Ana de Castro

María Francisca Ana de Castro, called La bella toledana (ca.1686 – December 23, 1736) was a Spanish immigrant to Peru, renowned for her beauty and hauteur. She was arrested in 1726, accused of "judaizing" (being a practicing Jew). She was burned at the stake after an auto de fe in 1736. This event was a major spectacle in Lima, but it raised questions about possible irregular procedures and corruption within the Inquisition. Early history Ana de Castro was born in Toledo, Spain. She and her second husband, a merchant in Lima, arrived in Peru in 1707, together with the new viceroy, Manuel de Oms y de Santa Pau. Her great beauty was mentioned in most written accounts of her by contemporaries. She was also said to be extremely haughty. For example, she was said to attend mass in the Plaza de la Recoleta in her carriage, but without descending from it. She was a wealthy and cultivated member of society in Lima. She was also accused of being promiscuous — there were rumors that she had had an affair with one of the royal viceroys. (If true, this was probably Oms or José de Armendáriz, viceroy from 1724 to 1736.) Arrest, imprisonment, torture and execution The story of her arrest is as follows. Out of revenge, one of her ex-lovers bribed a maid in her household to hide a crucifix beneath her mattress. He then denounced her to the Inquisition, claiming that she was guilty of whipping an image of Christ. An investigation turned up the image among her bed linen and she was arrested. It is not possible to verify this story. Women were exempt from torture by the Inquisition, but nevertheless, the Supreme Council of the Inquisition in Lima voted to subject her to torture to obtain a confession. In her ten years in prison she was tortured three times, and she had twenty audiences with the inquisitors in order to give her an opportunity to confess. Her considerable property, estimated at 22,000 pesos, was confiscated.