The problem of the nationality of ministers and officers of the portuguese Holy Office. From legal orders to the daily practice

Abstract

Many foreigners served the Holy Office in Portugal for its almost three centuries of existence (1536-1820). They were mainly relatives, especially Galician merchants and businessmen. However, among them we also find various «qualifiers», some commissioners and even an inquisitor of Spanish origin. Actually, the Regiments that were ordained in 1552, 1570 and 1613 did not state anything about the nationality of the Ministers and Officers of the Court. It was not until 1640, as a response to the continuous debates that took place during the Dynastic Union about the introduction of Spanish inquisitors in the Portuguese court, that the Portuguese Holy Office decided to implement the requisite of nationality. However, once the Restoration War was over, foreigners joined the Portuguese Inquisition again without problems, as it had, eliminated that requisite in the new instructions commissioned by the cardinal da Cunha in 1774.