18th Century Witchcraft

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The belief in witchcraft has existed in all lands from early times to today. Witchcraft exists in the folklore of people almost everywhere by everyone of all communities. In this, witchcraft combines commonly held beliefs with personal relationships in a society of an altogether different time and place.
In 1487, a book named Malleus Maleficarum was published to help witch hunters find and execute people who were believed to be witches (Stewart 12). Over the next nine months, the community began to notice bizarre things happen to children. They thought that they were put under a evil spell. Soon, the children began naming certain members of the community who they thought had bewitched them, and events soon spiraled out of control (Stewart …show more content…
King Henry built his own church and had his own beliefs. King Henry was upset that his wife wasn't able to have his child, so he went to the pope and asked for a annulment. This wasn't allowed. Henry then claimed that the impediment of affinity in the collateral line was established by God in Leviticus 20:21 which states “if a man marries his brother's wife and thus disgraces his brother,they shall be childless because of this incest” (Caridi). Henry then declared that he was the true King of the Church of England, and that the pope wasn't. King Henry’s marriage to his wife was nulled by willing yes men of England …show more content…
This felony was punishable by hanging. On February 29th, 1692, the first arrest warrants were issued for three women whom the girls claimed had afflicted them (MacBain 12). About two hundred more arrests were made in the coming months by different people. Pressured into putting an end to the madness, in May, Governor William Phipps set up the Special Court of Oyer and Terminer to ‘hear and determine’ who was and was not a witch. This court was finally dissolved in October when the trials came to an end (MacBain
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