How Did Peter The Great Reform Russia

In response to The Hammer of Witches and the papal bull issued by Pope Innocent VIII, major witch hunts broke out in Europe. Moreover, these were aided by new technology, the printing press, which helped to spread the mania, even across the Atlantic to America. It is not surprising that the witch hunt started around the13-15th century. During this time, Europe was overpopulated and in a poor condition with dirty streets, crime and diseases everywhere. There had to be a scapegoat for all of the mess which the church decided was witchcraft. A complex social matrix was created once an accusation was made: the accusers would try to prove the source of what had been troubling them, and ideally to gain control over that source by forcing her to back away and remove the

It is important to understand the meaning of witchcraft to be able to identify what caused the massive witch-hunt in Europe. During the medieval to the early modern period witchcraft was identified as the practice of harmful, black or maleficent magic caused by a witch (Levack, 1987, p. 4). They also describe them as evildoers that associate with the Devil, kidnap children, and murder others. These accusations were untrue rumors made by the Catholic Church to promote Christianity and punish those who did not follow the church beliefs. (Levack, 1987, p. 7)

Peter The Great should be granted the title of "Most Absolute Monarch" because he created a strong navy, recognized his army according to Western standards, secularized schools, administrative and territorial divisions of the country. Peter focused on the development of science and recruited several experts to educate his people about technological advancements. He concentrated on developing commerce and industry and created a gentrified bourgeoisie population. Mirroring Western culture, he modernized the Russian alphabet, introduced the Julian calendar, and established the first Russian newspaper. Peter was a far-sighted and skillful diplomat who abolished Russia's archaic form of government and appointed a viable

Women in these situations were made even more vulnerable by the changes occurring during the reformation which removed the church’s support for women, who often spoke on behalf of accused women because women weren’t allowed to themselves. The susceptibility of people to be accused of witchcraft also depended on their location, such as unorganized, uneducated and weakly governed areas where religious instability (Protestant vs Catholic) was present. Another factor that worsened the witch hunts was the invention of the printing press which printed images of witches doing otherworldly things, adding to the paranoia and fear of witchs. If a person was accused of being a witch or evidence was found to create suspicion, the accused could be subject to a variety of gruesome tortures such as the torturing of sexual organs, and if found guilty of these charges (which they often were) they would often be burned or hanged. Nearing the end of the witch hunts when things began to get back under control, a new judicial system was introduced to Europe that commanded stricter rules for witchcraft prosecutions and

Peter the Great was born to Tsar Alexis and grew up differently than many people of his time. “Peter proved a healthy child, lively and inquisitive. It is probably significant to his development that his mother’s former guardian, Artamon Sergeyevich Matveyev, had raised her in an atmosphere open to progressive influences from the West” (Britannica Academica). The fact that he grew up with a significant figure in his life who favored the west shaped his views in a major. Later in his reign, he focused on western civilization and how they thrived. Peter tried to implicate the same influences in Russia to further try and modernize and advance the culture, society, and government. Peter was a very lively and energetic child. “When Alexis died in 1676 Peter was only four years old. His elder half-brother, a sickly youth, then succeeded to the throne as Fyodor III” (Britannica

During the late fifteenth through the seventeenth centuries, thousands of individuals were persecuted as witches. It was thought that these individuals practiced black magic and performed evil deeds, the deeds of the devil. This all happened during a time of great change in Europe, during the time of the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, and the consolidation of national governments. They were persecuted for a variety of reasons, but three major ones were religious reasons, social prejudices, and the economic greed of the people. Religious leaders such as Martin Luther and John Calvin influenced the ideas of their followers. Religion dominated the time period and it’s easy to see how many opinions

Nineteen were hung, one was pressed and tortured to death, hundreds were imprisoned, and five had died while waiting to be trialed in prison. They were just a victim of being someone’s personal vendetta. The witch trials were revolved around a group of women that were said to of witnessed witchcraft. These young women were thirsting after their enemies to get the type of justice they thought to believe was reasonable for things certain people had done in the past that enraged them. Witch hunts like these root back far, all the way back to New England. During the 17th century europe was swarmed with accusations of

