Witch Hunts : The Witchcraft Act Of 1542

Before exploring the reasons that the number of executions of witches was so low in England, we should first explore the English conceptualization of a witch. During the witch craze of the 16th to 17th

trial for witchcraft in the 1600’s were put to death. In the 1950’s, if the accused did not reveal names

Terror raged through Salem Village in 1692, causing the citizens to accuse each other of heinous crimes supposedly committed through witchcraft, which they punished by arrest, and at times, execution. Twenty-five people died and many more imprisoned as a result of the Salem witch trials, a series of court cases regarding the 131 people accused of witchery (Foulds 258). Trouble first started when two girls acted so strangely, the villagers had no doubts that witchcraft had caused it. Soon, they considered no one safe because anyone might be a witch, or a witch may be tormenting them. The afflicted girls’ mysterious behavior activated a hysterical fear of witches, causing the Salem witch trials.

The Rise of the Witchcraft Craze in 17th Century Britain Accusations of witchcraft date back to 900 AD, but killing following accusation reached a fever pitch in the late 16th century Europe, and late 17th century Britain. Germany and Scotland were the areas that were most heavily purged, with an estimated 4000 witches dying in Scotland and 26 000 dying in Germany (Gibbons). The Inquisition in Britain happened against a backdrop of new ideas competing with established traditions which created a sense of confusion and religious hysteria amongst the general population. A number of theories have developed from historians as to what sparked the witchcraft craze; ideas of the Reformation and rise of

The large-scale witch-hunts that occurred from 1638 to 1651 gathered momentum via major happenings in the political, societal, and religious domains developing at the time. Individuals who had either political, religious or economic power in society, also known as elites, together had absolute control over the pursuit and prosecution of individuals who partook in witchcraft. The clergy played a crucial role in the witchcraft prosecutions and were slower than the state and localities to desert their beliefs in the reality of witches as the prosecution of witchcraft was, in their eyes, an effective tool to eradicate social deviance. Though local authorities and the Parliament did contribute to the witch-hunts significantly, without the kirk of Scotland declaring and encouraging this sanction on witchcraft, both other parties would not have taken the actions they ultimately did. This essay will provide a brief description of events that took place from 1638 to 1651 and then utilize evidence from a multitude of sources to argue that the religious elites were the most influential of these forces during the witchcraft prosecutions that occurred in the 1640s.

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

Witchcraft was a highly widespread phenomenon in the sixteenth and seventeenth century, where in many places people accused of witchery were executed. One specific time period in the late seventeenth century -- in Salem, Massachusetts -- plays as a great example of the harshness in these witch persecutions. As in many cases, some layer, or layers, of political or religious power takes a role in leading to successful execution of accused witches in Salem. Taking a look at Salem, persecutions took place in Salem village, where society was shaped around the ministry of Samuel Parris. This is evident as people supported independence for “Salem village and its church [emphasis mine]” from the town of Salem.

The witchcraft hysteria of 1692 happened within the Puritan colony known as Salem Massachusetts. It’s important to know that the belief in witchcraft was carried over from their home country, England. In England, an act of witchcraft was considered treason against the Church of England, not to mention the king, who was the head of the church, so if one was to turn their back on the church also meant going against the king. Many acts against witchcraft were passed, the one dated closest to the Salem witch trials was the Witchcraft Act of 1604 that moved trials of the supposed witches from churches to actual courts. The fact that they were once held in churches rather than courts seems like a biased situation to me. The puritans were afraid of witchcraft so having the church conduct the trials of said witches could only mean that death was certain. The puritan faith to my understanding was a tough faith to follow, especially for women.

James I ascended to the throne in 1603 and had a massive influence on the hunts. This is because he was a strong believer in witchcraft as shown in his law of 1604 that made it illegal and punishable by death, although this was a re-working of an older law so he was not the first ruler to start the persecution of witches. During this period of 1603-1712 there was an on-going debate between science, religion and magic which caused continual confusion about the validity of the hunts. In 1712 Jane Wenham was the last witch to go to trial in England; although sentenced to death she was spared by Queen Anne which represented a

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.

Before the 1500s, prosecution of witches was rare. Trials were conducted against those who were seen as suspects of “practicing harmful magic and occasional mass trials" (Bever, 2009, p. 263). These accusations were often made by children and that of their imagination. The decline; however, occurred not through the prosecutions but through its “suppressing roles” and the overall “decline in witch beliefs” (Bever, 2009, p. 285). The title of the article is “Witchcraft Prosecutions and the Decline of Magic” and it is written by Edward Bever. Bever is the Associate Professor of History, SUNY College at Old Westbury.

Through a historical standpoint, humanity can be seen as a cyclic development in which old inclinations are further manifested to suit new social orders. As a result, issues that caused mass hysteria in an earlier era are often repeated again and we, just as the people of the old eras, are unable to recognize the flaws in our logic until it is too late. The witch hunts of the 16th and 17th centuries are perfect example, in that looking back today they seem like a stain on the history of mankind, but at the time being not many people stopped to think about the horrific acts they were committing As time progressed, and people no longer felt the need to ruin entire villages in order to fulfill their own philological desires, witch hunts, like many other trends, also came to an end. As of now, this end in mass witch-hunts can often be symbolized by the story of Anna Göldi, who not only signifies the change in how people thought, but also signifies the occurrence of excessive accusations in times of fear and ignorance.

Throughout history we can see many atrocities justified because of religion. The witch hunt of the 1600’s is a good example of how people can abuse and manipulate religion. Killing of innocent woman for the believe that they may witches is absurd. In those time fear of witches was really big that it seems that anybody could be one. While religion has brought us a lot of good things at the same time it has brought many horrible things with it. The Roman perception of Christians was another atrocities and our history has so much bloodshed for those who didn't deserve to die.

From the 1480s to early 1800s, mass hysteria erupted throughout the European continent. These cases of witches and demonic possession, along with minor events of hysteria that ran rapid throughout Europe.This resulted in suspicions and persecutions that continue today.

Witchcraft in the 17th Century Witchcraft in Europe during the 17th century was common. It mainly took place in Germany, but also took place in England. Witches were associated with evil; it was believed witches inherited magical powers from Satan in exchange for the witch’s soul. Some of these magical powers included outrageous claims such as flying, being able to transform and cursing bad luck on others. It was extremely dangerous to be accused of being a witch as the most common punishment was death, often by beheading or even being burnt at the stake.