page_title: Francisco de Murga
section_title: Quarrels with the inquisition
hierarchical_section_title: Francisco de Murga / Governor of Cartagena / Quarrels with the inquisition
caption_attribution_description: Cartagena, Colombia. Palacio de La Inquisición.
context_page_description: Francisco de Murga y Ortiz de Orué was Spanish soldier and engineer who became Governor and Captain-General of Cartagena.
  He was governor of Marmora in Africa when he was appointed to fortify the plaza of Cartagena. He was a knight of Order of Santiago.
  He died in 1636.
context_section_description: As governor of Cartagena, Francisco de Murga was determined to curb the power of the inquisitors. He was widely supported by the population, to whom the inquisition was deeply unpopular. He became involved in particularly bitter quarrels with the inquisitor Vélez de Asas y Argos. He was described by the inquisitors in a letter of 12 December 1632 as the most dangerous man on earth, constantly harassing them. One day he released a negro who was being whipped through the streets for heresy. The inquisitors excommunicated him. He jailed the officials sent to notify him of this, holding them for 24 hours.
  Eventually Murga asked for absolution, but when this was administered in a humiliating manner the Council of the Indies formally complained to the king. Although Velez y Argos was ordered to appear before a council in Madrid to answer Murga's accusations. The council hesitated to take drastic action for fear this would encourage other governors to curtail the authority of inquisitors, preventing them from doing their duty. Murga's death helped remove the problem, but the council recommended to the king that Velez y Argos not be allowed to return to Cartagena, and the king agreed. Eventually Asas y Argos was transferred to the Tribunal de México, in April 1637.
caption: Palace of the Inquisition
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