Chapter 4 - An Enduring Crisis

P.90: "Though often presented as such, ... there is no reason for thinking of the Inquisition as sinister tyranny imposed on an unwilling people [of Spain]. It never enjoyed enough power to become a tyranny, and it was brought into being by a particular social situation - the converso question - that in the relevant areas counted on substantial popular support. In some regions its imact was deadly; in others people never saw the tribunal at any moment of their lives. It fulfilled a role - as guardian against foreign ideas, as keeper of public morality, as arbiter between factions, as tribunal for small causes - that no other institution fulfilled. Moreover, over long periods of time and substantial areas of the country, it was inactive and all but disappeared."