The origins of 16th century witchcraft were changing social, economic and religious conditions in Europe and America. The desire to find a scapegoat for the change resulted in a genocide known as the Burning Times that lasted more than a century.
Witches were accused of casting spells on unfortunate victims and were often sentenced to death by hanging, drowning or by being burned to death.
History of The persecution of people practicing witchcraft in the 16th century began in England in 1589. However, the country's concern with witchcraft had been growing throughout the century, largely in response to the current social, economic and religious conditions in the country. Although people accused of practicing witchcraft had been
…show more content…
Besides testimony, witches were also identified by midwife's examination. If any black marks were found on the accused's body, the mark was often considered Satan's mark and proof that she was a witch.
Significance The 16th-century witch hunts resulted in the deaths of nearly 50,000 people. The majority of the accused and sentenced were poor and elderly women who did not have a stable place in society.
It is theorized that the witchcraft hysteria was in response to women's growing role in society. During the 16th century, single, unmarried and independent women represented a societal shift that a large portion of the population was uncomfortable with. The result was genocide and what some have called a holocaust. Society, including women, rejected the notion of unmarried women living alone, without a husband or family, or women who did not go to church and abide by prevailing social norms.
In the 17th century, the presence of witches reached incredible attention with accusations and executions of people accused of witchcraft. The fear caused by these trials and executions spurred many people to become the accuser rather than become the accused. The snowball effect this caused culminated in a mass hysteria in Europe and the colonies. Today, it is speculated that many of the people who were accused and ultimately executed for witchcraft were innocent. History Witchcraft has long been a part of our world's history. Fear of witches eventually
A few centuries ago in Europe, the fear of witchcraft led to witch hunts and executions. These occurred mostly in France, Germany, northern Italy, and Switzerland. “Tens of thousands of people in Europe and European colonies died,” and “millions of others suffered from torture, arrest, interrogation, hate, guilt, or fear,”. It is estimated that the early modern witch trials claimed the lives of nine million Europeans, 80% of whom were women which led early feminists such as Margaret Murray, Mary Daly and Barbara Ehrenreich, among others, to wonder: “Was the witch-hunt an intentional woman-hunt”. Back then, women were accused of being witches since Accusations of witchcraft required no evidence of guilt. The trials were “intended only to produce
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
Suddenly people seemed very paranoid and soon residents were placing blame on one another and accusing each other of witchcraft. In a fifteen month period between 1691 and 1692 nearly twelve dozen people were accused of witchcraft in or near Salem (Norton, p8).
Furthermore, another cause for the witchcraft frenzy was religious uncertainty (Spielvogel 439). There were numerous witchcraft trials in the region where “Protestant-Catholic” arguments still fumed (Spielvogel 439). According to Spielvogel, “[a]s religious passions became inflamed, accusations of being in league with the devil became common on both sides” (Spielvogel 439). Additionally, another contributing factor to the widespread witchcraft hysteria was the escalating amount of trials and executions of alleged witches (Spielvogel 437).
The persecution of witches started in the fourteen hundreds and carried on into the seventeen hundreds. This persecution happened only in the Catholic and Protestant Countries. They were not just endorsed by the churches, but the entire craze was caused by the churches; which gave its full support behind the cause. While the persecution of witches effected every type of person the most effected people where older women, poor, and usually considered outsiders by their society.
Once a person was accused of being a witch, the authorities needed concrete or tangible evidence before they would prosecute or put the accused to death. A guidebook published in 1486, called "Malleus
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 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
Witch hunting was the persecution and possible execution of individuals considered to be ‘witches’ loyal to the devil. It was an all too common occurrence from 1603-1712 all over Europe. However in order to understand why this happened the context must be taken into account. It was a time of change, the Renaissance - the rebirth of culture, ideas and attitudes to living. The Reformation had also only been implemented in England in the last 80 years back from 1603, when it had previously been catholic for centuries. The English civil war from 1642 to 1651 is argued to have played a part in the intensification of the witch hunts in England due to the peak in executions whilst it was on going. Some historians have taken the view that in time of crisis certain groups can be victimised like in wars, famine, disease outbreaks and changes in society structure.
Witches, are they real or fake? That question continues to be asked today. However, in the Middle Ages, a time period blurred by war, religious incursions, and disease, witches may have or may have not have existed, but something that was just as bad if not worse did. Witchcraft accusations. Witchcraft accusations unleashed a whole host of new problems such as: rampant persecution and paranoia, and the death of hundreds of thousands of innocent people, and the use of politics rather than religion when they so often went hand in hand.
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.
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.
The rise of witchcraft persecutions in Europe in the period c1540-c1660 can be explained by religious divisions which resulted in religious leaders imposing their authority and reinforcing their faith. Due to the Reformation and Counter Reformation, much of Europe was divided by religion, some countries and states being conflicted within themselves, leading to religious leaders being left vulnerable, unstable and in need of reasserting their power and religious authority. A prime example of this was the Auto de fe in Spain where at Longrono in 1610, ten witches were sent to death, attracting a crowd of up to 3000 people and becoming a public demonstration of the power of the Catholic Church as show shown in this image1. Included in the Auto de fe were not only witches but other minorities also such as Protestants2, Jews and Muslims, showing the
The witch-hunt that blazed a trail across Europe (and indeed the world) over the 15th to 18th centuries stripped women of much of the power they had historically held. Not 100% of all accused Witches were female but 75% to 90% of accused witches in Europe were in fact women (Levack, 1987, p.124).