The Nations of Witchcraft
Throughout the changing times of history, treatment of women has been shown in spiteful events. An example of this is how the witchcraft craze affected the many women of the 17th century. Witchcraft is the practice of magic, specifically black magic and the use of spells or the invocation of spirits as well as being commonly linked to devil-worship. Superstition was running rampant in the 17th century as it was all around and shrouded daily life. Witch trials occurred during the 200 years from the 16th and 17th centuries, some even a little before or after. These time periods shed light over the dark cloud that hung onto much of Europe. Witches and witchcraft go hand in hand and both spawn the image of an old grotesque …show more content…
Across the 17th and 18th centuries, it is known more than 3800 suspected witches were strangled, burned, drowned or hanged at the stake . Similar to majority of European countries, 85% of the accused witches were women while only 15% were men. Authorities extracted fake confessions out of the accused by using various unscrupulous physical and mental torture methods The most common form was sleep deprivation; which proved to be a very effective way of obtaining confessions, because it resulted in vivid hallucinations. Before 1662 this was rarely even regarded officially as torture at all. It was usually done by local authorities in order to get the evidence that they needed before they went to the Privy Council to obtain a commission to hold a criminal trial Scotland partook in multiple witch hunts through the years. Those convicted were almost always hung at the stake and their bodies burned, though a very small number are known to have been burned alive . James IV, King of Scotland whom reigned from 1566 to 1625, was particularly involved in deciding the fate of witches in Scotland. During the North Berwick trials that occurred in 1590, James directly presided over the trials. James became personally involved in this particular trial because he believed the Francis Stuart, 5th earl of Bothwell, plotted with various witches to …show more content…
The dark 200 years in which the witchcraft panic ensued in are a dark spot in history. From the accusation of the innocent and the torture methods to the executions society is able to form a grasp of the basic understanding of life for the less fortunate during this time. The notion of witches and witchcraft was a rather cruel one plaguing the 16th and 17th centuries. Poor, old and abnormal looking women were the prime targets for those looking to accuse another of witch craft. Witchcraft contained no benefit to any nation and only created more problems for the countries in the end. The reformation of the church accounted for the largest part of the hysteria shrouding witches. Each country had its own quirks for dealing with witchcraft but all were harsh and death was a common end that was
Throughout the changing times of history, treatment of women has been shown in spiteful events. An example of this is how the witchcraft craze affected the many women of the 17th century. Witchcraft is the practice of magic, specifically black magic and the use of spells or the invocation of spirits as well as being commonly linked to devil-worship. Superstition was running rampant in the 17th century as it was all around and shrouded daily life. Witch trials occurred during the 200 years from the 16th and 17th centuries, some even a little before or after. These time periods shed light over the dark cloud that hung onto much of Europe. Witches and witchcraft go hand in hand and both spawn the image of an old grotesque …show more content…
Across the 17th and 18th centuries, it is known more than 3800 suspected witches were strangled, burned, drowned or hanged at the stake . Similar to majority of European countries, 85% of the accused witches were women while only 15% were men. Authorities extracted fake confessions out of the accused by using various unscrupulous physical and mental torture methods The most common form was sleep deprivation; which proved to be a very effective way of obtaining confessions, because it resulted in vivid hallucinations. Before 1662 this was rarely even regarded officially as torture at all. It was usually done by local authorities in order to get the evidence that they needed before they went to the Privy Council to obtain a commission to hold a criminal trial Scotland partook in multiple witch hunts through the years. Those convicted were almost always hung at the stake and their bodies burned, though a very small number are known to have been burned alive . James IV, King of Scotland whom reigned from 1566 to 1625, was particularly involved in deciding the fate of witches in Scotland. During the North Berwick trials that occurred in 1590, James directly presided over the trials. James became personally involved in this particular trial because he believed the Francis Stuart, 5th earl of Bothwell, plotted with various witches to …show more content…
The dark 200 years in which the witchcraft panic ensued in are a dark spot in history. From the accusation of the innocent and the torture methods to the executions society is able to form a grasp of the basic understanding of life for the less fortunate during this time. The notion of witches and witchcraft was a rather cruel one plaguing the 16th and 17th centuries. Poor, old and abnormal looking women were the prime targets for those looking to accuse another of witch craft. Witchcraft contained no benefit to any nation and only created more problems for the countries in the end. The reformation of the church accounted for the largest part of the hysteria shrouding witches. Each country had its own quirks for dealing with witchcraft but all were harsh and death was a common end that was