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[[File:Burning-14.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Preparing to burn a witch ([[Jan Luyken]])]]
[[File:Burning-14.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Preparing to burn a witch ([[Jan Luyken]])]]


A '''witch hunt''' is a search for [[witch]]es or evidence of [[witchcraft]], often involving [[moral panic]], [[mass hysteria]] and [[lynching]], but in historical instances also legally sanctioned and involving official '''witchcraft trials'''.
A '''witch hunt''' is a search for [[witch]]es or evidence of [[witchcraft]], often involving [[moral panic]], [[mass hysteria]] and [[lynching]], but in many instances also legally sanctioned and involving official '''witchcraft trials'''.


⚫
The [[pejorative]] term "witch-hunt" is often used by analogy to refer to panic-induced searches for perceived wrong-doers other than witches. The best known example is probably the [[McCarthyist]] search for communists during the [[Cold War]],<ref name="JensenPath">{{Cite book|first=Gary F. |last=Jensen |title=The Path of the Devil |pages=Ch. 8 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2007 |isbn=0742546977}}</ref><ref name="MurphyCongress">{{Cite book|last=Murphy |first=Brenda |title=Congressional Theatre |pages=Ch. 4 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1999 |isbn=0521891663}}</ref> which was discredited partly through being compared to the [[Salem witch trials]].<ref name="JensenPath"/>

⚫
==History==
The [[Witch trials in the Early Modern period|classical period of witchhunts in Europe and North America]] falls into the [[Early Modern period]] or about 1480 to 1700, spanning the upheavals of the [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]] and the [[Thirty Years' War]], resulting in an estimated 40,000 to 100,000 executions.<ref name="ReferenceA">[[Brian Levack]] (''The Witch Hunt in Early Modern Europe'') multiplied the number of known European witch trials by the average rate of conviction and execution, to arrive at a figure of around 60,000 deaths. [[Anne Lewellyn Barstow]] (''Witchcraze'') adjusted Levack's estimate to account for lost records, estimating 100,000 deaths. Ronald Hutton (''Triumph of the Moon'') argues that Levack's estimate had already been adjusted for these, and revises the figure to approximately 40,000.</ref>
The [[Witch trials in the Early Modern period|classical period of witchhunts in Europe and North America]] falls into the [[Early Modern period]] or about 1480 to 1700, spanning the upheavals of the [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]] and the [[Thirty Years' War]], resulting in an estimated 40,000 to 100,000 executions.<ref name="ReferenceA">[[Brian Levack]] (''The Witch Hunt in Early Modern Europe'') multiplied the number of known European witch trials by the average rate of conviction and execution, to arrive at a figure of around 60,000 deaths. [[Anne Lewellyn Barstow]] (''Witchcraze'') adjusted Levack's estimate to account for lost records, estimating 100,000 deaths. Ronald Hutton (''Triumph of the Moon'') argues that Levack's estimate had already been adjusted for these, and revises the figure to approximately 40,000.</ref>


The last executions of people convicted as witches in Europe took place in the 18th century. In the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]], witchcraft ceased to be an act punishable by law with the [[Witchcraft Act of 1735]]. In [[18th century history of Germany|Germany]], sorcery remained punishable by law into the late 18th century.
The last executions of people convicted as witches in Europe took place in the 18th century. In the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]], witchcraft ceased to be an act punishable by law with the [[Witchcraft Act of 1735]]. In [[18th century history of Germany|Germany]], sorcery remained punishable by law into the late 18th century.


Contemporary witch-hunts are reported from [[Sub-Saharan Africa]], [[India]] and [[Papua New Guinea]]. Official legislation against witchcraft is still found in [[Saudi Arabia]] and [[Cameroon]].

⚫
The term "witch-hunt" is often used by analogy to refer to panic-induced searches for perceived wrong-doers other than witches. The best known example is probably the [[McCarthyist]] search for communists during the [[Cold War]],<ref name="JensenPath">{{cite book |first=Gary F. |last=Jensen |title=The Path of the Devil |pages=Ch. 8 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2007 |isbn=0742546977}}</ref><ref name="MurphyCongress">{{cite book |last=Murphy |first=Brenda |title=Congressional Theatre |pages=Ch. 4 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1999 |isbn=0521891663}}</ref> which was discredited partly through being compared to the [[Salem witch trials]].<ref name="JensenPath"/>

⚫
==History==
===Antiquity===
===Antiquity===
Punishment for [[sorcery]] and [[witchcraft]] is addressed in the earliest [[law code]]s preserved; both in ancient [[Egypt]] and in [[Babylonia]] it played a conspicuous part (although in the example below it appears that only unjustified spells are to be punished). The [[Code of Hammurabi]] (18th century [[BCE]] [[short chronology]]) prescribes that
Punishment for [[sorcery]] and [[witchcraft]] is addressed in the earliest [[law code]]s preserved; both in ancient [[Egypt]] and in [[Babylonia]] it played a conspicuous part (although in the example below it appears that only unjustified spells are to be punished). The [[Code of Hammurabi]] (18th century [[BCE]] [[short chronology]]) prescribes that
:''If a man has put a spell upon another man and it is not justified, he upon whom the spell is laid shall go to the holy river; into the holy river shall he plunge. If the holy river overcome him and he is drowned, the man who put the spell upon him shall take possession of his house. If the holy river declares him innocent and he remains unharmed the man who laid the spell shall be put to death. He that plunged into the river shall take possession of the house of him who laid the spell upon him.''<ref>''International Standard Bible Encyclopedia'' [http://www.bible-history.com/isbe/enwiki/w/WITCH%3B+WITCHCRAFT/ article on Witchcraft], last accessed 31 March 2006. There is some discrepancy between translations; compare with that given in the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15674a.htm article on Witchcraft] (accessed 31 March 2006), and the [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/medieval/hamframe.htm L. W. King translation] (accessed 31 March 2006)</ref>
:''If a man has put a spell upon another man and it is not justified, he upon whom the spell is laid shall go to the holy river; into the holy river shall he plunge. If the holy river overcome him and he is drowned, the man who put the spell upon him shall take possession of his house. If the holy river declares him innocent and he remains unharmed the man who laid the spell shall be put to death. He that plunged into the river shall take possession of the house of him who laid the spell upon him.''<ref>''International Standard Bible Encyclopedia'' [http://www.bible-history.com/isbe/enwiki/w/WITCH%3B+WITCHCRAFT/ article on Witchcraft], last accessed 31 March 2006. There is some discrepancy between translations; compare with that given in the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15674a.htm article on Witchcraft] (accessed 31 March 2006), and the [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/medieval/hamframe.htm L. W. King translation] (accessed 31 March 2006)</ref>


The pre-Christian [[Twelve Tables#TABVLA VIII (Torts)|Twelve Tables]] of [[Religion in ancient Rome|pagan]] [[Roman law]] has provisions against evil incantations and spells intended to damage cereal crops. [[Strabo]], [[Gaius Maecenas]] and [[Cassius Dio]] all reiterate the traditional Roman opposition against sorcery and divination, and [[Tacitus]] uses the term ''religio-superstitio'' to class these outlawed observances. The emperor [[Augustus]] strengthened legislation aimed at curbing these practices.<ref name = Garnsey>{{cite book |author=Garnsey, Peter; Saller, Richard P. |title=The Roman Empire: Economy, Society, and Culture |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley and Los Angeles, California |year=1987 |pages=168-174 |isbn=0-520-06067-9 }}</ref>
The pre-Christian [[Twelve Tables#TABVLA VIII (Torts)|Twelve Tables]] of [[Religion in ancient Rome|pagan]] [[Roman law]] has provisions against evil incantations and spells intended to damage cereal crops. [[Strabo]], [[Gaius Maecenas]] and [[Cassius Dio]] all reiterate the traditional Roman opposition against sorcery and divination, and [[Tacitus]] uses the term ''religio-superstitio'' to class these outlawed observances. The emperor [[Augustus]] strengthened legislation aimed at curbing these practices.<ref name = Garnsey>{{Cite book|author=Garnsey, Peter; Saller, Richard P. |title=The Roman Empire: Economy, Society, and Culture |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley and Los Angeles, California |year=1987 |pages=168–174 |isbn=0-520-06067-9 }}</ref>


The [[Hebrew Bible]] condemns sorcery. [[Deuteronomy]] 18:10-12 states "No one shall be found among you who makes a son or daughter pass through fire, who practices divination, or is a soothsayer, or an augur, or a sorcerer, or one that casts spells, or who consults ghosts or spirits, or who seeks oracles from the dead. For whoever does these things is abhorrent to the Lord;" and [[Book of Exodus|Exodus]] 22:18 prescribes "thou shalt not suffer a witch to live"<ref>"witch" here translates the Hebrew {{lang|he|מכשפה}}, and is rendered {{lang|grc|φαρμακός}} in the [[Septuagint]].</ref>; tales like that of [[1 Samuel|1&nbsp;Samuel]] 28, reporting how [[Saul]] "hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land"<ref>"those that have familiar spirits": Hebrew {{lang|he|אוב}}, or {{lang|grc|ἐγγαστρίμυθος}} "ventriloquist, soothsayer" in the Septuagint; "wizards": Hebrew {{lang|he|ידעני}} or {{lang|grc|γνώστης}} "diviner" in the Septuagint.</ref> suggest that in practice sorcery could at least lead to exile.
The [[Hebrew Bible]] condemns sorcery. [[Deuteronomy]] 18:10-12 states "No one shall be found among you who makes a son or daughter pass through fire, who practices divination, or is a soothsayer, or an augur, or a sorcerer, or one that casts spells, or who consults ghosts or spirits, or who seeks oracles from the dead. For whoever does these things is abhorrent to the Lord;" and [[Book of Exodus|Exodus]] 22:18 prescribes "thou shalt not suffer a witch to live";<ref>"witch" here translates the Hebrew {{lang|he|מכשפה}}, and is rendered {{lang|grc|φαρμακός}} in the [[Septuagint]].</ref> tales like that of [[1 Samuel|1&nbsp;Samuel]] 28, reporting how [[Saul]] "hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land"<ref>"those that have familiar spirits": Hebrew {{lang|he|אוב}}, or {{lang|grc|ἐγγαστρίμυθος}} "ventriloquist, soothsayer" in the Septuagint; "wizards": Hebrew {{lang|he|ידעני}} or {{lang|grc|γνώστης}} "diviner" in the Septuagint.</ref> suggest that in practice sorcery could at least lead to exile.


In later Jewish history, Rabbi [[Simeon ben Shetach]] - [[Pharisee]] scholar and [[Nasi]] of the [[Sanhedrin]] in the 1st century [[BCE]] - is reported to have sentenced to death 80 women, who had been charged with witchcraft, on a single day in [[Ashkelon]]. Later the women's relatives took revenge by bringing (reportedly) false witnesses against Simeon's son and causing him to be executed in turn.{{Citation needed|date=July 2008}}
In later Jewish history, Rabbi [[Simeon ben Shetach]] - [[Pharisee]] scholar and [[Nasi]] of the [[Sanhedrin]] in the 1st century [[BCE]] - is reported to have sentenced to death 80 women, who had been charged with witchcraft, on a single day in [[Ashkelon]]. Later the women's relatives took revenge by bringing (reportedly) false witnesses against Simeon's son and causing him to be executed in turn.{{Citation needed|date=July 2008}}


The 6th century [[CE]] ''[[Getica]]'' of [[Jordanes]] records a persecution and expulsion of witches among the [[Goths]] in a mythical account of the origin of the [[Huns]]. The ancient fabled King [[Filimer]] is said to have
The 6th century [[CE]] ''[[Getica]]'' of [[Jordanes]] records a persecution and expulsion of witches among the [[Goths]] in a mythical account of the origin of the [[Huns]]. The ancient fabled King [[Filimer]] is said to have
:"found among his people certain witches, whom he called in his native tongue ''Haliurunnae''. Suspecting these women, he expelled them from the midst of his race and compelled them to wander in solitary exile afar from his army. There the unclean spirits, who beheld them as they wandered through the wilderness, bestowed their embraces upon them and begat this savage race, which dwelt at first in the swamps, a stunted, foul and puny tribe, scarcely human, and having no language save one which bore but slight resemblance to human speech."<ref name="JordanesOrigins">{{cite book |last=Jordanes |authorlink=Jordanes |title=The Origin and Deeds of the Goths |coauthors=[[Charles C. Mierow]] (transl.) |pages=§ 24}}</ref>
:"found among his people certain witches, whom he called in his native tongue ''Haliurunnae''. Suspecting these women, he expelled them from the midst of his race and compelled them to wander in solitary exile afar from his army. There the unclean spirits, who beheld them as they wandered through the wilderness, bestowed their embraces upon them and begat this savage race, which dwelt at first in the swamps, a stunted, foul and puny tribe, scarcely human, and having no language save one which bore but slight resemblance to human speech."<ref name="JordanesOrigins">{{Cite book|last=Jordanes |authorlink=Jordanes |title=The Origin and Deeds of the Goths |coauthors=[[Charles C. Mierow]] (transl.) |pages=§ 24}}</ref>


