Page 100 - Heavenly Signs III by Mel Gable

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The Inquisition also condemned sexual offence of sodomy which was based upon the Canon Law. This included
cases of incidences, heterosexual and homosexual rape and other abnormal sexual activity. Civil authorities at
times executed those convicted. In 1506 at Seville, the Inquisition made a special investigation into sodomy. This
caused many to be arrested with many fugitives and burning of twelve persons. In 1509, the Suprema in Castile
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had determined and declared that sodomy crimes were not within the jurisdiction of the Inquisition.

The Spanish people loved their Inquisition. That is why it lasted for so long. It was seen as guarding against error
and heresy. It was protecting the faith of Spain and to ensure the favor of God. But, the world was changing. In
time, Spain's empire faded away. By the mid-16th century, Spain was the wealthiest and most powerful country in
Europe. King Philip II saw himself as the faithful defender of the Catholic Church. Less wealthy and less
powerful were Europe's Protestant areas, including the Netherlands, northern Germany, and England. Wealth
and power shifted to the north in particular to France and England. By the late 17th century, new ideas of
religious tolerance were seen across Europe. Inquisitions of both Catholic and Protestant withered away. The
Spanish stubbornly held on to theirs and for that they were ridiculed by many Europeans.

Americas – 1492

Christopher Columbus was a navigator and an admiral for Castile, which later became the modern country of
Spain. He made four voyages to the Americas with his first in 1492, which resulted in what is considered by
Europeans as the discovery of the Americas. The blood moon event also brought with it the voyage of
Columbus in 1492. This discovery would later become the land of religious freedom. It came during the
persecution of the Jews in Spain in the Castile region.

Castile, the precursor of Spain, had been somewhat slower than its neighbor Portugal to begin exploring the
Atlantic. It was not until the late 15th century which followed after the unification of Castile and Aragon that
exploration begun. It then became important to find new trade routes and colonies overseas. In 1492, the joint
rulers of the nation decided to fund Christopher Columbus' expedition. It was their hope of finding a bypass to
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Portugal's lock on Africa and the Indian Ocean. It was a hope of reaching Asia by traveling west.

On the evening of August 3, 1492, Columbus departed from Castilian Palos de la Frontera with three ships. The
ships were property of Juan de la Cosa and the Pinzón brothers, Martín Alonso Pinzón and Vicente Yáñez
Pinzón. The monarchs forced the Palos de la Frontera to contribute to the cost of the expedition. Columbus
first sailed to the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. The Canary Islands were ruled by
the Crown of Castile and it was there they planned on restocking provisions and making repairs. 167

Three days into the journey, on August 6, 1492, the rudder of the Pinta was broken and rendered the ship
uncontrollable. The owners of the ship, Gomez Rascon and Christoval Quintero, were suspected of sabotage. It
was because their ship had been pressed into service against their will. The captain of the Pinta, Martín Alonso
Pinzón, was able to secure the rudder temporarily with cords until the Canary Islands could be reached on
August 9, 1492. It was there that they made repairs to the Pinta and fixed the rudder. While securing provisions
from the island, Columbus received word that three Portuguese merchant ships had been seen hovering near the
island of El Hierro with the supposed intention of capturing him. However, on September 6, 1492 the westward
voyage began without incident. 168

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Detailed account of repressions against "sodomy", related statistics and the profiles of defendants in Monter, Frontiers of Heresy
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Morison, Samuel Eliot, Admiral of the Ocean Sea: The Life of Christopher Columbus Boston, 1942