ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Tomás de Torquemada

Tomás de Torquemada was a very important person in the history of the Catholic Church. He lived a very long time ago, around 500 years ago. He was born in Spain in the year 1420 and died in 1498.

Tomás de Torquemada became a Catholic monk when he was young, which means he decided to dedicate his life to serving God by living in a special religious community where monks pray and study. He studied a lot and became very smart, and later on, he became the leader of the people who helped the Pope to make sure everybody followed the rules of the Catholic Church.

One of the most important things that Tomás de Torquemada did was helping to establish what's known as the Spanish Inquisition. This was a group of people who looked for anyone who didn't follow the rules of the Catholic Church and then punished them if they found them guilty.

Many people were afraid of the Spanish Inquisition because if they were found guilty, they could be severely punished, sometimes even killed.

Despite this, there are some people who see Tomás de Torquemada as a controversial figure in history because of some of the punishments that were carried out in the name of the Catholic Church.

So, in summary, Tomás de Torquemada was a Catholic monk who was very smart and helped establish the Spanish Inquisition, which was a group of people who looked for anyone who didn't follow the rules of the Catholic Church and then punished them if they found them guilty.