THE FALL OF THE SPANISH INQUISITION

PART ONE: The Letters
An exchange of letters between two cousins, one living in Toledo and the other in Barcelona. This exchange describes their introduction to the ruthless behavior of the Spanish Inquisition in the early 15th century. They vow to fight the Inquisition as the parents of one are burned at the stake for refusing to convert. The parents of the second cousin escape the country.

PART TWO: The Revolution
The revolution begins by the fabrication of letters supposedly written by various clergy to others in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. The planned confusion escalates as the General Inquisitor tries to tighten his grip without success. The cousin whose parents were burned to death in front of him kills the priests who executed them in revenge.

Suicides of leading Archbishops follow as the false letters plot thickens. The cousins enlist the help of other young men and women who lost families to the Inquisition. A series of Inquisition buildings are attacked in various cities throughout Castile and Aragon, some are destroyed.

Dialogues between Queen Isabella of Castile and Tomas de Torquemada, the Inquisitor General, describe in detail the fanatical fervor of the time.

The Queen decides to view an auto-de-fe (burning at the stake) and faints while viewing the horror. One of the cousins rescues her and they become friends. He opens her eyes to the reality of the brutality of the Inquisition, Torquemada is ousted and all functions of the Inquisition cease.