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EAST ANGLIA WITCH CRAZE 1645-1647 - Coggle Diagram
EAST ANGLIA WITCH CRAZE 1645-1647
Impact of Hopkins
Indictments rose with Hopkins' witch hunt and then fell after 1660
Indictments:
the formal charges on which suspects stand trial
hopkins criteria was highly directed at the old women who were vulnerable and easy to convict. Hopkins did not convict on hard evidence but on the bsis that they were disliked and easy targets. He did this because it was a way of making money
In the spring of 1647, Hopkins attended the Norfolk Assizes, where his authority was questioned by skeptical officials. Hopkins wrote 'The Discovery of Witches' in response
Hopkins targeted women as he wanted to find evidence of sexual activity with the Devil and the suckling of imps. Susanna Stegold was however accused of murdering her husband through witchcraft
Hopkins was raised by an influential and strict Puritan clergyman and it would have been impossible to inherit his family's estate, meaning he needed another way to earn money
at the end of 1646, three witches were brought before the court at Ely by Hopkins. all three were acquitted by John Godbold, suggesting Hopkins' power had been broken
Imapct of Civil War
since the beginning of the war, the price of livestock had increased by 12% and the price of grain by 15%
In 1646, Charles I surrendered to the Scots and gentry returned to their estates. the East Anglican Assizes began to operate again and traditional authority was restored. royalists returned; breaking the dominance of the Puritan leaders
Impact of victims
Margaret Moone
a woman who fell into poverty because of increasing rent rates and was forced into begging - accused of causing the death of livestock and the murder of a child
John Lowes
an 18 year-old royalist clergyman who was interrogated after defending a woman accused of witchcraft. he eventually confessed to having made a pact with the Devil after floating during the swimming test
80% of victims were women, usually accused of crimes in 'female spaces'. poor women were involved in dairy farming, so when something went wrong they were accused of witchcraft
Impact of torture
Methods of torture
1) isolation of the subject for as long as possible
2) search women employed to look for Devil's marks
3) watching and sleep deprivation
4) swimming test; already approved in 'Daemonologie' by James VI
imprisonment would cost up to 50 pounds to hold a witch whilst they waited for their assize court date
John Gaule
was the minister of the Great Staughton who opposed Hopkins and Stearne and believed that his parishioners were to blame for their sins, not the witches
Gaule published a book in 1646 where he states that witchfinding should be carried out in a meticulous and cautious way, and complained that the craze was becoming idolatrous. people were losing sight of God, Christ and the Bible