Books by Luis R. Corteguera

On July 21, 1578, a small Mexican town awoke to the news of a scandal. Nailed to the door of its church was a double-faced effigy denouncing a neighbor as a Jew who should burn at the stake. Nine trials over the course of four years revealed a story of dishonor, revenge, and the Inquisition's relentless determination to defend its symbols.

On June 7, 1640, the viceroy of Catalonia was stabbed to death on a Barcelona beach. By Christmas, several more royal officials of the Spanish principality had been assassinated. In the wake of these and other violent acts committed by the "people"-a...