===Middle Ages===
===Middle Ages===
The [[Council of Paderborn]] in 785 explicitly outlawed the very belief in witches, and [[Charlemagne]] later confirmed the law. The [[Council of Frankfurt]] in 794, called by Charlemagne, was also very explicit in condemning "the persecution of alleged witches and wizards", calling the belief in witchcraft "superstitious", and ordering the death penalty for those who presume to burn witches.<ref>[http://medspains.stanford.edu/demo/themes/adoptionism/frankfurt.html]</ref>
The [[Council of Paderborn]] in 785 explicitly outlawed the very belief in witches, and [[Charlemagne]] later confirmed the law. The [[Council of Frankfurt]] in 794, called by Charlemagne, was also very explicit in condemning "the persecution of alleged witches and wizards", calling the belief in witchcraft "superstitious", and ordering the death penalty for those who presume to burn witches.<ref>[http://medspains.stanford.edu/demo/themes/adoptionism/frankfurt.html]</ref>


There were also secular laws against witchcraft, such as that promulgated by King [[Athelstan]] (924-999)
There were also secular laws against witchcraft, such as that promulgated by King [[Athelstan]] (924-999)
:''And we have ordained respecting witch-crafts, and ''lybacs'' ''[read ''lyblac'' "sorcery"]'', and ''morthdaeds ["murder, mortal sin"]'': if any one should be thereby killed, and he could not deny it, that he be liable in his life. But if he will deny it, and at threefold ordeal shall be guilty; that he be 120 days in prison: and after that let kindred take him out, and give to the king 120 shillings, and pay the [[weregild|wer]] to his kindred, and enter into borh for him, that he evermore desist from the like.''<ref>[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/560-975dooms.html Medieval Sourcebook: The Anglo-Saxon Dooms, 560-975<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
:''And we have ordained respecting witch-crafts, and ''lybacs'' ''[read ''lyblac'' "sorcery"]'', and ''morthdaeds ["murder, mortal sin"]'': if any one should be thereby killed, and he could not deny it, that he be liable in his life. But if he will deny it, and at threefold ordeal shall be guilty; that he be 120 days in prison: and after that let kindred take him out, and give to the king 120 shillings, and pay the [[weregild|wer]] to his kindred, and enter into borh for him, that he evermore desist from the like.''<ref>[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/560-975dooms.html Medieval Sourcebook: The Anglo-Saxon Dooms, 560-975<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>


Witch-hunts sponsored by the Roman Catholic [[Inquisition]] begin only in the [[Late Middle Ages]].
Witch-hunts sponsored by the Roman Catholic [[Inquisition]] begin only in the [[Late Middle Ages]].
Although it has been proposed that the witch-hunt developed in Europe from the early 14th century, after the [[Cathar]]s and the [[Templar Knights]] were exterminated, and the Inquisition had to turn to persecution of witches to remain active, this hypothesis has been rejected independently by two historians (Cohn 1975; Kieckhefer 1976).
Although it has been proposed that the witch-hunt developed in Europe from the early 14th century, after the [[Cathar]]s and the [[Templar Knights]] were exterminated, and the Inquisition had to turn to persecution of witches to remain active, this hypothesis has been rejected independently by two historians (Cohn 1975; Kieckhefer 1976).
They showed that the Inquisition witch hunts originated amongst common people in [[Old Swiss Confederacy|Switzerland]] and in [[Kingdom of Croatia (medieval)|Croatia]], who pressed the [[civil courts]] to support them.
They showed that the Inquisition witch hunts originated amongst common people in [[Old Swiss Confederacy|Switzerland]] and in [[Kingdom of Croatia (medieval)|Croatia]], who pressed the [[civil courts]] to support them.
Pope John XXII had authorized the Inquisition to prosecute sorcerors in 1320,<ref>[[Jeffrey Burton Russell]], A History of Medieval Christianity (173).</ref> but inquisitorial courts became systematically involved in witch-hunts only in the 15th century. In the case of the [[Madonna Oriente]], the Inquisition of [[Milan]] was not sure what to do with two women who in 1384 and in 1390 confessed to have participated in a type of [[white magic]].
Pope John XXII had authorized the Inquisition to prosecute sorcerors in 1320,<ref>[[Jeffrey Burton Russell]], A History of Medieval Christianity (173).</ref> but inquisitorial courts became systematically involved in witch-hunts only in the 15th century. In the case of the [[Madonna Oriente]], the Inquisition of [[Milan]] was not sure what to do with two women who in 1384 and in 1390 confessed to have participated in a type of [[white magic]].
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As a result, the notorious ''[[Malleus Maleficarum]]'' was published in 1487, at the very end of the medieval period, ushering in the period of [[witch hunts in Early Modern Europe]] which would last for the following two centuries.
As a result, the notorious ''[[Malleus Maleficarum]]'' was published in 1487, at the very end of the medieval period, ushering in the period of [[witch hunts in Early Modern Europe]] which would last for the following two centuries.


=== Early Modern Europe ===
===Early Modern Europe===
{{Main|Witch trials in Early Modern Europe}}
{{Main|Witch trials in Early Modern Europe}}
[[File:Wickiana5.jpg|thumb|220px|Burning of three witches in [[Baden, Switzerland|Baden]], Switzerland (1585), by [[Johann Jakob Wick]].]]
[[File:Wickiana5.jpg|thumb|220px|Burning of three witches in [[Baden, Switzerland|Baden]], Switzerland (1585), by [[Johann Jakob Wick]].]]


The witch trials in [[Early Modern Europe]] came in waves and then subsided. There were trials in the 15th and early 16th centuries, but then the witch scare went into decline, before becoming a big issue again and peaking in the 17th century. Some scholars argue that a fear of witchcraft started among intellectuals who believed in ''maleficium'': that is, harm committed by magic. What had previously been a belief that some people possessed supernatural abilities (which were sometimes used to protect the people) now became a sign of a pact between the people with supernatural abilities and the devil. To justify the killings, Christianity and its proxy secular institutions deemed witchcraft as being associated to wild [[Satanism|Satanic]] ritual parties in which there was much naked dancing, [[orgy|orgy sex]], and [[cannibalistic infanticide]].<ref>The Dark Side of Christian History by Helen Ellerbe.</ref> It was also seen as [[heresy]] for going against the first of the [[ten commandments]] (You shall have no other gods before me) or as [[Lèse majesté|violating majesty]], in this case referring to the divine majesty, not the worldly<ref>Meewis, Wim (1992) De Vierschaar, Uitgevering Pelckmans, pag 115</ref>
The witch trials in [[Early Modern Europe]] came in waves and then subsided. There were trials in the 15th and early 16th centuries, but then the witch scare went into decline, before becoming a big issue again and peaking in the 17th century. Some scholars argue that a fear of witchcraft started among intellectuals who believed in ''maleficium'': that is, harm committed by magic. What had previously been a belief that some people possessed supernatural abilities (which were sometimes used to protect the people) now became a sign of a pact between the people with supernatural abilities and the devil. To justify the killings, Christianity and its proxy secular institutions deemed witchcraft as being associated to wild [[Satanism|Satanic]] ritual parties in which there was much naked dancing, [[orgy|orgy sex]], and [[cannibalistic infanticide]].<ref>The Dark Side of Christian History by Helen Ellerbe.</ref> It was also seen as [[heresy]] for going against the first of the [[ten commandments]] (You shall have no other gods before me) or as [[Lèse majesté|violating majesty]], in this case referring to the divine majesty, not the worldly<ref>Meewis, Wim (1992) De Vierschaar, Uitgevering Pelckmans, pag 115</ref>


Witch-hunts were seen across early modern Europe, but the most significant area of witch-hunting in modern Europe is often considered to be central and southern Germany.<ref>H. C. Erik Midelfort, “[http://www.historytoday.com/MainArticle.aspx?m=12341&amid=12341| Heartland of the Witchcraze: Central and Northern Europe,”] ''History Today'' 31 (February 1981): 27-31.</ref> Germany was a late starter in terms of the numbers of trials, compared to other regions of Europe. Witch-hunts first appeared in large numbers in southern France and Switzerland during the 14th and 15th centuries. The peak years of witch-hunts in southwest Germany were from 1561 to 1670.<ref>H.C. [[Erik Midelfort]], Witch Hunting in Southwestern Germany 1562-1684,1972,71</ref> The [[Wiesensteig witch trial|first major persecution]] in Europe, when witches were caught, tried, convicted, and burned in the imperial lordship of Wiesensteig in southwestern Germany, is recorded in 1563 in a pamphlet called "True and Horrifying Deeds of 63 Witches".<ref>Wolfgang Behringer, Witches and Witch-Hunts,2004,83</ref>
Witch-hunts were seen across early modern Europe, but the most significant area of witch-hunting in modern Europe is often considered to be central and southern Germany.<ref>H. C. Erik Midelfort, “[http://www.historytoday.com/MainArticle.aspx?m=12341&amid=12341 Heartland of the Witchcraze: Central and Northern Europe,”] ''History Today'' 31 (February 1981): 27-31.</ref> Germany was a late starter in terms of the numbers of trials, compared to other regions of Europe. Witch-hunts first appeared in large numbers in southern France and Switzerland during the 14th and 15th centuries. The peak years of witch-hunts in southwest Germany were from 1561 to 1670.<ref>H.C. [[Erik Midelfort]], Witch Hunting in Southwestern Germany 1562-1684,1972,71</ref> The [[Wiesensteig witch trial|first major persecution]] in Europe, when witches were caught, tried, convicted, and burned in the imperial lordship of Wiesensteig in southwestern Germany, is recorded in 1563 in a pamphlet called "True and Horrifying Deeds of 63 Witches".<ref>Wolfgang Behringer, Witches and Witch-Hunts,2004,83</ref>

In [[Denmark]], the burning of witches increased following the [[Protestant Reformation|reformation]] of 1536. [[Christian IV of Denmark]], in particular, encouraged this practice, and hundreds of people were convicted of [[witchcraft]] and burnt. In the [[North Berwick witch trials]] in [[Scotland]], over 70 people were accused of witchcraft on account of bad weather when [[James I of England|James VI of Scotland]], who shared the Danish king's interest in witch trials, sailed to Denmark in 1590 to meet his betrothed [[Anne of Denmark]].
In [[Denmark]], the burning of witches increased following the [[Protestant Reformation|reformation]] of 1536. [[Christian IV of Denmark]], in particular, encouraged this practice, and hundreds of people were convicted of [[witchcraft]] and burnt. In the [[North Berwick witch trials]] in [[Scotland]], over 70 people were accused of witchcraft on account of bad weather when [[James I of England|James VI of Scotland]], who shared the Danish king's interest in witch trials, sailed to Denmark in 1590 to meet his betrothed [[Anne of Denmark]].


Witch hysteria also erupted in the [[Americas]]. About eighty people throughout England's [[Province of Massachusetts Bay|Massachusetts Colony]] were accused of practicing witchcraft, thirteen women and two men were executed in a witch-hunt that lasted throughout [[New England]] from 1648-1663. <ref name=Fraden> Fraden, Judith Bloom, Dennis Brindell Fraden. ''The Salem Witch Trials''. Marshall Cavendish. 2008. Pg. 15 </ref>. The [[Salem witch trials]] followed in 1692-93.
Witch hysteria also erupted in the [[Americas]]. About eighty people throughout England's [[Province of Massachusetts Bay|Massachusetts Colony]] were accused of practicing witchcraft, thirteen women and two men were executed in a witch-hunt that lasted throughout [[New England]] from 1648-1663.<ref name=Fraden>Fraden, Judith Bloom, Dennis Brindell Fraden. ''The Salem Witch Trials''. Marshall Cavendish. 2008. Pg. 15</ref> The [[Salem witch trials]] followed in 1692-93.


