What was witchcraft like in the 1600s

Germany had the highest witchcraft execution rate, while Ireland had the lowest. For more than years, the book sold more copies of any other book in Europe except the Bible.

As witch hysteria decreased in Europe, it grew in the New World, which was reeling from wars between the French and British, a smallpox epidemic and the ongoing fear of attacks from neighboring native American tribes. The tense atmosphere was ripe for finding scapegoats. Probably the best-known witch trials took place in Salem, Massachusetts in The Salem witch trials began when 9-year-old Elizabeth Parris and year-old Abigail Williams began suffering from fits, body contortions and uncontrolled screaming today, it is believed that they were poisoned by a fungus that caused spasms and delusions.

Tituba confessed to being a witch and began accusing others of using black magic. On June 10, Bridget Bishop became the first accused witch to be put to death during the Salem Witch Trials when she was hanged at the Salem gallows. Ultimately, around people were accused and 18 were put to death. In Virginia , people were less frantic about witches. In fact, in Lower Norfolk County in , a law was passed making it a crime to falsely accuse someone of witchcraft.

Still, witchcraft was a concern. About two-dozen witch trials mostly of women took place in Virginia between and None of the accused were executed. Other accusations followed and Sherwood was brought to trial in The court decided to use a controversial water test to determine her guilt or innocence. It was thought if she sank, she was innocent; if she floated, she was guilty.

A satirical article supposedly written by Benjamin Franklin about a witch trial in New Jersey was published in in the Pennsylvania Gazette. It brought to light the ridiculousness of some witchcraft accusations. Modern-day witches of the Western World still struggle to shake their historical stereotype. Most practice Wicca , an official religion in the United States and Canada.

Wiccans avoid evil and the appearance of evil at all costs. Their spells and incantations are often derived from their Book of Shadows, a 20th-century collection of wisdom and witchcraft, and can be compared to the act of prayer in other religions.

A modern-day witchcraft potion is more likely to be an herbal remedy for the flu instead of a hex to harm someone. But witches—whether actual or accused—still face persecution and death. Several men and women suspected of using witchcraft have been beaten and killed in Papua New Guinea since , including a young mother who was burned alive.

Similar episodes of violence against people accused of being witches have occurred in Africa, South America, the Middle East and in immigrant communities in Europe and the United States. About Wicca. The Celtic Connection. It is also an episode of European history that has spawned many myths and much inaccuracy. The actual numbers are far lower, but still striking: between and , around , people across Europe were accused of witchcraft, and some 40—50, were executed.

Listen: Historian Ronald Hutton reveals how the witch has been a symbol of fear across the globe for more than 2, years…. Neither were witches with the exception of some targeted by the Spanish Inquisition generally persecuted by the church. Although belief in witches was orthodox doctrine, following Exodus In England, witchcraft became a crime in , a statute renewed in and As such, most witches across Europe received the usual penalty for murder — hanging though in Scotland and under the Spanish Inquisition witches were burned.

Nor were all witches women — men could be witches too. This was to make sure a witch could not return from the grave. Hopkins was responsible for over executions. Mother Shipton is remembered still in Knaresborough , Yorkshire. Although called a witch, she is more famous for her predictions about the future. She apparently foresaw cars, trains, planes and the telegraph.

Her cave and the Dripping Well , where objects hung under the dripping water become like stone, are a popular site to visit today in Knaresborough. In August , the Pendle Witches , three generations of one family, were marched through the crowded streets of Lancaster and hanged. Though many of the Acts against witchcraft were repealed in , witch hunting still went on. In , an alleged male witch was drowned in a pond in Headingham, Essex and in the body of an elderly farm labourer was found near the village of Meon Hill in Warwickshire.

His throat had been cut and his corpse was pinned to the earth with a pitchfork. The murder remains unsolved, however the man was reputed, locally, to be a wizard. Mother Ludlam was a white witch who kindly lent objects to people with the proviso that the item should be….

In , as a result of some wild stories told by a 16 year old boy, three people died and others were cruelly tortured. Matthew Hopkins, Witch-Finder General.