"Witch hunt" is now just a common term associated with bandits or criminals that are no longer to be found these days. This is all due to false accusations and exaggeration. This (obviously) comes from the actual witch hunt that was practiced in the past. Of course, it is easy to discredit those past actions now and this witch hunt seems to be a thing of the past, but there are still parallels that can be compared to our current problems. This must be borne in mind, otherwise we risk repeating such acts of unfair sentences.
Basque witches
Basque witch hunt took place in Spain during the Inquisition (in the 17th century), it was recognized as the largest and most ambitious in the history of mankind. More than 7,000 people have been proven to have been burned. It is unclear why the witch hunt began, as there was not a single report of witchcraft in the area prior to the start of the trials. Many believe that it all came from the church, as it tried to suppress old customs and bring Catholicism to the world.
The numbers are amazing
There were several stages, for example, during the first of them 12 convicted witches were burned. The hunt did not end there, it continued, about 2000 more people were caught. Many of them confessed that they were sorceresses, and told that there are about 5,000 more people who were engaged in the same trade. Almost all of the people who later confessed said their testimony was the result of excruciating torture.
Promotional video:
The Berwick Witches
The North Berwick witch trials began in the late 1500s and lasted more than two years, resulting in 70 people being charged with a "deal with the devil." It began when King James VI, returning home from Denmark, was caught in a violent storm. The officer on the ship blamed the bad weather, which was supposedly the result of witchcraft. After that, a witch hunt was announced in Denmark, but later the involvement of women from Scotland was proved, where the executions continued. It was there that the largest witch hunt took place. At first, one person was tortured. No matter how hard he tried to justify himself, in the end he confessed that he was associated with witchcraft, and then called all the other "conspirators." Many were accused and burned at the stake just because King James VI had a hectic trip to Denmark.
Matthew Hopkins
He is one of the most accomplished witch hunters in history. It is believed that Hopkins and his team were involved in more than 60% of the executions of witches in England (period from 1644 to 1646). Hopkins is known to have started his campaign after overhearing women talking about their encounters with the devil. He did not use routine torture to extort confessions from the women he accused. Torture was illegal in England, so he developed his own ways to identify witches. He deprived the accused of sleep and tingled the accused with a blunt knife to extract confessions. If the wounds did not bleed, then the woman was recognized as a witch.
He also used the swimming technique, which was as follows: if the accused could safely swim out from under the water, then he was guilty. But for this test, the accused was tied to a chair and thrown into the lake. Another distinctive feature was the so-called sign of the devil. Usually it is a mole or birthmark, but if the suspect did not have any on the body, Hopkins believed that he could still have some "invisible" marks. Hopkins died in 1647, most likely of tuberculosis. But many believe that Hopkins was subjected to his own swimming test and then executed, as well as witches, but there is insufficient evidence to support this claim.
Pendle Hill Witch Hunt
In 1612, a witch-hunt was declared in the quiet town of Pendle Hill, which then continued throughout England. It started when Alison Worth asked a simple merchant named John Lowe about a pin she saw on his clothes. John refused to admit why he needed the pin, and soon after, he was paralyzed. He explained that it was witchcraft, and it was all the work of Alison. She eventually confessed to making a deal with the devil. Alison then accused many more women of being powerful witches too. Accusations continued to come from everywhere, and 19 people were eventually arrested for witchcraft. Of these, 10 people were executed for witchcraft, and this was the beginning of a great witch hunt throughout England. Pendle Hill is considered the most mystical place in England,as in this area there are many things that were associated with witches.
Salem witches
The Salem burnings are probably the most famous of all the witch hunts on this list and remain a reminder of what can happen if hysteria comes from society. The story involves 11-year-old Abigail Williams and 9-year-old Betty Paris, who were experiencing seizures considered too extreme for normal epileptic seizures. The doctor did not find any physical ailments and noticed similar strange behavior in other girls around them. A group of poor girls accused three women - Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne and Tituba - of torturing them. These three women were recognized as social outcasts, and according to the adopted bill they were considered “ordinary suspects”. From that moment on, the situation began to spiral out of control, and by the end of May 1693, 20 people had been executed. These burns remain a reminderwhat can happen when religious extremism and false accusations spread throughout society.
Victoria Ivashura