Death Toll Stats Make The Brain Hurting Stop!

[merkavah12]

So I'm checking out this website that notes the various death tolls in numerous atrocities across the globe:

I especially take note at the various death tolls given for the Spanish Inquisition:

Spanish Inquisition (1478-1834)

* Cited in Will Durant, The Reformation (1957):
o Juan Antonio Llorente, General Secretary of the Inquisition from 1789 to 1801, estimated that 31,912 were executed, 1480-1808.
o In contrast to the high estimate cited above, Durant tosses his support to the following low estimates:
+ Hernando de Pulgar, secretary to Queen Isabella, estimated 2,000 burned before 1490.
+ An unnamed "Catholic historian" estimated 2,000 burned, 1480-1504, and 2,000 burned, 1504-1758.
* PGtH: 8,800 deaths by burning, 1478-1496
* Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church (1910): 8,800 burnt in 18 years of Torquemada. (acc2 Buckle and Friedländer)
* Motley, Rise of the Dutch Republic: 10,220 burnt in 18 years of Torquemada
* Britannica: 2,000
* Aletheia, The Rationalist's Manual: 35,534 burned.
* Fox's Book of Martyrs, Ch.IV: 32,000 burned
* Paul Johnson A History of the Jews (1987): 32,000 k. by burning; 20,226 k. before 1540
* Wertham: 250,000
* Rummel: 350,000 deaths overall.
* MEDIAN: 8,800 under Torq.; 32,000 all told.


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Here is my question: where in the world would Wertham and Rummel get those stats (250,000 and 350,000)?

PS: Do we have any accurate numbers on people slain in French Revolution?

[ignorantianescia]

Probably from this unsavoury, retrograde site or one of the same type.
www.weirdload.com/inquis.html

Perhaps to common consolation, when I searched on Google for "inquisition burning ages" to get the more crazy stuff, the third entry was a FAQ on 'the' Inquisition written by a certain J. Hannam. The same result was received when using various proxies.

When searching "inquisition 250,000" on Google, I usually got sites claiming that was the number of Muslims expelled at the end of the Reconquista.

I suppose in order to know where they get their numbers from, one has to buy their books. If they are sourced, one knows. If they aren't, it's probably some crazy made up number.

Anyway, when searching on 'Wertham' I only end up with somebody who launched a crusade against comic books, I'm not sure whether he's the man you're looking for.

That Rummel person seems to be Rudolph J. Rummel, a political scientist who apparantly has something of a name for overstating death tolls.

The death tolls of the French revolution depends if one includes the Vendée rebellion. It was reportedly one with an extremely high number of deaths, according to this one, but it seems to be the same kind of list you quoted.
users.erols.com/mwhite28/wars18c.htm

[humphreyclarke]

Best estimate for the French 'Reign of Terror is about 35,000 over about a year (See Revolutionary Europe, 1780-1850 By Jonathan Sperber). If you want to include the revolt in the Vendee, really a civil war; that seems to have claimed between 117,000-400,000