Witchcraft
- Created by: Jenan
- Created on: 12-06-11 21:01
Fullscreen
Key Dates in the history of witchcraft:
- 1542 - The first law was passed saying that witchcraft was a crime
- 1590 - The future King James I wrote an important book on witchcraft
- 1645 - The year when Matthew Hopkins, witch-finder, accused record numbers of people of Witchcraft in Essex
- 1717 - The last trial for Witchcraft
- 1736 - The last law saying that witchcraft was a crime repealed
Matthew Hopkins - Witch-finder general
- Was about 25 years old in 1645
- Witch-finder general
- Failed to make a success of being a lawyer
- Hopkins had began scouring in East Anglia for witches
- He tortured his suspects
- Torture was illegal and was not used in other enquiries into witchcraft
- He forced his suspects to stand up & forced them to walk until their feet were blistered
- He made sure they got no sleep - a very effective way of weakening their resistance
- He humiliated the suspects by ********* them naked
- Methods of torture were effective with old people
- Many suspects confessed
- If a mouse, fly or spider entered a cell of where the suspects were, Hopkins claimed it was the witch's familiar.
- His Helpers found 'witches marks' on suspects body:
- Spots
- Scar
- Boil
- Witches were:
- Hanged
- Died of bad gaol conditions
- Held in prisons and their fate was unknown
- A small minority managed to acquit and were released - provided evidence against her fellow suspects
- Witch-finders were paid for every witch…
Comments
Report
Report
Report