The Inquisition Unmasked by D. Antonio Puigblanch translated from the Author's Enlarged Copy by William Walton, esq. Volume 1 only (of two)
Publishing: 1816 Printed for Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy; London First English Edition
The Inquisition Unmasked is a book by D. Antonio Puigblanch that provides a historical and philosophical account of the Inquisition. The book is based on authentic documents and argues for the need to suppress the Inquisition.
The book depicts, through several illustrations, the torture methods of the Inquisition, a judicial procedure within the Catholic Church that aimed to combat heresy, blasphemy, apostasy, witchcraft, and other customs that were considered deviant. Some say the Inquisition was a cruel institution run by fanatical churchmen who used torture to extract confessions and burned women at the stake for witchcraft.
Antonio Puig i Blanch (Puigblanch) (1775-1840) was a Spanish philologist and politician. In 1806, he became a professor of Hebrew at the University of Alcalá de Henares. During the Spanish War of Independence against the French invasion (1808-1814), the representatives of the Spanish Government escaped to Seville and then to Cádiz. At this time, Puigblanch stood out among the liberals who took advantage of these exceptional circumstances to make political reforms. From 1811 to 1813, he wrote “La Inquisición sin máscara” under the pseudonym of Natanael Yomtob. This fierce condemnation of the Tribunal of the Inquisition forced him into exile to England in 1815, where he published the English translation of his work, “The Inquisition Unmasked”.
Condition: Rebound in buckram cloth boards (early 20th century), leather label to spine with gilt title, marbled endpapers, marbled edges, title page with contemporary inscription dated 1836, puncture tear to title page, tightly bound, clean copy in very good condition.