Current scholarly estimates of the number of people executed for witchcraft vary between about 40,000 and 100,000.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> The total number of witch trials in Europe which are known for certain to have ended in executions is around 12,000.<ref>
Current scholarly estimates of the number of people executed for witchcraft vary between about 40,000 and 100,000.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> The total number of witch trials in Europe which are known for certain to have ended in executions is around 12,000.<ref>
{{cite web |title = Estimates of executions |url=http://www.summerlands.com/crossroads/remembrance/current.htm }} Based on [[Ronald Hutton]]'s essay ''Counting the Witch Hunt''.</ref>
{{Cite web|title = Estimates of executions |url=http://www.summerlands.com/crossroads/remembrance/current.htm }} Based on [[Ronald Hutton]]'s essay ''Counting the Witch Hunt''.</ref>


Contemporary critics of witch hunts included [[Friedrich von Spee]], Gianfrancesco Ponzinibio, [[Cornelius Loos]], [[Reginald Scot]], [[Anton Praetorius]], Johann Mayfurth and Alonzo Salazar de Frias.
Contemporary critics of witch hunts included [[Friedrich von Spee]], Gianfrancesco Ponzinibio, [[Cornelius Loos]], [[Reginald Scot]], [[Anton Praetorius]], Johann Mayfurth and Alonzo Salazar de Frias.
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During the early 18th century, the practice subsided. The last executions for witchcraft in England had taken place in 1682, when Temperance Lloyd, Mary Trembles, and Susanna Edwards were executed at Exeter.<ref>[http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=uV_kQksWgCoC&pg=PA153&lpg=PA153&dq=execution+mary+hickes&source=web&ots=EIZqJ0t97X&sig=jXNlMrdfEw1iZ2AAzbLnRmurJt4&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPA153,M1] Montague Summers ''Geography of Witchcraft'', 1927, p.153. Summers discusses and dismisses the evidence that Mary Hicks and her daughter Elizabeth were hanged in 1716.</ref> [[Jane Wenham]] was among the last subjects of a typical witch trial in England in 1712, but was pardoned after her conviction and set free. [[Janet Horne]] was executed for witchcraft in Scotland in 1727. In 1711, [[Joseph Addison]] published an article in the highly respected ''[[The Spectator]]'' journal (No. 117) criticizing the irrationality and social injustice in treating elderly and feeble women (dubbed Moll White) as witches. The [[Witchcraft Act of 1735]] saw the end of witchcraft itself as a legal offence in Britain: those accused under the new Act were restricted to people who falsely pretended to be able to procure spirits, generally being the most dubious professional fortune tellers and mediums, and punishment was light. In [[Switzerland]] [[Anna Göldi]] was executed in 1782. [[Poland]] saw the burning of two women in 1793. [[Helena Curtens]] and Agnes Olmanns were the last women to be executed as witches in [[Germany]], in 1738 and [[Barbara Zdunk]] in Rößel ([[West Prussia]]) in 1811{{Clarify|date=September 2009}}.
During the early 18th century, the practice subsided. The last executions for witchcraft in England had taken place in 1682, when Temperance Lloyd, Mary Trembles, and Susanna Edwards were executed at Exeter.<ref>[http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=uV_kQksWgCoC&pg=PA153&lpg=PA153&dq=execution+mary+hickes&source=web&ots=EIZqJ0t97X&sig=jXNlMrdfEw1iZ2AAzbLnRmurJt4&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPA153,M1] Montague Summers ''Geography of Witchcraft'', 1927, p.153. Summers discusses and dismisses the evidence that Mary Hicks and her daughter Elizabeth were hanged in 1716.</ref> [[Jane Wenham]] was among the last subjects of a typical witch trial in England in 1712, but was pardoned after her conviction and set free. [[Janet Horne]] was executed for witchcraft in Scotland in 1727. In 1711, [[Joseph Addison]] published an article in the highly respected ''[[The Spectator]]'' journal (No. 117) criticizing the irrationality and social injustice in treating elderly and feeble women (dubbed Moll White) as witches. The [[Witchcraft Act of 1735]] saw the end of witchcraft itself as a legal offence in Britain: those accused under the new Act were restricted to people who falsely pretended to be able to procure spirits, generally being the most dubious professional fortune tellers and mediums, and punishment was light. In [[Switzerland]] [[Anna Göldi]] was executed in 1782. [[Poland]] saw the burning of two women in 1793. [[Helena Curtens]] and Agnes Olmanns were the last women to be executed as witches in [[Germany]], in 1738 and [[Barbara Zdunk]] in Rößel ([[West Prussia]]) in 1811{{Clarify|date=September 2009}}.


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==Modern witch-hunts==
Occasional prosecutions under the [[Witchcraft Act]] (an act designed to eradicate belief in Witches which prohibits ''claiming'' to be a witch, not actually being one) continued in 19th and 20th century Britain. A well-publicised recent case was that of the medium [[Helen Duncan]] in 1944.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/scottishhistory/modern/oddities_modern.shtml "Scotland's Last Witch"]</ref>
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Witch hunts still occur today, especially in societies where belief in [[magic (paranormal)|magic]] is prevalent, such as [[Sub-Saharan Africa]], [[India]], and [[Papua New Guinea]]. In most cases, these are instances of [[mob justice]], reported with some regularity from much of [[Sub-Saharan Africa]], from rural [[North India]] and from [[Papua New Guinea]]. In addition, there are some countries that have legislation against the practice of sorcery. Official legislation against witchcraft is still found in [[Saudi Arabia]] and [[Cameroon]]. The only country where witchcraft remains legally punishable by [[death penalty|death]] is [[Saudi Arabia]].
After revealing during a séance the sinking of a ship ([[HMS Barham]]} which the [[Royal Navy]] had not made public, she was arrested under the [[Vagrancy Act 1824]] and the accusations in court centered round defrauding the public. She spent nine months in prison. The last conviction under the Act was that of [[Jane Rebecca Yorke]]. The Act was repealed in 1951 and replaced with the [[Fraudulent Mediums Act 1951]]. This act prohibited a person from claiming to be a psychic, medium, or other spiritualist while attempting to deceive and to make money from the deception (other than solely for the purpose of entertainment).


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===Africa===
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== Modern witch-hunts ==
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In many [[Africa]]n societies the fear of witches drives periodic witch-hunts during which specialist witch-finders identify suspects, even today, with death by mob often the result.<ref>[http://www.law.duke.edu/shell/cite.pl?14+Duke+J.+Comp.+&+Int%27l+L.+351#H2N1 Mohammed A. Diwan: Conflict between state legal norms and norms underlying popular beliefs: witchcraft in africa as a case study; in: 14 Duke J. of Comp. & Int'l L. 351]</ref>
⚫
Witch hunts still occur today in societies where belief in [[magic (paranormal)|magic]] is predominant. In most cases, these are instances of [[mob justice]], reported with some regularity from much of [[Sub-Saharan Africa]], from rural [[North India]] and from [[Papua New Guinea]]. In addition, there are some countries that have legislation against the practice of sorcery. The only country where witchcraft remains legally punishable by [[death penalty|death]] is [[Saudi Arabia]].
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Witch-hunts against children were reported by the BBC in 1999 in the Congo<ref>{{Cite news|title=Congo witch-hunt's child victims |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/575178.stm |date=1999-12-22 |accessdate=2007-04-16 |work=BBC News}}</ref> and in [[Tanzania]], where the government responded to attacks on women accused of being witches for having red eyes.<ref name="tanzania-arrests-witch-killers">{{Cite news|title=Tanzania arrests 'witch killers' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3209047.stm |date=2003-10-23 |accessdate=2007-04-16 |work=BBC News |quote=It is believed that any aged, old woman with red eyes is a witch}}</ref> A lawsuit was launched in 2001 in Ghana, where witch-hunts are also common, by a woman accused of being a witch.<ref name="tanzania-arrests-witch-killers"/> Witch-hunts in Africa are often led by relatives seeking the property of the accused victim.

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=== Africa ===
⚫
In many [[Africa]]n societies the fear of witches drives periodic witch-hunts during which specialist witch-finders identify suspects, even today, with death by mob often the result.<ref>[http://www.law.duke.edu/shell/cite.pl?14+Duke+J.+Comp.+&+Int%27l+L.+351#H2N1 Mohammed A. Diwan: Conflict between state legal norms and norms underlying popular beliefs: witchcraft in africa as a case study; in: 14 Duke J. of Comp. & Int'l L. 351]</ref>
⚫
Witch-hunts against children were reported by the BBC in 1999 in the Congo<ref>{{cite news |title=Congo witch-hunt's child victims |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/575178.stm |date=1999-12-22 |accessdate=2007-04-16 |work=BBC News}}</ref> and in [[Tanzania]], where the government responded to attacks on women accused of being witches for having red eyes.<ref name="tanzania-arrests-witch-killers">{{cite news |title=Tanzania arrests 'witch killers' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3209047.stm |date=2003-10-23 |accessdate=2007-04-16 |work=BBC News |quote=It is believed that any aged, old woman with red eyes is a witch}}</ref> A lawsuit was launched in 2001 in Ghana, where witch-hunts are also common, by a woman accused of being a witch.<ref name="tanzania-arrests-witch-killers"/> Witch-hunts in Africa are often led by relatives seeking the property of the accused victim.


[[Audrey I. Richards]], in the journal ''Africa'', relates in 1935 an instance when a new wave of witchfinders, the ''Bamucapi'', appeared in the villages of the [[Bemba people]].<ref>''A Modern Movement of Witch Finders'' Audrey I Richards (Africa: Journal of the International Institute of African Languages and Cultures, Ed. Diedrich Westermann.) Vol VIII, 1935, published by Oxford University Press, London
[[Audrey I. Richards]], in the journal ''Africa'', relates in 1935 an instance when a new wave of witchfinders, the ''Bamucapi'', appeared in the villages of the [[Bemba people]].<ref>''A Modern Movement of Witch Finders'' Audrey I Richards (Africa: Journal of the International Institute of African Languages and Cultures, Ed. Diedrich Westermann.) Vol VIII, 1935, published by Oxford University Press, London
</ref> They dressed in European clothing, and would summon the headman to prepare a ritual meal for the village. When the villagers arrived they would view them all in a [[mirror]], and claimed they could identify witches with this method. These witches would then have to "yield up his horns"; i.e. give over the [[horn (anatomy)|horn]] containers for [[curse]]s and evil [[potion]]s to the witch-finders. The bamucapi then made all drink a potion called ''kucapa'' which would cause a witch to die and swell up if he ever tried such things again. The villagers related that the witch-finders were always right because the witches they found were always the people whom the village had feared all along. The bamucapi utilised a mixture of Christian and native religious traditions to account for their powers and said that God (not specifying which God) helped them to prepare their medicine. In addition, all witches who did not attend the meal to be identified would be called to account later on by their master, who had risen from the dead, and who would force the witches by means of drums to go to the graveyard, where they would die. Richards noted that the bamucapi created the sense of danger in the villages by rounding up ''all'' the horns in the village, whether they were used for anti-witchcraft charms, potions, snuff or were indeed receptacles of black magic.
</ref> They dressed in European clothing, and would summon the headman to prepare a ritual meal for the village. When the villagers arrived they would view them all in a [[mirror]], and claimed they could identify witches with this method. These witches would then have to "yield up his horns"; i.e. give over the [[horn (anatomy)|horn]] containers for [[curse]]s and evil [[potion]]s to the witch-finders. The bamucapi then made all drink a potion called ''kucapa'' which would cause a witch to die and swell up if he ever tried such things again. The villagers related that the witch-finders were always right because the witches they found were always the people whom the village had feared all along. The bamucapi utilised a mixture of Christian and native religious traditions to account for their powers and said that God (not specifying which God) helped them to prepare their medicine. In addition, all witches who did not attend the meal to be identified would be called to account later on by their master, who had risen from the dead, and who would force the witches by means of drums to go to the graveyard, where they would die. Richards noted that the bamucapi created the sense of danger in the villages by rounding up ''all'' the horns in the village, whether they were used for anti-witchcraft charms, potions, snuff or were indeed receptacles of black magic.


The Bemba people believed misfortunes such as [[warting]]s [[haunting]]s and [[famine]]s to be just actions sanctioned by the High-God Lesa. The only agency which caused unjust harm was a witch, who had enormous powers and was hard to detect. After white rule of Africa beliefs in sorcery and witchcraft grew, possibly because of the social strain caused by new ideas, customs and laws, and also because the courts no longer allowed witches to be tried.{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}}
The Bemba people believed misfortunes such as [[warting]]s [[haunting]]s and [[famine]]s to be just actions sanctioned by the High-God Lesa. The only agency which caused unjust harm was a witch, who had enormous powers and was hard to detect. After white rule of Africa beliefs in sorcery and witchcraft grew, possibly because of the social strain caused by new ideas, customs and laws, and also because the courts no longer allowed witches to be tried.{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}}
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Amongst the [[Bantu peoples|Bantu]] tribes of [[Southern Africa]], the [[witch smeller]]s were responsible for detecting witches. In parts of Southern Africa several hundred people have been killed in witch hunts since 1990.<ref>[http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/WITCH1.HTM Christian responses to witchcraft and sorcery]</ref>
Amongst the [[Bantu peoples|Bantu]] tribes of [[Southern Africa]], the [[witch smeller]]s were responsible for detecting witches. In parts of Southern Africa several hundred people have been killed in witch hunts since 1990.<ref>[http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/WITCH1.HTM Christian responses to witchcraft and sorcery]</ref>


Several African states,<ref>"Whereas witchcraft cases in the colonial era, especially in former British Central Africa, were based on the official dogma that witchcraft is an illusion (so that people invoking witchcraft would be punished as either impostors or slanderers), in contemporary legal practice in Africa witchcraft appears as a reality and as an actionable offence in its own right." Wim van Binsbergen, ''[http://www.shikanda.net/african_religion/witchtxt.htm Witchcraft in Modern Africa]'' (2002).</ref> including [[Cameroon]]<ref>section 251 of the Cameroonian penal code (26 Aug. 2004). Two other provisions of the penal code [translation] "state that witchcraft may be an aggravating factor for dishonest acts" (Afrik.com 26 Aug. 2004). A person convicted of witchcraft may face a prison term of 2 to 10 years and a fine. [http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/publisher,IRBC,,CMR,440ed6e819,0.html Cameroon: Witchcraft in Cameroon; tribes or geographical areas in which witchcraft is practised; the government's attitude], [[UNHCR]] (2004).</ref> have reestablished witchcraft-accusations in courts after their independence.
Several African states,<ref>"Whereas witchcraft cases in the colonial era, especially in former British Central Africa, were based on the official dogma that witchcraft is an illusion (so that people invoking witchcraft would be punished as either impostors or slanderers), in contemporary legal practice in Africa witchcraft appears as a reality and as an actionable offence in its own right." Wim van Binsbergen, ''[http://www.shikanda.net/african_religion/witchtxt.htm Witchcraft in Modern Africa]'' (2002).</ref> including [[Cameroon]]<ref>section 251 of the Cameroonian penal code (26 Aug. 2004). Two other provisions of the penal code [translation] "state that witchcraft may be an aggravating factor for dishonest acts" (Afrik.com 26 Aug. 2004). A person convicted of witchcraft may face a prison term of 2 to 10 years and a fine. [http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/publisher,IRBC,,CMR,440ed6e819,0.html Cameroon: Witchcraft in Cameroon; tribes or geographical areas in which witchcraft is practised; the government's attitude], [[UNHCR]] (2004).</ref> have reestablished witchcraft-accusations in courts after their independence.


