Previous to continuing our narrative, it may be as well to give our
readers some little insight into the nature, ceremonies, and regulations
of the Inquisition, and in describing that of Goa, we may be said to
describe all others, with very trifling, if any, variation.
The Santa Casa, or Inquisition of Goa, is situated on one side of a
large square, called the Terra di Sabaio. It is a massy handsome pile
of stone buildings, with three doors in the front: the centre one is
larger than the two lateral, and it is through the centre door that you
go into the Hall of Judgment. The side-doors lead to spacious and
handsome apartments for the Inquisitors, and officers attached to the
establishment.
Behind these apartments are the cells and dungeons of the Inquisition;
they are in two long galleries, with double doors to each, and are about
ten feet square. There are about two hundred of them; some are much
more comfortable than the others, as light and air are admitted into
them: the others are wholly dark. In the galleries the keepers watch,
and not a word or a sound can proceed from any cell without their being
able to overhear it. The treatment of those confined is, as far as
respects their food, very good: great care is taken that the nourishment
is of that nature that the prisoners may not suffer from the indigestion
arising from want of exercise. Surgical attendance is also permitted
them; but unless on very particular occasions no priests are allowed to
enter. Any consolation to be derived from religion, even the office of
confessor and extreme unction, in case of dissolution, are denied them.
Should they die during their confinement, whether proved guilty or not
of the crime of which they are accused, they are buried without any
funeral ceremony, and tried afterwards; if then found guilty, their
bones are disinterred, and the execution of their sentence is passed
upon their remains.
There are two Inquisitors at Goa: one the Grand Inquisitor, and the
other his second, who are invariably chosen from the order of St.
Dominique; these two are assisted in their judgment and examinations by
a large number selected from the religious orders, who are termed
deputies of the Holy Office, but who only attend when summoned: they
have other officers, whose duty it is to examine all published books,
and ascertain if there is anything in their pages contrary to the holy
religion. There is also a public accuser, a procureur of the
Inquisition, and lawyers, who are permitted to plead the case of the
prisoners, but whose chief business and interest it is to obtain their
secrets and betray them. What are termed _Familiars_ of the
Inquisition, are in fact, nothing but this description of people: but
this disgraceful office is taken upon themselves by the highest
nobility, who think it an honour, as well as a security, to be enrolled
among the Familiars of the Inquisition, who are thus to be found
dispersed throughout society; and every careless word, or expression, is
certain to be repeated to the Holy Office. A summons to attend at the
Inquisition is never opposed; if it were, the whole populace would rise
and enforce it. Those who are confined in the dungeons of the
Inquisition are kept separate; it is a very uncommon thing to put two
together: it is only done when it is considered that the prolonged
solitude of the dungeon has created such a depression of spirits as to
endanger the life of the party. Perpetual silence is enjoined and
strictly kept. Those who wail or weep, or even pray, in their utter
darkness, are forced by blows to be quiet. The cries and shrieks of
those who suffer from this chastisement, or from the torture, are
carried along the whole length of the corridors, terrifying those who,
in solitude and darkness, are anticipating the same fate.
The first question put to a person arrested by the Inquisition, is a
demand, "What is his property?" He is desired to make an exact
declaration of everything that he is worth, and swear to the truth of
his assertions; being informed that, if there is any reservation on his
part, (although he may be at that time innocent of the charges produced
against him) he will, by his concealment, have incurred the wrath of the
Inquisition; and that, if discharged for the crime he is accused of, he
will again be arrested for having taken a false oath to the Inquisition;
that, if innocent, his property will be safe, and not interfered with.
It is not without reason that this demand is made. If a person accused
confesses his crime, he is, in most cases, eventually allowed to go
free, but all his property becomes confiscated.
By the rules of the Inquisition it is made to appear as if those
condemned have the show of justice; for, although two witnesses are
sufficient to warrant the apprehension of any individual, seven are
necessary to convict him; but as the witnesses are never confronted with
the prisoners, and torture is often applied to the witnesses, it is not
difficult to obtain the number required. Many a life is falsely sworn
away by the witness, that he may save his own. The chief crimes which
are noticed by the Inquisition are those of sorcery, heresy, blasphemy,
and what is called _Judaism_.
