Europe and the European-controlled world have been in crisis. Wars, disease, climate changes, and shifts in religious and political power threw the European world into turmoil.

People were looking for a scapegoat, and for many it was a time of magical thinking. So, maybe witches were responsible for all the problems? It was a popular idea, but, alas, the witches weren’t responsible:

Key Insights:

• 👩‍⚖️ The Role of Gender: Approximately 80% of those accused of witchcraft were women, often marginalized and vulnerable members of society.
  
• ⚖️ The Witches’ Hammer: Heinrich Kramer’s influential text incited a wave of witch hunts, advocating for the persecution of supposed witches, especially women.
  
• 🔍 Torture and Confessions: Many accused witches were tortured into confessing, illustrating the brutal methods employed during witch trials.
  
• ⚡ Societal Fear and Control: The witch hunts reflect broader historical themes of societal control, particularly over women, during times of turmoil.

Sources:

Godbeer, Richard, ed. The Salem Witch Hunt: A Brief History with Documents. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2018.

Kupperman, Karen. Indians and English: Facing Off in Early America. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2000. Plus additional personal communications.

Parker, Geoffrey. Global Crisis: War, Climate Change, and Catastrophe in the Seventeenth Century. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013.

Roper, Lyndall. Oedipus and the Devil: Witchcraft, Sexuality and Religion in Early Modern Europe. London: Routledge, 1994.

Roper, Lyndal. The Witch in the Western Imagination, Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2012.