The Inquisition was premised upon political intrigues.
As The Jewish Encyclopedia notes (1906 ed. Vol. XI, p. 485),
It remains a fact that the Jews, either directly or through their correligionists in Africa, encouraged the Mohammedans to conquer Spain.
Also, note that Henry Kamen conducted research on the Spanish Inquisition and found that 2,000 people were executed over a 350 year period—that is just over 5 people per year. That certainly is 2,000 too many yet, nowhere near the over the top exaggerations about which “everyone knows.”