Auto-da-Fe at Avila: Spanish Inquisition Burns Heretics
The victims never existed. That's the core of it. The "Holy Child of La Guardia" — supposedly a murdered Christian boy whose heart was used in Jewish ritual — was entirely fabricated. No body. No missing child report. No victim's name. Yet Tomás de Torquemada's inquisitors extracted confessions anyway, burning eight men at the Brasero de la Dehesa outside Ávila. The case helped justify Spain's expulsion of all Jews just months later, in 1492. A crime with no victim produced one of history's largest forced exiles.
November 16, 1491
535 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on November 16
Der Gegenbischof Ursinus wird vom Stadtpräfekten aus Rom ausgewiesen und nach Gallien verbannt.
Emperor Justinian published the second and final revision of his legal code, the Codex Justinianus, consolidating 1,000 years of Roman law into a single systema…
en Roma, el emperador Justiniano promulga la revisión del Codex Justinianus.
بداية معركة القادسية بين المسلمين بقيادة سعد بن أبي وقاص والفرس بقيادة رستم فرخزاد، وبها انتهى عصر الساسانيين.
Emperor Li Jing dispatches ten thousand troops under Bian Hao to crush the Chu Kingdom, driving the entire ruling family into exile at his Nanjing capital. This…
He was 1,500 miles away when he became king. Edward I learned of Henry III's death while still in Sicily, returning from the Holy Land — and simply didn't rush …
Talk to History
Have a conversation with historical figures who witnessed this era. Ask questions, explore perspectives, and bring history to life.