Two official letters of appointment issued by the Spanish Inquisition in Mallorca and the Balearic Islands. Palma de Mallorca, 16th-17th centuries. Spanish.

1. Manuscript document issued by the Spanish Inquisition in Palma de Mallorca, 1590.

Letter of appointment for Miguel Reus, an estate owner from Sollerich, Alaró district, as representative of the Inquisition. Signed by Inquisitors Felix Ebia de Oviedo and Sancho Ortiz de Garay, with official wax seal.

31X43.5 cm. Good to fair condition. Stains. Creases. Ink corrosion (with some loss to text). Minor tears.

2. Printed document, completed in handwritten script, issued by the Spanish Inquisition in Palma de Mallorca, 1650.

Letter of appointment for Marcos Valles, a merchant, as official representative of the Inquisition. Signed by Inquisitors Miguel Lopez de Victoria Equinosa and Don Diego Salcedo Carvajal, with official wax seal.

31X43.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Creases. Minor marginal tears. Brief summary of the document in contemporary hand in the margins.

The Inquisition in the Balearic Islands

The tribunal of the Inquisition in the Balearic Islands was established in 1488 in Mallorca, reaching the height of its activity under Inquisitor Felix Ebia de Oviedo (1578-1593), whose signature appears on one of the present documents. During his tenure, investigations and persecutions intensified and became more systematic; the network of collaborators and informers monitoring the local population was expanded, and public Auto-da-fé ceremonies were held.

The Inquisition’s efforts focused primarily on the island’s unique community of Conversos – the Xuetas – who had left mainland Spain before the expulsion of the Jews, settled on the island, and managed to preserve some of their customs in secret. Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, members of the community were brutally persecuted, hundreds were imprisoned, and many attempted unsuccessfully to flee the island – until 1691 when 37 members of the community were burned at the stake.

In 2011, Francesc Antich i Oliver, President of the Balearic Islands, issued the first official condemnation by Spain of the persecution of Jews on the island, some 300 years after the events.