An auto da fe sponsored by the English Inquisition
The English Inquisition was an organization of the Catholic Church which worked closely with the English government under the Catholic Mary I of England from 1553 to 1558 and under Queen Isabella and King Albert from 1588 to 1598. During the latter period, its protector was Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland.
Like Inquisitions in other Catholic kingdoms, the English Inquisition was charged with rooting out heresy. Under Isabella and Albert, the Inquisition identified Protestants, alchemists, homosexuals and others whose beliefs or actions were canonically prohibited as heretics. An accused heretic would be incarcerated and given several opportunities to recant their heretical beliefs. If they consistently refused, they would be executed, usually in an auto da fe.
During the Protestant eras of English history, there was no exact equivalent of the English Inquisition, but there were state-sponsored institutions to persecute both Catholics and Puritans.
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