It was reported on 21 May 2008 that in [[Kenya]] a mob had burnt to death at least 11 people accused of witchcraft.<ref>[http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL21301127 Mob burns to death 11 Kenyan "witches"]</ref>
It was reported on 21 May 2008 that in [[Kenya]] a mob had burnt to death at least 11 people accused of witchcraft.<ref>[http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL21301127 Mob burns to death 11 Kenyan "witches"]</ref>


In March 2009 Amnesty International reported that up to 1,000 people in [[the Gambia]] had been abducted by government-sponsored "witch doctors" on charges of witchcraft, and taken to detention centers where they were forced to drink poisonous concoctions.<ref>[http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/gambia-hundreds-accused-%E2%80%9Cwitchcraft%E2%80%9D-and-poisoned-government-campaign-20 "The Gambia: Hundreds accused of “witchcraft” and poisoned in government campaign"]</ref> On May 21, 2009, ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported that the alleged witch-hunting campaign had been sparked by the Gambia's President [[Yahya Jammeh]].<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/world/africa/21gambia.html?ref=africa "Witch-Hunt in Gambia"]</ref>
In March 2009 Amnesty International reported that up to 1,000 people in [[the Gambia]] had been abducted by government-sponsored "witch doctors" on charges of witchcraft, and taken to detention centers where they were forced to drink poisonous concoctions.<ref>[http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/gambia-hundreds-accused-%E2%80%9Cwitchcraft%E2%80%9D-and-poisoned-government-campaign-20 "The Gambia: Hundreds accused of “witchcraft” and poisoned in government campaign"]</ref> On May 21, 2009, ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported that the alleged witch-hunting campaign had been sparked by the Gambia's President [[Yahya Jammeh]].<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/world/africa/21gambia.html?ref=africa "Witch-Hunt in Gambia"]</ref>


In [[Sierra Leone]], the witch-hunt is an occasion for a sermon by the ''kɛmamɔi'' (native [[Mende]] witch-finder) on social ethics : "Witchcraft ... takes hold in people’s lives when people are less than fully open-hearted. All wickedness is ultimately because people hate each other or are jealous or suspicious or afraid. These emotions and motivations cause people to act antisocially".<ref>''STUDIA INSTITUTI ANTHROPOS'', Vol. 41 = Anthony J. Gittins : ''Mende Religion''. Steyler Verlag, Nettetal, 1987. p. 197</ref> The response by the populace to the ''kɛmamɔi'' is that "they valued his work and would learn the lessons he came to teach them, about social responsibility and cooperation."<ref>''STUDIA INSTITUTI ANTHROPOS'', Vol. 41 = Anthony J. Gittins : ''Mende Religion''. Steyler Verlag, Nettetal, 1987. p. 201</ref>
In [[Sierra Leone]], the witch-hunt is an occasion for a sermon by the ''kɛmamɔi'' (native [[Mende]] witch-finder) on social ethics : "Witchcraft ... takes hold in people’s lives when people are less than fully open-hearted. All wickedness is ultimately because people hate each other or are jealous or suspicious or afraid. These emotions and motivations cause people to act antisocially".<ref>''STUDIA INSTITUTI ANTHROPOS'', Vol. 41 = Anthony J. Gittins : ''Mende Religion''. Steyler Verlag, Nettetal, 1987. p. 197</ref> The response by the populace to the ''kɛmamɔi'' is that "they valued his work and would learn the lessons he came to teach them, about social responsibility and cooperation."<ref>''STUDIA INSTITUTI ANTHROPOS'', Vol. 41 = Anthony J. Gittins : ''Mende Religion''. Steyler Verlag, Nettetal, 1987. p. 201</ref>


=== India ===
===India===
In [[India]], labeling a woman as a witch is a common ploy to grab land, settle scores or even to punish her for turning down sexual advances. In a majority of the cases, it is difficult for the accused woman to reach out for help and she is forced to either abandon her home and family or driven to commit suicide. Most cases are not documented because it's difficult for poor and illiterate women to travel from isolated regions to file police reports. Less than 2 percent of those accused of witch-hunting are actually convicted, according to a study by the Free Legal Aid Committee, a group that works with victims in the state of Jharkhand.<ref>http://www.womensenews.org/story/the-world/070716/recourse-rare-witch-hunt-victims-in-india</ref>
In [[India]], labeling a woman as a witch is a common ploy to grab land, settle scores or even to punish her for turning down sexual advances. In a majority of the cases, it is difficult for the accused woman to reach out for help and she is forced to either abandon her home and family or driven to commit suicide. Most cases are not documented because it's difficult for poor and illiterate women to travel from isolated regions to file police reports. Less than 2 percent of those accused of witch-hunting are actually convicted, according to a study by the Free Legal Aid Committee, a group that works with victims in the state of Jharkhand.<ref>http://www.womensenews.org/story/the-world/070716/recourse-rare-witch-hunt-victims-in-india</ref>
A 2010 estimate places the number of women killed as witches in India at between 150 and 200 per year, or a total of 2,500 in the period of 1995 to 2009.<ref>''[[The Hindu]]'', [http://www.thehindu.com/news/article533407.ece Nearly 200 women killed every year after being branded witches], 26 July 2010. ''[[Herald Sun]]'',
A 2010 estimate places the number of women killed as witches in India at between 150 and 200 per year, or a total of 2,500 in the period of 1995 to 2009.<ref>''[[The Hindu]]'', [http://www.thehindu.com/news/article533407.ece Nearly 200 women killed every year after being branded witches], 26 July 2010. ''[[Herald Sun]]'',
[http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/witches-killed-in-india-each-year-report/story-e6frf7jx-1225897181523 200 'witches' killed in India each year - report], 26 July 2010.</ref>
[http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/witches-killed-in-india-each-year-report/story-e6frf7jx-1225897181523 200 'witches' killed in India each year - report], 26 July 2010.</ref>
The lynchings are particularly common in the poor [[North India|northern]] states of [[Jharkhand]], [[Bihar]] and [[Chattisgarh]]. A Jharkhand case publicized in international media in 2009 concerned five Muslim women.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8315980.stm] - BBC News, October 30, 2009</ref>
The lynchings are particularly common in the poor [[North India|northern]] states of [[Jharkhand]], [[Bihar]] and [[Chattisgarh]]. A Jharkhand case publicized in international media in 2009 concerned five Muslim women.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8315980.stm] - BBC News, October 30, 2009</ref>


=== Papua New Guinea ===
===Papua New Guinea===
Though the practice of "white" magic (such as [[faith healing]]) is legal in Papua, the 1976 Sorcery Act imposes a penalty of up to 2 years in prison for the practise of [[black magic|"black" magic]]. In 2009, the government reports that extrajudicial torture and murder of alleged witches - usually lone women - is spreading from the Highland areas to cities as villagers migrate to urban areas.<ref>http://www.channel4.com/programmes/unreported-world/episode-guide/series-2009/episode-9</ref>
Though the practice of "white" magic (such as [[faith healing]]) is legal in Papua, the 1976 Sorcery Act imposes a penalty of up to 2 years in prison for the practise of [[black magic|"black" magic]]. In 2009, the government reports that extrajudicial torture and murder of alleged witches - usually lone women - is spreading from the Highland areas to cities as villagers migrate to urban areas.<ref>http://www.channel4.com/programmes/unreported-world/episode-guide/series-2009/episode-9</ref>


=== Saudi Arabia ===
===Saudi Arabia===
On February 16, 2008 a Saudi woman, [[Fawza Falih]], was arrested and convicted of witchcraft and now faces imminent beheading for sorcery unless the King issues a rare pardon.<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article3378460.ece King Abdullah urged to spare Saudi ‘witchcraft’ woman’s life]</ref> And on November 9, 2009, [[Lebanon|Lebanese]] TV presenter [[Ali Hussain Sibat|Ali Sibat]] (who was arrested in [[Medina]] in 2008) was sentenced to death on charges of witchcraft. According to Sarah Leah Whitson, the Middle East director at [[Human Rights Watch]], "Saudi courts are sanctioning a literal witch hunt by the religious police." Also according to Human Rights Watch, two other people have been arrested on similar charges in November 2009 alone.<ref>[http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20091124/tod-tv-presenter-on-death-row-for-witchc-870a197.html TV Presenter On Death Row For Witchcraft] - Sky News, November 24, 2009</ref>
On February 16, 2008 a Saudi woman, [[Fawza Falih]], was arrested and convicted of witchcraft and now faces imminent beheading for sorcery unless the King issues a rare pardon.<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article3378460.ece King Abdullah urged to spare Saudi ‘witchcraft’ woman’s life]</ref> And on November 9, 2009, [[Lebanon|Lebanese]] TV presenter [[Ali Hussain Sibat|Ali Sibat]] (who was arrested in [[Medina]] in 2008) was sentenced to death on charges of witchcraft. According to Sarah Leah Whitson, the Middle East director at [[Human Rights Watch]], "Saudi courts are sanctioning a literal witch hunt by the religious police." Also according to Human Rights Watch, two other people have been arrested on similar charges in November 2009 alone.<ref>[http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20091124/tod-tv-presenter-on-death-row-for-witchc-870a197.html TV Presenter On Death Row For Witchcraft] - Sky News, November 24, 2009</ref>


===United Kingdom===
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== Causes and sociology of witch-hunts==
{{Undue|date=September 2010}}
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[[File:TheWitch-no3.jpg|thumb|right|300px|"The Witch, No. 3", c.1892 by Joseph Baker.]]
The original [[Witchcraft Act]] of 1542 punished those ''accused'' of performing witchcraft. The [[Witchcraft_Acts#Witchcraft_Act_1735|1735 version of the act]] in force during modern times was reworded to punish those ''claiming'' to perform witchcraft. A well-publicised recent case was that of the medium [[Helen Duncan]] in 1944.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2007/jan/24/comment.comment3 "The Witchcraft Act wasn't about women on brooms"] Guardian.co.uk, 24 January 2007</ref><ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/scottishhistory/modern/oddities_modern.shtml "Scotland's Last Witch"]</ref> The last conviction under the Act was that of [[Jane Rebecca Yorke]], also in 1944. The Witchcraft Act has gradually evolved<ref>[[Witchcraft Act]] (1542), [[Fraudulent Mediums Act 1951]], [[Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008]]</ref> into the present-day [[Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008|Consumer Protection Regulations]],<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7354089.stm "There may be trouble ahead"] BBC News, 18 April 2008</ref> which punish those ''accused'' of ''fraudulently claiming'' to perform supernatural acts, unless the accused person can prove innocence by substantiating their claims.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1896002/Mystics-see-trouble-ahead-over-new-EU-law.html "Mystics see trouble ahead over new EU law"] Telegraph.co.uk, 18 April 2008</ref><ref>http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/1277/regulation/27/made</ref>
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One theory for the number of Early Modern witchcraft trials connects the [[counter-reformation]] to witchcraft. In south-western Germany between 1561 and 1670 there were 480 witch trials. Of the 480 trials that took place in southwestern Germany, 317 occurred in Catholic areas, while Protestant territories accounted for 163 of them.<ref name="autogenerated1">H.C. Erik Midelfort, Witch Hunting in Southwestern Germany 1562-1684,1972,31</ref> During the period from 1561 to 1670, at least 3,229 persons were executed for witchcraft in the German Southwest. Of this number 702 were tried and executed in Protestant territories, while 2,527 were tried and executed in Catholic territories.<ref>H.C. Erik Midelfort, Witch Hunting in Southwestern Germany 1562-1684,1972,31-32</ref> Nineteenth-century historians today dispute the comparative severity of witch hunting in [[Protestant]] and [[Catholic]] territories. “Protestants blamed the witch trials on the methods of the Catholic Inquisition and the theology of Catholic scholasticism, while Catholic scholars indignantly retorted that Lutheran preachers drew more witchcraft theory from Luther and the Bible than from medieval Catholic thinkers.”<ref name="autogenerated1" />


