Father Hacha is the second antagonist of the Bernard Cornwell novel Sharpe's Honour and its television adaptation.
He was portrayed by Nickolas Grace, who also played the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin of Sherwood.
Biography[]
Novel[]
Thomas Hacha was a member of the Spanish Inquisition and the brother of El Matarife, a partisan. Their family had once been rich but had lost their wealth during the French invasion. Aware that the Spanish Junta wanted to get rid of the Inquisition, Hacha conspired with French intelligence officer Pierre Ducos to forge a peace treaty between France and Spain which would see Spain's alliance with the British ended and King Ferdinand restored to the throne, with the French allowed to focus their attention elsewhere. Hacha began obtaining letters from Spanish leaders giving their support to the plan. In return, Ducos agreed to help Hacha gain the wealth of La Marques de Casares el Grande y Melida Sabadda.
Hacha delivered letters to La Marques from his wife, La Marquesa Helene, claiming that Major Richard Sharpe had molested her. This resulted in La Marques fighting an inconclusive duel with Sharpe. Hacha told the nobleman of the treaty, convincing him that he would be one of the leaders of a new church-led Spain. He then had El Matarife kill La Marques, with Sharpe being blamed and sentenced to hang. Hacha used the incident to try and stir up ill-feeling among the Spanish officers, although most still supported General Wellington.
As per the arrangement with Ducos, Hacha took possession of La Marques' wealth and had Helene arrested for adultery and taken to a convent: If she took holy orders, her husband's wealth would pass to the church. Hacha told El Matarife to guard the convent but Sharpe, whose hanging had been faked, managed to rescue Helene. Hacha received permission from Ducos for El Matarife and his men to enter Vitoria and try and recapture Helene, still hoping to force her to take her vow.
After the British had defeated the French at Vitoria and Sharpe had killed El Matarife, Sharpe tracked Hacha down and after some none-too-gentle persuasion, he provided Wellington with the list of men who supported the treaty, allowing the British to change their minds, returned Helene's wealth to her and gave the Spanish another explanation for La Marques' murder.
Television[]
Hacha conspired with Ducos and his brother El Matarife to break the alliance between the British and the Spanish. To that end, he arranged the duel between Sharpe and La Marques, and then La Marques' murder by his brother. As Sharpe was supposedly hanged, he told the Spanish officers that the British had killed one of their heroes and would claim they had won the war on their own.
He intercepted Helene and forced her into a convent in the hope of getting his hands on her wealth. However, he was then confronted by Ducos, who told him that Sharpe was still alive and that Hacha had failed him. Despite Hacha's protests, Ducos shot him dead.
