How far can the rise in witch trials in the late sixteenth and first half of the seventeenth century be explained by economic factors? There are many explanations for the rise of witch trials in the first half of the seventeenth century one of which can be explained by economic factors. ... Recent estimates have suggested that the total number of prosecutions for witchcraft during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was in the region of 111,000, about half of which took place within the Holy Roman Empire. ... There were many events that occurred in the late sixteenth and early sevente...

• Word Count: 1385
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Throughout all of Western Europe an extensive amount of witch hunts took place between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries. ... However towards the beginning of the eighteenth century witch hunts decreased dramatically. Reasons for the decline include a development in the intellectual mind of society, a stricter judicial system, changes in religion and the fact that quality of life increasingly improved compared to the life lived by those prior to the eighteenth century. ... (Thomas 1971, p. 684) Therefore with all these new theories challenging traditional views, by the eighteenth century...

• Word Count: 1972
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

(Woloch, 30) John Demos a New England witchcraft historian writes "a hidden theme of the lives of seventeenth-century women seems to reveal an intense hostility of younger women toward the power and control of older women. ... Why were women (and especially women over the age of 40) signaled out and punished disproportionately in seventeenth-century New England? ...

• Word Count: 1873
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

The concept of witchcraft has existed since the tenth century. "Between the tenth and sixteenth centuries, anyone blamed for cannibalism and blood-practices (feasting with demons on human bodies) were called witches."" ... This made proven innocence on a charge of witchcraft a rarity in 16th and 17th century England. ... (http://members.tripod.com/~helenduncan/witchtrials.htm) However, it would not be until later in the 16th century that King James I would influence the witchcraft scene. ... It wasn't until after King James' death, in the late seventeenth century, that witch-hu...

• Word Count: 1948
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

During the seventeenth century, Religion was a way of life. ... In fact, the legal concept of "innocent until proven guilty" was not formally established until the late 18th Century (Asirvatham, 2002). ...

• Word Count: 1258
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

Secondly, it will focus on the violence afflicted on women, to finally question the reliability of the trials: Over centuries, witches images endorsed many changes and strange transformations. During the 16 th and 17 th centuries, Europe moved from feudalism to capitalism. ... According to Dan Hord, during the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries, the Protestant Reformation led to period of insecurities and conflicts. ...

• Word Count: 1848
• Approx Pages: 7

Religion and the Witch Craze Religion has always played a key role in establishing the accepted views and beliefs of society. The church's enormous influence has caused many societal changes throughout history. Among them was the influence of the church during the fourteenth, fifteenth, sixte...

• Word Count: 1279
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography

During the years 1692 in Salem Village, Massachusetts a young girl fell sick. Her "fits" or convulsion, contortions and outbursts of gibberish baffled everyone in the small town. When doctors failed to find a proper diagnosis, and several other girls were afflicted with the same fits, their fits we...

• Word Count: 1927
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Do you ever wonder why the world is like this? Humans have always had the curiosity to know and explain the world around them. Before the scientific era, people would turn to their faith for answers. In the Bible it states that unfortunate events are caused by demons and the devil. The word "wit...

• Word Count: 1676
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School