===United States of America===
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Other theories have pointed that the massive changes in law allowed for the outbreak in witch trials. Such laws pointed out heretical nature, and punished all aspects. Another theory is that rising number of devil literature popularized witchcraft trials, in which the German market saw nearly 100,000 devil-books during the 1560’s.<ref>H.C. Erik Midelfort, Witch Hunting in Southwestern Germany 1562-1684,1972,69-0</ref> Another assumption is that climate-induced crop failure and harsh weather was a direct link to witch-hunts. This theory follows the idea that witchcraft in Europe was traditionally associated with weather-making.<ref>[[Wolfgang Behringer]], Witches and Witch-Hunts,2004,88</ref> Scholars also imply that a connection between witchcraft trials and the [[Thirty Years’ War]] may also have a direct correlation.<ref>H.C. Erik Midelfort, Witch Hunting in Southwestern Germany 1562-1684,1972</ref>
{{Undue|date=September 2010}}
The [[McMartin preschool trial]] of 1984 to 1990 is the longest trial currently recognized in American history.<ref>New York Times [http://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/24/us/longest-trial-post-mortem-collapse-child-abuse-case-so-much-agony-for-so-little.html The Longest Trial] retrieved 2009 December 20</ref> The victims were accused of [[satanic ritual abuse]] in underground tunnels, involving [[Besom broom|flying witches]],<ref name=cl>{{Cite news|first=Katherine |last=Ramsland |authorlink=Katherine Ramsland |url=http://www.crimelibrary.com/criminal_mind/psychology/mcmartin_daycare/5.html |title=McMartin Daycare Case |accessdate=2007-08-26 |publisher=[[Crime Library]] }}</ref> actor [[Chuck Norris]],<ref name="cl" /> [[Blood libel|blood drinking]], [[Posthumous execution|mutilated corpses]], and [[human sacrifice]]. More than 350 people participated in the fabrication of the allegations, which were taken seriously by the media, the public, the courts, and the prosecution. The jury did not believe the allegations, however, and the victims were freed. The trial was just one of a series of similar allegations that began in the early 1980s, and is now considered an iconic example of a [[moral panic]].<ref>{{Cite book| last = de Young | first = Mary | title = The Day Care Ritual Abuse Moral Panic | authorlink = Mary de Young | url = http://books.google.com/?id=_e8ZkJBtz0EC | year = 2004 | publisher = McFarland and Company | location = Jefferson, North Carolina, United States | isbn = 0786418303 }}</ref>


⚫
==Causes and sociology of witch-hunts==
⚫
While the previously mentioned theories mainly rely on micro level psychological interpretations, another theory has been put forward that provides an alternative macroeconomic explanation.<ref>Gunnar Heinsohn/Otto Steiger: "Witchcraft, Population Catastrophe and Economic Crisis in Renaissance Europe: An Alternative Macroeconomic Explanation.", University of Bremen 2004 [http://www.geocities.com/funnyguy_35/6IKSF31.heins-steiger.witchcraft.pdf (download)]</ref> According to this theory, the witches, who often had highly developed [[midwifery]] skills, were prosecuted in order to extinguish knowledge about [[birth control]] in an effort to repopulate Europe after the population catastrophe triggered by the [[bubonic plague|plague]] pandemic of the 14th century (also known as the [[Black Death]]).<ref>Gunnar Heinsohn/Otto Steiger: The Elimination of Medieval Birth Control and the Witch Trials of Modern Times, International Journal of Women's Studies, 3, May 1982, 193-214</ref> Citing [[Jean Bodin]]'s "On Witchcraft", this view holds that the witch hunts were not only promoted by the church but also by prominent secular thinkers to repopulate the European continent.<ref>Gunnar Heinsohn/Otto Steiger: "Birth Control: The Political-Economic Rationale Behind Jean Bodin's "Démonomanie"", in: History of Political Economy, 31, No. 3, 423-448</ref> By these authors, the witch hunts are seen as an attempt to eliminate female midwifery skills and as a historical explanation why modern gynecology - surprisingly enough - came to be practiced almost exclusively by males in state run hospitals. In this view, the witch hunts began a process of [[criminalization]] of birth control that eventually lead to an enormous increase in birth rates that are described as the "[[population explosion]]" of early modern Europe. This population explosion produced an enormous [[youth bulge]] which supplied the extra manpower that would enable Europe's nations, during the period of [[colonialism]] and [[imperialism]], to conquer and colonize 90% of the world.<ref>Heinsohn, G.(2005): "Population, Conquest and Terror in the 21st Century." [http://www.geocities.com/funnyguy_35/HeinsohnPopulation.PDF]</ref> While historians specializing in the history of the witch hunts have generally remained critical of this macroeconomic approach and continue to favor micro level perspectives and explanations<ref>Walter Rummel: 'Weise' Frauen und 'weise' Männer im Kampf gegen Hexerei. Die Widerlegung einer modernen Fabel. In: Christof Dipper, Lutz Klinkhammer und Alexander Nützenadel: Europäische Sozialgeschichte. Festschrift für Wolfgang Schieder (= Historische Forschungen 68), Berlin 2000, S. 353-375, [http://www.historicum.net/themen/hexenforschung/thementexte/rezeption/art/Weise_Frauen/html/ca/b14c768f43/]</ref>, prominent historian of birth control John M. Riddle has expressed agreement.<ref>see John M. Riddle: "The Great Witch-Hunt and the Suppression of Birth Control: Heinsohn and Steiger's Theory from the Perspective of an Historian", Appendix to: Gunnar Heinsohn/Otto Steiger: "Witchcraft, Population Catastrophe and Economic Crisis in Renaissance Europe: An Alternative Macroeconomic Explanation.", University of Bremen 2004 [http://www.iksf.uni-bremen.de/publikationen/discussion/papers/dp31/31iksf-6heins-steiger.witchcraft.pdf (download)]; also see John M. Riddle: "Eve's Herbs: A History of Contraception and Abortion in the West", Princeton: Harvard University Press 1999, ISBN 0674270266, esp. Chapters 5-7</ref>
⚫
[[File:TheWitch-no3.jpg|thumb|right|300px|"The Witch, No. 3", c.1892 by Joseph Baker.]]
⚫
One theory for the number of Early Modern witchcraft trials connects the [[counter-reformation]] to witchcraft. In south-western Germany between 1561 and 1670 there were 480 witch trials. Of the 480 trials that took place in southwestern Germany, 317 occurred in Catholic areas, while Protestant territories accounted for 163 of them.<ref name="autogenerated1">H.C. Erik Midelfort, Witch Hunting in Southwestern Germany 1562-1684,1972,31</ref> During the period from 1561 to 1670, at least 3,229 persons were executed for witchcraft in the German Southwest. Of this number 702 were tried and executed in Protestant territories, while 2,527 were tried and executed in Catholic territories.<ref>H.C. Erik Midelfort, Witch Hunting in Southwestern Germany 1562-1684,1972,31-32</ref> Nineteenth-century historians today dispute the comparative severity of witch hunting in [[Protestant]] and [[Catholic]] territories. “Protestants blamed the witch trials on the methods of the Catholic Inquisition and the theology of Catholic scholasticism, while Catholic scholars indignantly retorted that Lutheran preachers drew more witchcraft theory from Luther and the Bible than from medieval Catholic thinkers.”<ref name="autogenerated1" />

⚫
Other theories have pointed that the massive changes in law allowed for the outbreak in witch trials. Such laws pointed out heretical nature, and punished all aspects. Another theory is that rising number of devil literature popularized witchcraft trials, in which the German market saw nearly 100,000 devil-books during the 1560s.<ref>H.C. Erik Midelfort, Witch Hunting in Southwestern Germany 1562-1684,1972,69-0</ref> Another assumption is that climate-induced crop failure and harsh weather was a direct link to witch-hunts. This theory follows the idea that witchcraft in Europe was traditionally associated with weather-making.<ref>[[Wolfgang Behringer]], Witches and Witch-Hunts,2004,88</ref> Scholars also imply that a connection between witchcraft trials and the [[Thirty Years’ War]] may also have a direct correlation.<ref>H.C. Erik Midelfort, Witch Hunting in Southwestern Germany 1562-1684,1972</ref>

⚫
While the previously mentioned theories mainly rely on micro level psychological interpretations, another theory has been put forward that provides an alternative macroeconomic explanation.<ref>Gunnar Heinsohn/Otto Steiger: "Witchcraft, Population Catastrophe and Economic Crisis in Renaissance Europe: An Alternative Macroeconomic Explanation.", University of Bremen 2004 [http://www.geocities.com/funnyguy_35/6IKSF31.heins-steiger.witchcraft.pdf (download)]</ref> According to this theory, the witches, who often had highly developed [[midwifery]] skills, were prosecuted in order to extinguish knowledge about [[birth control]] in an effort to repopulate Europe after the population catastrophe triggered by the [[bubonic plague|plague]] pandemic of the 14th century (also known as the [[Black Death]]).<ref>Gunnar Heinsohn/Otto Steiger: The Elimination of Medieval Birth Control and the Witch Trials of Modern Times, International Journal of Women's Studies, 3, May 1982, 193-214</ref> Citing [[Jean Bodin]]'s "On Witchcraft", this view holds that the witch hunts were not only promoted by the church but also by prominent secular thinkers to repopulate the European continent.<ref>Gunnar Heinsohn/Otto Steiger: "Birth Control: The Political-Economic Rationale Behind Jean Bodin's "Démonomanie"", in: History of Political Economy, 31, No. 3, 423-448</ref> By these authors, the witch hunts are seen as an attempt to eliminate female midwifery skills and as a historical explanation why modern gynecology - surprisingly enough - came to be practiced almost exclusively by males in state run hospitals. In this view, the witch hunts began a process of [[criminalization]] of birth control that eventually lead to an enormous increase in birth rates that are described as the "[[population explosion]]" of early modern Europe. This population explosion produced an enormous [[youth bulge]] which supplied the extra manpower that would enable Europe's nations, during the period of [[colonialism]] and [[imperialism]], to conquer and colonize 90% of the world.<ref>Heinsohn, G.(2005): "Population, Conquest and Terror in the 21st Century." [http://www.geocities.com/funnyguy_35/HeinsohnPopulation.PDF]</ref> While historians specializing in the history of the witch hunts have generally remained critical of this macroeconomic approach and continue to favor micro level perspectives and explanations,<ref>Walter Rummel: 'Weise' Frauen und 'weise' Männer im Kampf gegen Hexerei. Die Widerlegung einer modernen Fabel. In: Christof Dipper, Lutz Klinkhammer und Alexander Nützenadel: Europäische Sozialgeschichte. Festschrift für Wolfgang Schieder (= Historische Forschungen 68), Berlin 2000, S. 353-375, [http://www.historicum.net/themen/hexenforschung/thementexte/rezeption/art/Weise_Frauen/html/ca/b14c768f43/]</ref> prominent historian of birth control John M. Riddle has expressed agreement.<ref>see John M. Riddle: "The Great Witch-Hunt and the Suppression of Birth Control: Heinsohn and Steiger's Theory from the Perspective of an Historian", Appendix to: Gunnar Heinsohn/Otto Steiger: "Witchcraft, Population Catastrophe and Economic Crisis in Renaissance Europe: An Alternative Macroeconomic Explanation.", University of Bremen 2004 [http://www.iksf.uni-bremen.de/publikationen/discussion/papers/dp31/31iksf-6heins-steiger.witchcraft.pdf (download)]; also see John M. Riddle: "Eve's Herbs: A History of Contraception and Abortion in the West", Princeton: Harvard University Press 1999, ISBN 0674270266, esp. Chapters 5-7</ref>


As this theory has an alternative macroeconomic explanation some scholars oppose it. [[Diane Purkiss]] argues "that there is no evidence that the majority of those accused were healers and midwives; in England and also some parts of the Continent, midwives were more than likely to be found helping witch-hunters.<ref>Diane Purkiss, "A Holocaust of one's own," 8</ref> Also the fact remains that most women used herbal medicines as part of their household skills, and a large part of witches were accused by women.<ref>Diane Purkis, "A Holocaust of one's own," 8</ref>
As this theory has an alternative macroeconomic explanation some scholars oppose it. [[Diane Purkiss]] argues "that there is no evidence that the majority of those accused were healers and midwives; in England and also some parts of the Continent, midwives were more than likely to be found helping witch-hunters.<ref>Diane Purkiss, "A Holocaust of one's own," 8</ref> Also the fact remains that most women used herbal medicines as part of their household skills, and a large part of witches were accused by women.<ref>Diane Purkis, "A Holocaust of one's own," 8</ref>
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'Witch-hunt' has become a generic term, referring to any situation in which a 'guilty party' is, essentially, tried and convicted ''in absentia'', without any 'firm' evidence—indeed, in a typical witch-hunt, guilt is presumed from the outset, and the focus of the hunt actually becomes getting the accused to ''admit'' his guilt.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} Often, these so-called 'confessions' are brought about by way of torture, verbal trickery, or by questioning the loyalty or past conduct of the accused.
'Witch-hunt' has become a generic term, referring to any situation in which a 'guilty party' is, essentially, tried and convicted ''in absentia'', without any 'firm' evidence—indeed, in a typical witch-hunt, guilt is presumed from the outset, and the focus of the hunt actually becomes getting the accused to ''admit'' his guilt.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} Often, these so-called 'confessions' are brought about by way of torture, verbal trickery, or by questioning the loyalty or past conduct of the accused.

== Legislation against fradulent claims of occult powers ==
{{offtopic}}
{{see|Fortune-telling#Legality}}
Occasional prosecutions under the [[Witchcraft Act]] (an act designed to eradicate belief in Witches which prohibits ''claiming'' to be a witch, not actually being one) continued in 19th and 20th century Britain. A well-publicised recent case was that of the medium [[Helen Duncan]] in 1944.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/scottishhistory/modern/oddities_modern.shtml "Scotland's Last Witch"]</ref>
After revealing during a séance the sinking of a ship ([[HMS Barham]]} which the [[Royal Navy]] had not made public, she was arrested under the [[Vagrancy Act 1824]] and the accusations in court centered round defrauding the public. She spent nine months in prison. The last conviction under the Act was that of [[Jane Rebecca Yorke]]. The Act was repealed in 1951 and replaced with the [[Fraudulent Mediums Act 1951]]. This act prohibited a person from claiming to be a psychic, medium, or other spiritualist while attempting to deceive and to make money from the deception (other than solely for the purpose of entertainment).