To comprehend the meaning of this last crime, for which more people have
suffered from the Inquisition than for any other, the reader must be
informed, that when Ferdinand and Isabella of Castile drove all the Jews
out of Spain, they fled to Portugal, where they were received on the
sole condition that they should embrace Christianity: this they
consented, or appeared to consent, to do; but these converts were
despised by the Portuguese people, who did not believe them to be
sincere. They obtained the title of _New_ Christians, in
contradistinction to that of _Old_ Christians. After a time the two
were occasionally intermingled in marriage; but when so, it was always a
reproach to the old families; and descendants from these alliances were
long termed, by way of reproach, as having a portion of the New
Christians in them.
The descendants of the old families thus intermingled, not only lost
_caste_, but, as the genealogy of every family was well known, they were
looked upon with suspicion, and were always at the mercy of the Holy
Office, when denounced for Judaism,--that is, for returning to the old
Jewish practices of keeping the Passover, and the other ceremonies
enforced by Moses.
Let us see how an accusation of this kind works in the hands of the
Inquisition. A really sincere Catholic, descended from one of these
unhappy families, is accused and arrested by the orders of the
Inquisition; he is ordered to declare his property, which,--convinced of
his innocence, and expecting soon to be released, he does without
reservation. But hardly has the key of the dungeon turned upon him,
when all his effects are seized and sold by public auction, it being
well understood that they never will be restored to him. After some
months' confinement, he is called into the Hall of Justice, and asked if
he knows why he is in prison; they advise him earnestly to confess and
to conceal nothing, as it is the only way by which he can obtain his
liberty. He declares his ignorance and being sent for several times,
persists in it. The period of the _auto-da-fe_, or act of faith, which
takes place every two or three years, (that is, the public execution of
those who have been found guilty by the Inquisition,) approaches. The
public accuser then comes forward, stating that the prisoner has been
accused by a number of witnesses of Judaism. They persuade him to
acknowledge his guilt. He persists in his innocence; they then pass a
sentence on him, which they term _Convicte Invotivo_, which means "found
guilty, but will not confess his crime;" and he is sentenced to be burnt
at the approaching celebration. After this they follow him to his cell,
and exhort him to confess his guilt, and promise that if he does confess
he shall be pardoned; and these appeals are continued until the evening
of the day before his execution. Terrified at the idea of a painful
death, the wretch, at last, to save his life, consents. He is called
into the Hall of Judgment, confesses the crime that he has not
committed, and imagines that he is now saved.--Alas! now he has
entangled himself, and cannot escape.
"You acknowledge that you have been guilty of observing the laws of
Moses. These ceremonies cannot be performed alone; you cannot have
eaten the Paschal lamb _alone_; tell us immediately, who were those who
assisted at those ceremonies, or your life is still forfeited, and the
stake is prepared for you."
Thus has he accused himself without gaining anything, and if he wishes
to save his life, he must accuse others; and who can be accused but his
own friends and acquaintances? nay, in all probability, his own
relations--his brothers, sisters, wife, sons, or daughters--for it is
natural to suppose that, in all such practices, a man will trust only
his own family. Whether a man confesses his guilt, or dies asserting
his innocence, his worldly property is in either case confiscated; but
it is of great consequence to the Inquisition that he should confess, as
his act of confession, with his signature annexed, is publicly read, and
serves to prove to the world that the Inquisition is impartial and just;
nay, more, even merciful, as it pardons those who have been proved to be
guilty.
At Goa the accusations of sorcery and magic were much more frequent than
at the Inquisitions at other places, arising from the customs and
ceremonies of the Hindoos being very much mixed up with absurd
superstitions. These people, and the slaves from other parts, very
often embraced Christianity to please their masters; but since, if they
had been baptised and were afterwards convicted of any crime, they were
sentenced to the punishment by fire; whereas if they had not been
baptised, they were only punished by whipping, imprisonment, or the
galleys; upon this ground alone many refused to embrace Christianity.
We have now detailed all that we consider, up to the present, necessary
for the information of the reader; all that is omitted he will gather as
we proceed with our history.