Secret Mexican diary sheds light on Spanish Inquisition


A close-up of one of Carvajal diaries
A story of torture, betrayal and persecution is captivating Mexicans almost 500 years after it happened.
The dramatic life and death of the Carvajal family in 16th-Century Mexico is in the spotlight after a decades-long search for a national treasure came to an unexpected happy ending.
Luis de Carvajal "The Young" came to Mexico - then known as New Spain - with his large, well-to-do family during the early colonisation of the Americas.
His family governed part of northern Mexico and soon made enemies, including a power-hungry viceroy keen to topple him from power.
The ambitious viceroy discovered that Luis de Carvajal was a practising Jew, a crime punishable by death in the times of the Spanish Inquisition
Older relatives had urged Luis de Carvajal to convert to Catholicism for his own safety, but he staunchly stuck to his faith.

An iPhone lies next to the manuscript Secret record

When he was first arrested, the authorities let him off with a warning but kept tabs on him.
An employee holds the 16th-century manuscript by Spanish-born Jew Luis de Carvajal the Younger as it is displayed to the media at the Anthropology museum in Mexico City, Mexico March 23, 2017.Far from giving up his religion, Luis de Carvajal became a leader in Mexico's underground Jewish community.

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