During the late 15th to 17th centuries, thousands of individuals were persecuted as witches, mainly older women. Throughout this era, it was widely believed that these individuals performed evil deeds of the devil and practiced dark, black magic. The events of the witch trials occurred in a time of great change in Europe. In a time of social, religious, economic, and political uncertainty or instability during the period of the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, and more political shifts and changes, citizens began to turn to supernatural scapegoats and superstition, which in a way revived the religious theology which had flared downwards during the Renaissance. Witches were soon hunted down and unjustly

Peter westernized Russia and embarked on the ideas , technology and culture from the west. He forced the landowning nobles to shave their traditional beards and wear western style clothes. Peter also passed laws ensuring that nobles retained control over their lands and the serfs that were tied to it. Peter expanded Russian territory on the Baltic Sea ( document 4) . Peter created a strong army out of nothing that was feared by all. When he died he left behind a fleet of 48 ships and a army with over 200,000 men. Even though Peter helped his country expand its territory his lack of initiative and enterprise remained one of Russia’s greatest social weaknesses (document

In the 1680’s and 1690’s there was mass hysteria in New England over supposed witchcraft. The most famous outbreak was in Salem, Massachusetts, hence the name Salem Witch Trials. In Salem, there were young girls who started acting strangely, and they leveled accusations of witchcraft against some of the West Indian servants who were immersed in voodoo tradition. Most of the accusations were against women, and soon the accusations started to shift to the substantial and prominent women. Neighbors accused other neighbors, husbands accused their wives, etc. and it kept going on for a while. There was this nature of evil and the trials didn’t end until nineteen Salem residents were put to death in 1692, more importantly before the girls

The notion of witchcraft has been around long before the witch trials in Early Modern Europe. Different cultures have different images and stereotypes on what a witch is and what “magical” abilities he or she may possess. Many people however, did not look at these “magical” men and women as bad until the Holy Roman Empire began to look negatively on those people who were different, and opposed the norm set by the elites. Driven by fear, those living under the control of the Holy Roman Empire would began to blame other people for diabolical actions, or malicious activities. Women and some men, were tortured and tested in cruel ways in attempt of finding evidence or gaining a confession that the accused was a witch. Laws about how which were persecuted

Witch hunts blazed across Europe over the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries not just killing innumerable innocent people, but stripping women of much of the power they had once held, and changing society's perceptions of women all together. The economic hardships, religious rivalries, and troubled politics of the time made accusing your neighbors of witchcraft convenient. Where there was war and poverty, or merely bad luck, peasants would assume witchcraft and rush to blame an old, defenseless woman in trials which involved unbelievable cruelty and horrible sadism. As religion and the Catholic Church began to complement and perpetuate the increasing hysteria, European society as a whole could do nothing but

The Rise of Witch Hunts in Europe During the Early Modern Period Tens of thousands of people were persecuted and put to death as witches between 1570 and 1680 – known as the great age of witch-hunts. Europeans had an extensive range of magical beliefs and practices, mainly due to the Christian belief that magic exists. The elite believed in magic as fervently as the most ignorant peasant. It was believed that some members of the society sold their soul to the devil giving them power to inflict pain on others and take part in supernatural performances.

Peter the Great was a descendant of the Romanov family who started his co-rule with his brother since he was ten years old. When his brother died in 1896, only then did Peter become the sole tsar of Russia. However, at the time, Russia did not have a developed military, government, or technology as that of the other countries in Europe. At the start of the Peter’s reign as tsar, he had taken part in the conquest against the Ottoman Empire in an effort to gain land in order to secure a Russian port in the coast of the Black Sea. In Compared to Europe, Russia was much less advanced.

The reforms and westernization of Peter the Great made Russia a more modern and stronger power in Europe under his rule and until his death in 1725. Peter was a powerful and forceful leader with a vision. He wanted to westernize Russia and bring the state to a more modern era in order to compete with Europe for goods and services.