Final answer:
The Black Legend of the Inquisition was predominantly perpetuated by countries like England, Germany, and Italy as propaganda against Spain. It painted the Spanish as extraordinarily cruel to justify other nations' colonial enterprises as more humane.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Black Legend of the Inquisition was a direct product of propaganda efforts by countries opposed to Spain's power, primarily England, Germany, and Italy. It portrayed Spain and the Spanish Empire as mercilessly oppressive and particularly cruel to their colonial subjects. This Black Legend was used by rival nations to justify their own imperial ambitions by presenting themselves as more humane in comparison to the supposedly brutal Spanish colonizers.
Works such as those by Las Casas highlighted genuine abuses committed by the Spaniards during their conquests, but these accounts were often exaggerated by Spain's enemies to fuel the Black Legend. These narratives were strategically employed to undermine Spain's moral authority and support the expansionist motivations of other European powers. Hence, English settlements and colonization efforts were positioned as righteous and benevolent alternatives to the tyranny attributed to the Spanish inquisition and conquests.