Resumo

SOSA, Pedro. Inquisitory persecution of forbidden books in the Venezuela of Colonial times. Investigación y Postgrado [online]. 2008, vol.23, n.1, pp.127-153. ISSN 2244-7474.

This paper offers a review of the problems raised by the active presence of the Spanish Inquisition in Venezuela and their repressive actions regarding the so called forbidden books. The goal of the Inquisition was to eliminate any printed material spreading ideas that opposed the dogmas of the Catholic Church, persecuting Bibles printed in languages other than latin and other books the contents of which had been declared prejudicial by the Papacy in the so called Index. This persecution was also carried out in Venezuela as one of the basic tasks of the inquisitory officials. All this prompted the study of all the cases of Venezuelans accused of the inquisitory crime of possession and reading of forbidden books whose cases were filed and carried out up to a verdict. The involvement of people that belonged to the Criollos’ owners class as well as a wide diffusion of works by foreign authors was observed and studied.

Palavras-chave : inquisition; forbidden books; history.