How did the Spanish Inquisition punish people? Naked young women being brutally tortured by Spanish Inquisition. The Spanish Inquisition was established in 1480 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I. It was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms and to replace the Medieval Inquisition, which was under Papal control. The regulation of the faith of the newly converted was intensified after the royal decrees issued in 1492 and 1502 ordering Jews and Muslims to convert or leave Spain. The Spanish Inquisition is often cited in popular literature and history as an example of Catholic intolerance and repression, and was not abolished until 1834, during the reign of Isabella II. Today's historical snippet comes from this date in 1481 when six people were burned alive in Seville as part of the first (but certainly not last) auto de fe of the Spanish Inquisition. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella had received permission from Pope Sixtus IV to appoint ...