed to continue their journey in peace. When the meeting was over, Haight took Dame to one side and told him what had happened and that the emigrants were now aware the the Mormons were involved in the original attack in which some of the members of the train had been killed. Dame, now free from the restrictions of the other council members, changed his mind and tragically gave in to Haight’s original request.
Armed with this information, Haight returned to Cedar City and immediately called out about 30 militiamen, who joined those already waiting outside the emigrant corral at Mountain Meadows. Those who had hated the vigilante force that had driven them out of their home towns were about to embark on the same behaviour – but this time on a much more serious scale.
the massacre
In a last ditch effort to save the situation, on 11 September Lee rode to the emigrant camp carrying a white flag. He pleaded with them to accept their terms and that they would be accompanied by militia past the Indians and back to Cedar City. However, in return they must leave their possessions behind and surrender their weapons. The emigrants were suspicious and put their heads together to try and work out what action to take. They had already been pinned in their corral for several days, many of their people were injured and dying, and they didn’t have enough ammunition to hold off another attack.
Putting faith in Lee, the emigrants agreed to his terms. He told the first two wagons to leave carrying the youngest children and the injured, followed by the women and other children on foot. The men and older boys left last, each one escorted by an armed militiaman. They travelled about 1.5 km (1 mile) and then following a prearranged signal, the militia turned and shot the emigrant standing next to him. At the same time the Panuite Indians came out from their hiding places and attacked the women and children. The children and the injured lying in the front two wagons were also killed, until nearly every one of the emigrants was dead.
too late, too late
When Brigham Young’s express letter of reply reached Cedar City, the massacre had already taken place. He told the Mormons that the federal troops would not be able to reach the area before winter and ‘So you see that the Lord ha
s answered our prayers and again averted the blow designed for our heads’.
In the letter he continued:
In regard to emigration trains passing through our settlements, we must not interfere with them until they are first notified to keep away. You must not meddle with them. The Indians we expect will do as they please but you should try and preserve good feelings with them. There are no other trains going south that I know of. If those who are there will leave let them go in peace. While we should be on the alert, on hand and always ready we should also possess ourselves in patience, preserving ourselves and our property ever remembering that God rules.
[Brigham Young to Isaac C. Haight, 10 September 1857, Letterpress Copybook 3:827–28, Brigham Young Office Files, Church Archives]
When Haight read Young’s letter he wept like a child and all he could say was, ‘Too late, too late!’
the outcome
Of the original Baker-Fancher party only 17 people survived, and all of these were children who were considered to be too young to remember what had happened. These children were adopted by local families, but were returned to family members in Arkansas when government officials intervened in 1859. The children themselves and other family members were deeply affected by the massacre and even one and a half centuries later it still remains a painful subject.
Infamous Scandals Page 18
