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17th Century Witchcraft

Introduction

Witchcraft has primarily been seen as a symbol of evil and this led to mass execution of several

individuals who were perceived as witches in the 17th century. These executions can be traced

back to the medieval period and they were done based on the fear that people had about

witchcraft since the Roman Catholic Church took a mandate to campaign against witchcraft.

Since then witchcraft has been perceived as a threat to the church because the church arguably

believe that witchcraft promotes heresy which goes against religious beliefs. The campaign

against witches brought about a series of witch hunts in the 15th and 16th century although these

hunts started declining in mid-17th century. This paper will therefore focus on illustrating the

decline of witch trials as well as the punishments and procedures involved in witch trials in the

17th century.

The, lack of evidence in the cases against witches made it difficult to prove if witchcraft was a

true concept and therefore this resulted to decline in the legal processes that involved witchcraft

cases. By mid-17th century, much of Europe was already experiencing a decline in witch trials

although parts of America were still conducting such trials (Bever, 263). A number of Nordic

countries were however still practicing witch trials and these include Sweden where the Torsaker
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witch trials were being conducted and Austria where Salzburg trials were recorded, leading to

the death of 139 people. These witch trials in Salem for instance, were believed to be as a result

of witch-phobia which were being practiced in the New World following the decline of

witchcraft in Europe. In the late 17th century, Winifred King Benham alongside her daughter got

tried thrice for witchcraft and despite them being found innocent, they were forced to vacate

Wallingford, Connecticut and relocate to Staten Island, New York (Georgescu, 111). The witch

trials also led to some individuals such as Grace Sherwood to be imprisoned on the allegations

that she was a witch in Virginia.

In the 17th century, witchcraft trials involved the use of torture which was employed as a means

of scaring away new individuals in areas such as Kasina Wielka. As a result of the declining

witch trials in the 17th century, the British enacted Witcraft Act of 1735. The decline in witch

trials can also be attributed to stronger government organization and increased fiscal capacity in

countries such as France (Georgescu, 112). The previous rise in witch trials was as a result of

weak legal systems which made it easier for magistrates to depart from the legal statuses and

convict witches. During the witch trials the witches were not given the chance to defend

themselves in court because their presence was not required at the scene they were accused at

(Bever, 265). Testimonies from witnesses were not required either because people were made to

believe that it was virtually impossible to witness forces of witchcraft since they were invisible.

The witchcraft trials involved the use of different torture acts which were meant to coerce the

witches who were accused to confess and also provide the names of the fellow conspirators. It is

believed that the witches who were being persecuted were involved in devil worshipping since

people did not quite understand witchcraft in the 17th century. The torture of witches increased
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following the decree by the Pope which ensured that any legal limits towards how much force

can be applied in the torture process was removed thereby leading to increased prosecution of

witches. Individuals who were accused of witchcraft were deprived of sleep for about three to

four days and this technique was majorly used in the prosecution of witches in England

(Georgescu, 115). The torture process also involved sexual humiliation where the accused

witches were forced to sit on red-hot stools so as to prevent them from committing any sexual

acts with the devil. Most of the witches had however mastered the art of endurance and therefore

most of them would occasionally be released without having to make a confession. These torture

techniques were used as a way of instilling fear within the sect of the witches who were accused

of witchcraft since the few individuals who were being tortured were more likely to give up their

fellow cohorts (Levack, 45).

Statistical evidence presented by scholars indicate that annually, approximately 40,000 to 60,000

witches are executed although these records do not include lynched witches who went

unrecorded. These scholars further indicate that most individuals accused of witchcraft were

forced to put up with the unsanitary conditions while they were imprisoned and as a result most

of them died in the process (Bever, 267). The witch fever in the mid-17th century between 1645-

1646 is a period where 68 people accused of witchcraft were executed by Mathew Hopkins in

Bury St. Edmunds and 19 people were hung on the same day in Chelmsford. Hopkins was tasked

with the role of travelling around England and casting witches out of villages. Moreover, since

the townsmen associated witches with devils, they funded the works of Hopkins who used a

needle and poking wart on women to see if they felt pain as a way of distinguishing witches.
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Supposing a woman did not feel any pain it was proof enough that the woman was a witch and

she had to be executed (Levack, 46).

The manner in which witch trials were conducted differed in different regions since the trials

were conducted sporadically in different regions whereas other regions were barely affected. The

witch-phobia in Italy and Spain were less advanced as compared to France and the Roman

Empire since France and Roman Empire were majorly catholic practitioners. There were notable

differences between the witch trials and witch hunting in England and the Continental because in

England, torture was a less preferred method during hunting (Levack, 47). Torture in England

was only used upon the Monarch’s approval, however throughout the entire English history, not

more than 81 tortures orders were issued. England’s death toll despite the use of restraint was

still more than that of Scotland. This is because, the self-proclaimed witch hunter tasked himself

with the role of finding and executing witches.

The witchcraft accusations in Italy as compared to England were much less despite the country

being predominantly catholic. The establishment of the Roman Catholic Inquisition actually led

to protection of witches because it ensured that secular courts were restrained from using torture

during witch trials and from executing witches. The Roman Catholic issued a methodological

instructio whose main role was ensuring that careless executions as well as hasty convictions

were abolished (Georgescu, 117). There was a series of witch-tests which were also issued as a

way of determining witches and this included swimming tests where women would be tossed

into the river while tied and in the event that the woman sank, she was innocent and was guilty if

she floated. Majority of women floated and were charged guilty of practicing witchcraft which

made them to be burnt (Levack, 48).

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The witch hunt and witch trials which began in Europe continued into New World, that is

America evident through the Salem Witch Trials that were being conducted Massachusetts in

1692 as a result of King James’ fear of witches. The witches in the America were no longer

myths but instead they were real representations of the devil. This is because the witches brought

about bad weather, spoilt crops and inflicted diseases on people (Levack, 49). Witch hunting

carried on through to the 18th century although a number of Acts against witchcraft were repealed

in 1736.

Conclusion

In conclusion, witchcraft instilled a lot of fear within the society, although it helped in retaining

normalcy in life. Members of the society in the 17th century however accused people of

witchcraft falsely or based on false allegations and this led to the death of several individuals

during this period. Moreover, other individuals pretended to had been bewitched as a way of

making money since witches had to pay up for the damages on the bewitched individuals.

Witchcraft trials were also a way through which disputes were settled and grievances were aired

since its was the only way people could unite or divide in support of each other. The treatment

that was given to individuals accused of witchcraft in the 17th century was however against their

rights since it was purposefully meant to humiliate these witches. The era of enlightenment

however saw the anti-witch trials campaign become successful thereby protecting the witches

from prosecution and public humiliation.

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Work Cited

Bever, Edward. "Witchcraft prosecutions and the decline of magic." Journal of Interdisciplinary

History 40.2 (2019): 263-293.

Georgescu, Sedona. "Fear Thy Neighbor: Spatial Relations in 17th Century New England Witch-

Hunt Trials." (2017).

Levack, Brian P. The witch-hunt in early modern Europe. Routledge, 2015.