==Metaphorical usage==
==Metaphorical usage==
{{main|moral panic}}
{{Main|moral panic}}
{{see|satanic ritual abuse|McCarthyism}}
{{See|satanic ritual abuse|McCarthyism}}
In modern terminology 'witch-hunt' has acquired usage referring to the act of seeking and persecuting any perceived enemy, particularly when the search is conducted using extreme measures and with little regard to actual guilt or innocence. It is used whether or not it is sanctioned by the government, or merely occurs within the "court of public opinion".
In modern terminology 'witch-hunt' has acquired usage referring to the act of seeking and persecuting any perceived enemy, particularly when the search is conducted using extreme measures and with little regard to actual guilt or innocence. It is used whether or not it is sanctioned by the government, or merely occurs within the "court of public opinion".


The ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' describes the first recorded use of the term in its metaphorical sense in [[George Orwell]]'s ''[[Homage to Catalonia]]'' (1938). The term is used by Orwell to describe how, in the [[Spanish Civil War]], political persecutions became a regular occurrence.
The ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' describes the first recorded use of the term in its metaphorical sense in [[George Orwell]]'s ''[[Homage to Catalonia]]'' (1938). The term is used by Orwell to describe how, in the [[Spanish Civil War]], political persecutions became a regular occurrence.
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==See also==
==See also==

* [[Auto de fé]]
* [[Auto de fé]]
* [[Christian views on witchcraft]]
* [[Christian views on witchcraft]]
Line 150: Line 146:


==References==
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
{{Reflist|2}}


== Further reading ==
==Further reading==
*Behringer, Wolfgang. ''Witches and Witch Hunts: A Global History.'' Malden Massachusetts: Polity Press, 2004.
*Behringer, Wolfgang. ''Witches and Witch Hunts: A Global History.'' Malden Massachusetts: Polity Press, 2004.
*Briggs, Robin. 'Many reasons why': witchcraft and the problem of multiple explanation, in ''Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe. Studies in Culture and Belief'', ed. Jonathan Barry, Marianne Hester, and Gareth Roberts, Cambridge University Press, 1996.
*Briggs, Robin. 'Many reasons why': witchcraft and the problem of multiple explanation, in ''Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe. Studies in Culture and Belief'', ed. Jonathan Barry, Marianne Hester, and Gareth Roberts, Cambridge University Press, 1996.
*Cohn, Norman. ''Europe's Inner Demons: The Demonization of Christians in Medieval Christendom,'' Revised Edition. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1993.
*Cohn, Norman. ''Europe's Inner Demons: The Demonization of Christians in Medieval Christendom,'' Revised Edition. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1993.
*{{cite book |author=Goode, Erich; Ben-Yahuda, Nachman |title=Moral Panics: The Social Construction of Deviance|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |location=Cambridge, MA | year=1994 |pages= |isbn=063118905X |oclc= |doi= |accessdate=}}
*{{Cite book|author=Goode, Erich; Ben-Yahuda, Nachman |title=Moral Panics: The Social Construction of Deviance|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |location=Cambridge, MA | year=1994 |pages= |isbn=063118905X |oclc= |doi= |accessdate=}}
*Klaits, Joseph. ''Servants of Satan: The Age of the Witch Hunts.'' Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1985
*Klaits, Joseph. ''Servants of Satan: The Age of the Witch Hunts.'' Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1985
*Levack, Brian P. ''The Great Scottish Witch Hunt of 1661-1662'', The [[Journal of British Studies]], Vol.20, No, 1. (Autumn, 1980), pp.&nbsp;90–108.
*Levack, Brian P. ''The Great Scottish Witch Hunt of 1661-1662'', The [[Journal of British Studies]], Vol.20, No, 1. (Autumn, 1980), pp.&nbsp;90–108.
*Levack, Brian P. ''The witch hunt in early modern Europe, Third Edition''. London and New York: Longman, 2006.
*Levack, Brian P. ''The witch hunt in early modern Europe, Third Edition''. London and New York: Longman, 2006.
*Macfarlane, Alan. ''Witchcraft in Tudor and Stuart England: A regional and Comparative Study''. New York and Evanston: Harper & Row Publishers, 1970.
*Macfarlane, Alan. ''Witchcraft in Tudor and Stuart England: A regional and Comparative Study''. New York and Evanston: Harper & Row Publishers, 1970.
*Midlefort, Erick H.C. ''Witch Hunting in Southeastern Germany 1562-1684: The Social and Intellectual Foundation.'' California: Stanford University Press, 1972. ISBN 0804708053
*Midlefort, Erick H.C. ''Witch Hunting in Southeastern Germany 1562-1684: The Social and Intellectual Foundation.'' California: Stanford University Press, 1972. ISBN 0804708053
*Oberman, H. A., J. D. Tracy, Thomas A. Brady (eds.), ''Handbook of European History, 1400-1600: Visions, Programs, Outcomes'' (1995) ISBN 9004097619
*Oberman, H. A., J. D. Tracy, Thomas A. Brady (eds.), ''Handbook of European History, 1400-1600: Visions, Programs, Outcomes'' (1995) ISBN 9004097619
*Oldridge, Darren (ed.), ''The Witchcraft Reader'' (2002) ISBN 0415214920
*Oldridge, Darren (ed.), ''The Witchcraft Reader'' (2002) ISBN 0415214920
*Poole, Robert. ''The Lancashire Witches: Histories and Stories'' (2002) ISBN 0719062047
*Poole, Robert. ''The Lancashire Witches: Histories and Stories'' (2002) ISBN 0719062047
*Purkiss, Diane. "A Holocaust of One's Own: The Myth of the Burning Times." Chapter in ''The Witch and History: Early Modern and Twentieth Century Representatives'' New York, NY: Routledge, 1996, pp.&nbsp;7–29.
*Purkiss, Diane. "A Holocaust of One's Own: The Myth of the Burning Times." Chapter in ''The Witch and History: Early Modern and Twentieth Century Representatives'' New York, NY: Routledge, 1996, pp.&nbsp;7–29.
*Robisheaux, Thomas. ''The Last Witch of Langenburg: Murder in a German Village.'' New York: W.W. Norton & Co. (2009) ISBN 9780393065510
*Robisheaux, Thomas. ''The Last Witch of Langenburg: Murder in a German Village.'' New York: W.W. Norton & Co. (2009) ISBN 9780393065510
*Sagan, Carl. ''The Demon-Haunted World'', Random House, 1996. ISBN 039453512X
*Sagan, Carl. ''The Demon-Haunted World'', Random House, 1996. ISBN 039453512X

Revision as of 01:32, 20 September 2010

"Witch trial" redirects here. For other uses, see Witch trial (disambiguation).
For other uses, see witch hunt (disambiguation).
Preparing to burn a witch (Jan Luyken)

A witch hunt is a search for witches or evidence of witchcraft, often involving moral panic, mass hysteria and lynching, but in many instances also legally sanctioned and involving official witchcraft trials.

The pejorative term "witch-hunt" is often used by analogy to refer to panic-induced searches for perceived wrong-doers other than witches. The best known example is probably the McCarthyist search for communists during the Cold War,[1][2] which was discredited partly through being compared to the Salem witch trials.[1]

History

The classical period of witchhunts in Europe and North America falls into the Early Modern period or about 1480 to 1700, spanning the upheavals of the Reformation and the Thirty Years' War, resulting in an estimated 40,000 to 100,000 executions.[3]

The last executions of people convicted as witches in Europe took place in the 18th century. In the Kingdom of Great Britain, witchcraft ceased to be an act punishable by law with the Witchcraft Act of 1735. In Germany, sorcery remained punishable by law into the late 18th century.

Antiquity

Punishment for sorcery and witchcraft is addressed in the earliest law codes preserved; both in ancient Egypt and in Babylonia it played a conspicuous part (although in the example below it appears that only unjustified spells are to be punished). The Code of Hammurabi (18th century BCE short chronology) prescribes that

If a man has put a spell upon another man and it is not justified, he upon whom the spell is laid shall go to the holy river; into the holy river shall he plunge. If the holy river overcome him and he is drowned, the man who put the spell upon him shall take possession of his house. If the holy river declares him innocent and he remains unharmed the man who laid the spell shall be put to death. He that plunged into the river shall take possession of the house of him who laid the spell upon him.[4]

The pre-Christian Twelve Tables of pagan Roman law has provisions against evil incantations and spells intended to damage cereal crops. Strabo, Gaius Maecenas and Cassius Dio all reiterate the traditional Roman opposition against sorcery and divination, and Tacitus uses the term religio-superstitio to class these outlawed observances. The emperor Augustus strengthened legislation aimed at curbing these practices.[5]

The Hebrew Bible condemns sorcery. Deuteronomy 18:10-12 states "No one shall be found among you who makes a son or daughter pass through fire, who practices divination, or is a soothsayer, or an augur, or a sorcerer, or one that casts spells, or who consults ghosts or spirits, or who seeks oracles from the dead. For whoever does these things is abhorrent to the Lord;" and Exodus 22:18 prescribes "thou shalt not suffer a witch to live";[6] tales like that of 1 Samuel 28, reporting how Saul "hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land"[7] suggest that in practice sorcery could at least lead to exile.

In later Jewish history, Rabbi Simeon ben Shetach - Pharisee scholar and Nasi of the Sanhedrin in the 1st century BCE - is reported to have sentenced to death 80 women, who had been charged with witchcraft, on a single day in Ashkelon. Later the women's relatives took revenge by bringing (reportedly) false witnesses against Simeon's son and causing him to be executed in turn.[citation needed]

The 6th century CE Getica of Jordanes records a persecution and expulsion of witches among the Goths in a mythical account of the origin of the Huns. The ancient fabled King Filimer is said to have

"found among his people certain witches, whom he called in his native tongue Haliurunnae. Suspecting these women, he expelled them from the midst of his race and compelled them to wander in solitary exile afar from his army. There the unclean spirits, who beheld them as they wandered through the wilderness, bestowed their embraces upon them and begat this savage race, which dwelt at first in the swamps, a stunted, foul and puny tribe, scarcely human, and having no language save one which bore but slight resemblance to human speech."[8]

Middle Ages

The Council of Paderborn in 785 explicitly outlawed the very belief in witches, and Charlemagne later confirmed the law. The Council of Frankfurt in 794, called by Charlemagne, was also very explicit in condemning "the persecution of alleged witches and wizards", calling the belief in witchcraft "superstitious", and ordering the death penalty for those who presume to burn witches.[9]

There were also secular laws against witchcraft, such as that promulgated by King Athelstan (924-999)

And we have ordained respecting witch-crafts, and lybacs [read lyblac "sorcery"], and morthdaeds ["murder, mortal sin"]: if any one should be thereby killed, and he could not deny it, that he be liable in his life. But if he will deny it, and at threefold ordeal shall be guilty; that he be 120 days in prison: and after that let kindred take him out, and give to the king 120 shillings, and pay the wer to his kindred, and enter into borh for him, that he evermore desist from the like.[10]

Witch-hunts sponsored by the Roman Catholic Inquisition begin only in the Late Middle Ages. Although it has been proposed that the witch-hunt developed in Europe from the early 14th century, after the Cathars and the Templar Knights were exterminated, and the Inquisition had to turn to persecution of witches to remain active, this hypothesis has been rejected independently by two historians (Cohn 1975; Kieckhefer 1976). They showed that the Inquisition witch hunts originated amongst common people in Switzerland and in Croatia, who pressed the civil courts to support them. Pope John XXII had authorized the Inquisition to prosecute sorcerors in 1320,[11] but inquisitorial courts became systematically involved in witch-hunts only in the 15th century. In the case of the Madonna Oriente, the Inquisition of Milan was not sure what to do with two women who in 1384 and in 1390 confessed to have participated in a type of white magic. In 1484 Pope Innocent VIII issued Summis desiderantes affectibus, a Papal bull authorizing two inquisitors, Kramer and Sprenger, to systemize the persecution of witches.[12] As a result, the notorious Malleus Maleficarum was published in 1487, at the very end of the medieval period, ushering in the period of witch hunts in Early Modern Europe which would last for the following two centuries.

Early Modern Europe

Main article: Witch trials in Early Modern Europe
Burning of three witches in Baden, Switzerland (1585), by Johann Jakob Wick.

The witch trials in Early Modern Europe came in waves and then subsided. There were trials in the 15th and early 16th centuries, but then the witch scare went into decline, before becoming a big issue again and peaking in the 17th century. Some scholars argue that a fear of witchcraft started among intellectuals who believed in maleficium: that is, harm committed by magic. What had previously been a belief that some people possessed supernatural abilities (which were sometimes used to protect the people) now became a sign of a pact between the people with supernatural abilities and the devil. To justify the killings, Christianity and its proxy secular institutions deemed witchcraft as being associated to wild Satanic ritual parties in which there was much naked dancing, orgy sex, and cannibalistic infanticide.[13] It was also seen as heresy for going against the first of the ten commandments (You shall have no other gods before me) or as violating majesty, in this case referring to the divine majesty, not the worldly[14]

Witch-hunts were seen across early modern Europe, but the most significant area of witch-hunting in modern Europe is often considered to be central and southern Germany.[15] Germany was a late starter in terms of the numbers of trials, compared to other regions of Europe. Witch-hunts first appeared in large numbers in southern France and Switzerland during the 14th and 15th centuries. The peak years of witch-hunts in southwest Germany were from 1561 to 1670.[16] The first major persecution in Europe, when witches were caught, tried, convicted, and burned in the imperial lordship of Wiesensteig in southwestern Germany, is recorded in 1563 in a pamphlet called "True and Horrifying Deeds of 63 Witches".[17]

In Denmark, the burning of witches increased following the reformation of 1536. Christian IV of Denmark, in particular, encouraged this practice, and hundreds of people were convicted of witchcraft and burnt. In the North Berwick witch trials in Scotland, over 70 people were accused of witchcraft on account of bad weather when James VI of Scotland, who shared the Danish king's interest in witch trials, sailed to Denmark in 1590 to meet his betrothed Anne of Denmark.

Witch hysteria also erupted in the Americas. About eighty people throughout England's Massachusetts Colony were accused of practicing witchcraft, thirteen women and two men were executed in a witch-hunt that lasted throughout New England from 1648-1663.[18] The Salem witch trials followed in 1692-93.

Current scholarly estimates of the number of people executed for witchcraft vary between about 40,000 and 100,000.[3] The total number of witch trials in Europe which are known for certain to have ended in executions is around 12,000.[19]

Contemporary critics of witch hunts included Friedrich von Spee, Gianfrancesco Ponzinibio, Cornelius Loos, Reginald Scot, Anton Praetorius, Johann Mayfurth and Alonzo Salazar de Frias.

End of European witch hunts in the 18th century

During the early 18th century, the practice subsided. The last executions for witchcraft in England had taken place in 1682, when Temperance Lloyd, Mary Trembles, and Susanna Edwards were executed at Exeter.[20] Jane Wenham was among the last subjects of a typical witch trial in England in 1712, but was pardoned after her conviction and set free. Janet Horne was executed for witchcraft in Scotland in 1727. In 1711, Joseph Addison published an article in the highly respected The Spectator journal (No. 117) criticizing the irrationality and social injustice in treating elderly and feeble women (dubbed Moll White) as witches. The Witchcraft Act of 1735 saw the end of witchcraft itself as a legal offence in Britain: those accused under the new Act were restricted to people who falsely pretended to be able to procure spirits, generally being the most dubious professional fortune tellers and mediums, and punishment was light. In Switzerland Anna Göldi was executed in 1782. Poland saw the burning of two women in 1793. Helena Curtens and Agnes Olmanns were the last women to be executed as witches in Germany, in 1738 and Barbara Zdunk in Rößel (West Prussia) in 1811[clarification needed].

Modern witch-hunts

Witch hunts still occur today, especially in societies where belief in magic is prevalent, such as Sub-Saharan Africa, India, and Papua New Guinea. In most cases, these are instances of mob justice, reported with some regularity from much of Sub-Saharan Africa, from rural North India and from Papua New Guinea. In addition, there are some countries that have legislation against the practice of sorcery. Official legislation against witchcraft is still found in Saudi Arabia and Cameroon. The only country where witchcraft remains legally punishable by death is Saudi Arabia.

Africa

In many African societies the fear of witches drives periodic witch-hunts during which specialist witch-finders identify suspects, even today, with death by mob often the result.[21] Witch-hunts against children were reported by the BBC in 1999 in the Congo[22] and in Tanzania, where the government responded to attacks on women accused of being witches for having red eyes.[23] A lawsuit was launched in 2001 in Ghana, where witch-hunts are also common, by a woman accused of being a witch.[23] Witch-hunts in Africa are often led by relatives seeking the property of the accused victim.

Audrey I. Richards, in the journal Africa, relates in 1935 an instance when a new wave of witchfinders, the Bamucapi, appeared in the villages of the Bemba people.[24] They dressed in European clothing, and would summon the headman to prepare a ritual meal for the village. When the villagers arrived they would view them all in a mirror, and claimed they could identify witches with this method. These witches would then have to "yield up his horns"; i.e. give over the horn containers for curses and evil potions to the witch-finders. The bamucapi then made all drink a potion called kucapa which would cause a witch to die and swell up if he ever tried such things again. The villagers related that the witch-finders were always right because the witches they found were always the people whom the village had feared all along. The bamucapi utilised a mixture of Christian and native religious traditions to account for their powers and said that God (not specifying which God) helped them to prepare their medicine. In addition, all witches who did not attend the meal to be identified would be called to account later on by their master, who had risen from the dead, and who would force the witches by means of drums to go to the graveyard, where they would die. Richards noted that the bamucapi created the sense of danger in the villages by rounding up all the horns in the village, whether they were used for anti-witchcraft charms, potions, snuff or were indeed receptacles of black magic.

The Bemba people believed misfortunes such as wartings hauntings and famines to be just actions sanctioned by the High-God Lesa. The only agency which caused unjust harm was a witch, who had enormous powers and was hard to detect. After white rule of Africa beliefs in sorcery and witchcraft grew, possibly because of the social strain caused by new ideas, customs and laws, and also because the courts no longer allowed witches to be tried.[citation needed]

Amongst the Bantu tribes of Southern Africa, the witch smellers were responsible for detecting witches. In parts of Southern Africa several hundred people have been killed in witch hunts since 1990.[25]

Several African states,[26] including Cameroon[27] have reestablished witchcraft-accusations in courts after their independence.

It was reported on 21 May 2008 that in Kenya a mob had burnt to death at least 11 people accused of witchcraft.[28]

In March 2009 Amnesty International reported that up to 1,000 people in the Gambia had been abducted by government-sponsored "witch doctors" on charges of witchcraft, and taken to detention centers where they were forced to drink poisonous concoctions.[29] On May 21, 2009, The New York Times reported that the alleged witch-hunting campaign had been sparked by the Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh.[30]

In Sierra Leone, the witch-hunt is an occasion for a sermon by the kɛmamɔi (native Mende witch-finder) on social ethics : "Witchcraft ... takes hold in people’s lives when people are less than fully open-hearted. All wickedness is ultimately because people hate each other or are jealous or suspicious or afraid. These emotions and motivations cause people to act antisocially".[31] The response by the populace to the kɛmamɔi is that "they valued his work and would learn the lessons he came to teach them, about social responsibility and cooperation."[32]

India

In India, labeling a woman as a witch is a common ploy to grab land, settle scores or even to punish her for turning down sexual advances. In a majority of the cases, it is difficult for the accused woman to reach out for help and she is forced to either abandon her home and family or driven to commit suicide. Most cases are not documented because it's difficult for poor and illiterate women to travel from isolated regions to file police reports. Less than 2 percent of those accused of witch-hunting are actually convicted, according to a study by the Free Legal Aid Committee, a group that works with victims in the state of Jharkhand.[33] A 2010 estimate places the number of women killed as witches in India at between 150 and 200 per year, or a total of 2,500 in the period of 1995 to 2009.[34] The lynchings are particularly common in the poor northern states of Jharkhand, Bihar and Chattisgarh. A Jharkhand case publicized in international media in 2009 concerned five Muslim women.[35]

Papua New Guinea

Though the practice of "white" magic (such as faith healing) is legal in Papua, the 1976 Sorcery Act imposes a penalty of up to 2 years in prison for the practise of "black" magic. In 2009, the government reports that extrajudicial torture and murder of alleged witches - usually lone women - is spreading from the Highland areas to cities as villagers migrate to urban areas.[36]

Saudi Arabia

On February 16, 2008 a Saudi woman, Fawza Falih, was arrested and convicted of witchcraft and now faces imminent beheading for sorcery unless the King issues a rare pardon.[37] And on November 9, 2009, Lebanese TV presenter Ali Sibat (who was arrested in Medina in 2008) was sentenced to death on charges of witchcraft. According to Sarah Leah Whitson, the Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, "Saudi courts are sanctioning a literal witch hunt by the religious police." Also according to Human Rights Watch, two other people have been arrested on similar charges in November 2009 alone.[38]

United Kingdom

The original Witchcraft Act of 1542 punished those accused of performing witchcraft. The 1735 version of the act in force during modern times was reworded to punish those claiming to perform witchcraft. A well-publicised recent case was that of the medium Helen Duncan in 1944.[39][40] The last conviction under the Act was that of Jane Rebecca Yorke, also in 1944. The Witchcraft Act has gradually evolved[41] into the present-day Consumer Protection Regulations,[42] which punish those accused of fraudulently claiming to perform supernatural acts, unless the accused person can prove innocence by substantiating their claims.[43][44]

United States of America

The McMartin preschool trial of 1984 to 1990 is the longest trial currently recognized in American history.[45] The victims were accused of satanic ritual abuse in underground tunnels, involving flying witches,[46] actor Chuck Norris,[46] blood drinking, mutilated corpses, and human sacrifice. More than 350 people participated in the fabrication of the allegations, which were taken seriously by the media, the public, the courts, and the prosecution. The jury did not believe the allegations, however, and the victims were freed. The trial was just one of a series of similar allegations that began in the early 1980s, and is now considered an iconic example of a moral panic.[47]

Causes and sociology of witch-hunts

"The Witch, No. 3", c.1892 by Joseph Baker.

One theory for the number of Early Modern witchcraft trials connects the counter-reformation to witchcraft. In south-western Germany between 1561 and 1670 there were 480 witch trials. Of the 480 trials that took place in southwestern Germany, 317 occurred in Catholic areas, while Protestant territories accounted for 163 of them.[48] During the period from 1561 to 1670, at least 3,229 persons were executed for witchcraft in the German Southwest. Of this number 702 were tried and executed in Protestant territories, while 2,527 were tried and executed in Catholic territories.[49] Nineteenth-century historians today dispute the comparative severity of witch hunting in Protestant and Catholic territories. “Protestants blamed the witch trials on the methods of the Catholic Inquisition and the theology of Catholic scholasticism, while Catholic scholars indignantly retorted that Lutheran preachers drew more witchcraft theory from Luther and the Bible than from medieval Catholic thinkers.”[48]

Other theories have pointed that the massive changes in law allowed for the outbreak in witch trials. Such laws pointed out heretical nature, and punished all aspects. Another theory is that rising number of devil literature popularized witchcraft trials, in which the German market saw nearly 100,000 devil-books during the 1560s.[50] Another assumption is that climate-induced crop failure and harsh weather was a direct link to witch-hunts. This theory follows the idea that witchcraft in Europe was traditionally associated with weather-making.[51] Scholars also imply that a connection between witchcraft trials and the Thirty Years’ War may also have a direct correlation.[52]

While the previously mentioned theories mainly rely on micro level psychological interpretations, another theory has been put forward that provides an alternative macroeconomic explanation.[53] According to this theory, the witches, who often had highly developed midwifery skills, were prosecuted in order to extinguish knowledge about birth control in an effort to repopulate Europe after the population catastrophe triggered by the plague pandemic of the 14th century (also known as the Black Death).[54] Citing Jean Bodin's "On Witchcraft", this view holds that the witch hunts were not only promoted by the church but also by prominent secular thinkers to repopulate the European continent.[55] By these authors, the witch hunts are seen as an attempt to eliminate female midwifery skills and as a historical explanation why modern gynecology - surprisingly enough - came to be practiced almost exclusively by males in state run hospitals. In this view, the witch hunts began a process of criminalization of birth control that eventually lead to an enormous increase in birth rates that are described as the "population explosion" of early modern Europe. This population explosion produced an enormous youth bulge which supplied the extra manpower that would enable Europe's nations, during the period of colonialism and imperialism, to conquer and colonize 90% of the world.[56] While historians specializing in the history of the witch hunts have generally remained critical of this macroeconomic approach and continue to favor micro level perspectives and explanations,[57] prominent historian of birth control John M. Riddle has expressed agreement.[58]

As this theory has an alternative macroeconomic explanation some scholars oppose it. Diane Purkiss argues "that there is no evidence that the majority of those accused were healers and midwives; in England and also some parts of the Continent, midwives were more than likely to be found helping witch-hunters.[59] Also the fact remains that most women used herbal medicines as part of their household skills, and a large part of witches were accused by women.[60]

Some sociologists have attributed the occurrence of witchhunts to the prevalent human tendency to blame unexplainable occurrences on someone or something familiar. For example, Europe relied heavily upon agriculture during the period of the witch hunts; if there were large scale crop failures, the consequences would very likely be disastrous. Crop failures often correlated with the occurrence of witchhunts, leading some sociologists to suggest that communities often took out their anger about a lack of food on community members (witches) who were unpopular. This can be paralleled in more recent examples such as the Nazi use of anti-semitism to apportion blame for economic problems. A perception of moral righteousness, by the community, is a necessary element that enables rationalization. This, however, is only one element in a complex tapestry of factors leading to the events in question.

The modern notion of a "witch hunt" has little to do with gender, the historical notion often did. In general, supposed "witches" were female. Saith noted Judge Nicholas Rémy (c.1595), "[It is] not unreasonable that this scum of humanity, [witches], should be drawn chiefly from the feminine sex." Concurred another judge, "The Devil uses them so, because he knows that women love carnal pleasures, and he means to bind them to his allegiance by such agreeable provocations."[61]

'Witch-hunt' has become a generic term, referring to any situation in which a 'guilty party' is, essentially, tried and convicted in absentia, without any 'firm' evidence—indeed, in a typical witch-hunt, guilt is presumed from the outset, and the focus of the hunt actually becomes getting the accused to admit his guilt.[citation needed] Often, these so-called 'confessions' are brought about by way of torture, verbal trickery, or by questioning the loyalty or past conduct of the accused.

Metaphorical usage

Main article: moral panic
Further information: satanic ritual abuse and McCarthyism

In modern terminology 'witch-hunt' has acquired usage referring to the act of seeking and persecuting any perceived enemy, particularly when the search is conducted using extreme measures and with little regard to actual guilt or innocence. It is used whether or not it is sanctioned by the government, or merely occurs within the "court of public opinion".

The Oxford English Dictionary describes the first recorded use of the term in its metaphorical sense in George Orwell's Homage to Catalonia (1938). The term is used by Orwell to describe how, in the Spanish Civil War, political persecutions became a regular occurrence.

The term is used when a hunt for wrongdoers becomes abused, and a defendant can be convicted merely on an accusation. For example, in the History Channel documentary America: The Story of Us, narrator Liev Schreiber explains that "the search for runaway slaves becomes a witch hunt. A black man can be convicted with merely an accusation. Unlike white people, they do not have the right to trial by jury. Judges are paid ten dollars to rule them as slaves, five to set them free."[62]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Jensen, Gary F. (2007). The Path of the Devil. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. Ch. 8. ISBN 0742546977.
  2. ^ Murphy, Brenda (1999). Congressional Theatre. Cambridge University Press. pp. Ch. 4. ISBN 0521891663.
  3. ^ a b Brian Levack (The Witch Hunt in Early Modern Europe) multiplied the number of known European witch trials by the average rate of conviction and execution, to arrive at a figure of around 60,000 deaths. Anne Lewellyn Barstow (Witchcraze) adjusted Levack's estimate to account for lost records, estimating 100,000 deaths. Ronald Hutton (Triumph of the Moon) argues that Levack's estimate had already been adjusted for these, and revises the figure to approximately 40,000.
  4. ^ International Standard Bible Encyclopedia article on Witchcraft, last accessed 31 March 2006. There is some discrepancy between translations; compare with that given in the Catholic Encyclopedia article on Witchcraft (accessed 31 March 2006), and the L. W. King translation (accessed 31 March 2006)
  5. ^ Garnsey, Peter; Saller, Richard P. (1987). The Roman Empire: Economy, Society, and Culture. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press. pp. 168–174. ISBN 0-520-06067-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "witch" here translates the Hebrew מכשפה, and is rendered φαρμακός in the Septuagint.
  7. ^ "those that have familiar spirits": Hebrew אוב, or ἐγγαστρίμυθος "ventriloquist, soothsayer" in the Septuagint; "wizards": Hebrew ידעני or γνώστης "diviner" in the Septuagint.
  8. ^ Jordanes. The Origin and Deeds of the Goths. pp. § 24. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ [1]
  10. ^ Medieval Sourcebook: The Anglo-Saxon Dooms, 560-975
  11. ^ Jeffrey Burton Russell, A History of Medieval Christianity (173).
  12. ^ Levack, The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe, (49).
  13. ^ The Dark Side of Christian History by Helen Ellerbe.
  14. ^ Meewis, Wim (1992) De Vierschaar, Uitgevering Pelckmans, pag 115
  15. ^ H. C. Erik Midelfort, “Heartland of the Witchcraze: Central and Northern Europe,” History Today 31 (February 1981): 27-31.
  16. ^ H.C. Erik Midelfort, Witch Hunting in Southwestern Germany 1562-1684,1972,71
  17. ^ Wolfgang Behringer, Witches and Witch-Hunts,2004,83
  18. ^ Fraden, Judith Bloom, Dennis Brindell Fraden. The Salem Witch Trials. Marshall Cavendish. 2008. Pg. 15
  19. ^ "Estimates of executions". Based on Ronald Hutton's essay Counting the Witch Hunt.
  20. ^ [2] Montague Summers Geography of Witchcraft, 1927, p.153. Summers discusses and dismisses the evidence that Mary Hicks and her daughter Elizabeth were hanged in 1716.
  21. ^ Mohammed A. Diwan: Conflict between state legal norms and norms underlying popular beliefs: witchcraft in africa as a case study; in: 14 Duke J. of Comp. & Int'l L. 351
  22. ^ "Congo witch-hunt's child victims". BBC News. 1999-12-22. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
  23. ^ a b "Tanzania arrests 'witch killers'". BBC News. 2003-10-23. Retrieved 2007-04-16. It is believed that any aged, old woman with red eyes is a witch
  24. ^ A Modern Movement of Witch Finders Audrey I Richards (Africa: Journal of the International Institute of African Languages and Cultures, Ed. Diedrich Westermann.) Vol VIII, 1935, published by Oxford University Press, London
  25. ^ Christian responses to witchcraft and sorcery
  26. ^ "Whereas witchcraft cases in the colonial era, especially in former British Central Africa, were based on the official dogma that witchcraft is an illusion (so that people invoking witchcraft would be punished as either impostors or slanderers), in contemporary legal practice in Africa witchcraft appears as a reality and as an actionable offence in its own right." Wim van Binsbergen, Witchcraft in Modern Africa (2002).
  27. ^ section 251 of the Cameroonian penal code (26 Aug. 2004). Two other provisions of the penal code [translation] "state that witchcraft may be an aggravating factor for dishonest acts" (Afrik.com 26 Aug. 2004). A person convicted of witchcraft may face a prison term of 2 to 10 years and a fine. Cameroon: Witchcraft in Cameroon; tribes or geographical areas in which witchcraft is practised; the government's attitude, UNHCR (2004).
  28. ^ Mob burns to death 11 Kenyan "witches"
  29. ^ "The Gambia: Hundreds accused of “witchcraft” and poisoned in government campaign"
  30. ^ "Witch-Hunt in Gambia"
  31. ^ STUDIA INSTITUTI ANTHROPOS, Vol. 41 = Anthony J. Gittins : Mende Religion. Steyler Verlag, Nettetal, 1987. p. 197
  32. ^ STUDIA INSTITUTI ANTHROPOS, Vol. 41 = Anthony J. Gittins : Mende Religion. Steyler Verlag, Nettetal, 1987. p. 201
  33. ^ http://www.womensenews.org/story/the-world/070716/recourse-rare-witch-hunt-victims-in-india
  34. ^ The Hindu, Nearly 200 women killed every year after being branded witches, 26 July 2010. Herald Sun, 200 'witches' killed in India each year - report, 26 July 2010.
  35. ^ [3] - BBC News, October 30, 2009
  36. ^ http://www.channel4.com/programmes/unreported-world/episode-guide/series-2009/episode-9
  37. ^ King Abdullah urged to spare Saudi ‘witchcraft’ woman’s life
  38. ^ TV Presenter On Death Row For Witchcraft - Sky News, November 24, 2009
  39. ^ "The Witchcraft Act wasn't about women on brooms" Guardian.co.uk, 24 January 2007
  40. ^ "Scotland's Last Witch"
  41. ^ Witchcraft Act (1542), Fraudulent Mediums Act 1951, Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008
  42. ^ "There may be trouble ahead" BBC News, 18 April 2008
  43. ^ "Mystics see trouble ahead over new EU law" Telegraph.co.uk, 18 April 2008
  44. ^ http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/1277/regulation/27/made
  45. ^ New York Times The Longest Trial retrieved 2009 December 20
  46. ^ a b Ramsland, Katherine. "McMartin Daycare Case". Crime Library. Retrieved 2007-08-26.
  47. ^ de Young, Mary (2004). The Day Care Ritual Abuse Moral Panic. Jefferson, North Carolina, United States: McFarland and Company. ISBN 0786418303.
  48. ^ a b H.C. Erik Midelfort, Witch Hunting in Southwestern Germany 1562-1684,1972,31
  49. ^ H.C. Erik Midelfort, Witch Hunting in Southwestern Germany 1562-1684,1972,31-32
  50. ^ H.C. Erik Midelfort, Witch Hunting in Southwestern Germany 1562-1684,1972,69-0
  51. ^ Wolfgang Behringer, Witches and Witch-Hunts,2004,88
  52. ^ H.C. Erik Midelfort, Witch Hunting in Southwestern Germany 1562-1684,1972
  53. ^ Gunnar Heinsohn/Otto Steiger: "Witchcraft, Population Catastrophe and Economic Crisis in Renaissance Europe: An Alternative Macroeconomic Explanation.", University of Bremen 2004 (download)
  54. ^ Gunnar Heinsohn/Otto Steiger: The Elimination of Medieval Birth Control and the Witch Trials of Modern Times, International Journal of Women's Studies, 3, May 1982, 193-214
  55. ^ Gunnar Heinsohn/Otto Steiger: "Birth Control: The Political-Economic Rationale Behind Jean Bodin's "Démonomanie"", in: History of Political Economy, 31, No. 3, 423-448
  56. ^ Heinsohn, G.(2005): "Population, Conquest and Terror in the 21st Century." [4]
  57. ^ Walter Rummel: 'Weise' Frauen und 'weise' Männer im Kampf gegen Hexerei. Die Widerlegung einer modernen Fabel. In: Christof Dipper, Lutz Klinkhammer und Alexander Nützenadel: Europäische Sozialgeschichte. Festschrift für Wolfgang Schieder (= Historische Forschungen 68), Berlin 2000, S. 353-375, [5]
  58. ^ see John M. Riddle: "The Great Witch-Hunt and the Suppression of Birth Control: Heinsohn and Steiger's Theory from the Perspective of an Historian", Appendix to: Gunnar Heinsohn/Otto Steiger: "Witchcraft, Population Catastrophe and Economic Crisis in Renaissance Europe: An Alternative Macroeconomic Explanation.", University of Bremen 2004 (download); also see John M. Riddle: "Eve's Herbs: A History of Contraception and Abortion in the West", Princeton: Harvard University Press 1999, ISBN 0674270266, esp. Chapters 5-7
  59. ^ Diane Purkiss, "A Holocaust of one's own," 8
  60. ^ Diane Purkis, "A Holocaust of one's own," 8
  61. ^ Klaits, Joseph — Servants of Satan: The Age of the Witch Hunts (1985) p.68
  62. ^ Liev Schreiber (May 2, 2010). America: The Story of Us - Division (Television). Nutopia.

Further reading

  • Behringer, Wolfgang. Witches and Witch Hunts: A Global History. Malden Massachusetts: Polity Press, 2004.
  • Briggs, Robin. 'Many reasons why': witchcraft and the problem of multiple explanation, in Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe. Studies in Culture and Belief, ed. Jonathan Barry, Marianne Hester, and Gareth Roberts, Cambridge University Press, 1996.
  • Cohn, Norman. Europe's Inner Demons: The Demonization of Christians in Medieval Christendom, Revised Edition. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1993.
  • Goode, Erich; Ben-Yahuda, Nachman (1994). Moral Panics: The Social Construction of Deviance. Cambridge, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 063118905X.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Klaits, Joseph. Servants of Satan: The Age of the Witch Hunts. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1985
  • Levack, Brian P. The Great Scottish Witch Hunt of 1661-1662, The Journal of British Studies, Vol.20, No, 1. (Autumn, 1980), pp. 90–108.
  • Levack, Brian P. The witch hunt in early modern Europe, Third Edition. London and New York: Longman, 2006.
  • Macfarlane, Alan. Witchcraft in Tudor and Stuart England: A regional and Comparative Study. New York and Evanston: Harper & Row Publishers, 1970.
  • Midlefort, Erick H.C. Witch Hunting in Southeastern Germany 1562-1684: The Social and Intellectual Foundation. California: Stanford University Press, 1972. ISBN 0804708053
  • Oberman, H. A., J. D. Tracy, Thomas A. Brady (eds.), Handbook of European History, 1400-1600: Visions, Programs, Outcomes (1995) ISBN 9004097619
  • Oldridge, Darren (ed.), The Witchcraft Reader (2002) ISBN 0415214920
  • Poole, Robert. The Lancashire Witches: Histories and Stories (2002) ISBN 0719062047
  • Purkiss, Diane. "A Holocaust of One's Own: The Myth of the Burning Times." Chapter in The Witch and History: Early Modern and Twentieth Century Representatives New York, NY: Routledge, 1996, pp. 7–29.
  • Robisheaux, Thomas. The Last Witch of Langenburg: Murder in a German Village. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. (2009) ISBN 9780393065510
  • Sagan, Carl. The Demon-Haunted World, Random House, 1996. ISBN 039453512X
  • Thurston, Robert. The Witch Hunts: A History of the Witch Persecutions in Europe and North America. Pearson/Longman, 2007.
  • Purkiss, Diane. The Bottom of the Garden, Dark History of Fairies, Hobgoblins, and Other Troublesome Things. Chapter 3 Brith and Death: Fairies in Scottish Witch-trials New York, NY: New York University Press, 2000, pp. 85–115.
  • West, Robert H. Reginald Scot and Renaissance Writings. Boston: Twayne Publishers,1984.
  • Briggs, K.M. Pale Hecate’s Team, an Examination of the Beliefs on Witchcraft and Magic among Shakespeare’s Contemporaries and His Immediate Successors. New York: The Humanities Press, 1962.
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