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Exam (elaborations) Unit 33 - The witch craze in Britain, Europe and North America, c1580-c1750 Access to History: The Witchcraze of the 16th and 17th Centuries Second Edition, ISBN: 9781510459137 $14.96   Add to cart
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Exam (elaborations) Unit 33 - The witch craze in Britain, Europe and North America, c1580-c1750 Access to History: The Witchcraze of the 16th and 17th Centuries Second Edition, ISBN: 9781510459137

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Assess the reasons for the decline in European witch-hunts. A* coursework.

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  • June 13, 2022
  • 25
  • 2021/2022
  • Exam (elaborations)
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  • history
  • coursework
  • witchcraze
  • 16th
  • 17th
  • century
  • decline of witch hunts
  • witch hunts
  • decline
  • witch coursework
  • decline of witches
  • history a level coursework
  • assess the reasons for the decline in european

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Jack Powell Candidate No. 6157 Centre No. 27116


Assess the reasons for the decline in European witch-hunting during the

seventeenth century.

During the course of the witch hunts of 1560-1660, approximately 50,000 men, women and

children were wrongly accused and executed across Europe for being thought to be witches

or practicing sorcery. Nevertheless, the seventeenth century saw the start of the

deterioration of trials throughout Europe. Although in some European countries such as

England, this decline had already been evident with the last known execution of Alice

Molland being documented in 1684. However, this was not the case everywhere in Europe

as the last known legal execution was recorded in 1782 in Glaurus, Switzerland. The

traditional interpretation for the decline of witch hunts was the scientific enlightenment,

which through scientific developments and philosophical ideas, witlessness and superstition

was defeated. This is reinforced by the opinion of Peter Elmer, as he credits the decline of

witch hunts to new scientific knowledge deposing outdated scientific and medical opinion.

For example, the Royal Society introduced new critical thinking. This allowed for new

knowledge to become widespread. Therefore, it undermined the belief in witchcraft.

Significant individuals included the likes of Gailleo, Newton and Johannes Kepler who

introduced theories about the universe which displaced old-fashioned opinions. Moreover,

other individuals such as Rene Descartes and John Locke introduced the concept of

objectivity as a new scientific feature. However, this traditional argument is flawed as it is

believed that the scientific revolution happened after the end of witch-hunting. As a result,

this makes the relationship harder to establish. For example, in 1638 Rene Descartes

published ‘Disclosure on the Method’. By this time, the witch hunts were already declining.

This implies that different factors influenced the decline of witch hunts such as scepticism

and legal changes. Another explanation for the reason of decline in the seventeenth century

[Type here]

,Jack Powell Candidate No. 6157 Centre No. 27116


is the scepticism of religionists and educated elites. The societal convergence between

upper and lower class made resources more accessible allowing new ideas to spread

further. Religionists such as Thomas Ady trusted the Bible, as they argued that it

contradicted beliefs in witch-hunting. However, not everyone held this view such as Joseph

Glanvil, who was the most notable advocate of witchcraft. Also, scepticism of the educated

elites was a reason for the decline in the seventeenth century as they questioned the threat

posed by witches and introduced optimism. Their status in society also provided them with

a basis that allowed them to make more effective changes to bring prosecutions to an end.

Legal changes are the most convincing reason for why the decline took place because

legislation was becoming stricter, and judges began to question evidence brought to them.

Once legal changes were put into place, the decline of witch prosecutions began. This is

evident as individuals such as Sir John Holt secured many discharges due to his

unwillingness to convict. Historians such as Brian Levack argues that the decline of witch-

hunting was due to judiciary scepticism and centralised states.1 Correspondingly, a

widespread change in societal opinions on torturing made people more sceptical about why

torture was allowed and thus forced people into thinking about whether the defendants

were only making confessions due to enduring excruciating and agonising pain.

Subsequently, this then led to restrictions on torture and demands for persuasive evidence,

thus leading to the decline. There were many factors that catalysed the decline in European

witch-hunting in the seventeenth century, but the most convincing factor is the legal

changes. This is because it solidified the establishment of new laws and viewpoints of judges

which ultimately led to the decline of witchcraft prosecutions.


1
https://www.sfu.ca/~poitras/Levack_witch-hunts.pdf



[Type here]

, Jack Powell Candidate No. 6157 Centre No. 27116




The traditional explanation for the decline of European witch hunts during the seventeenth

century, which has been suggested by historians such as William Dampier and Peter Elmer,

is scientific enlightenment. Particularly, the scientific developments that occurred in the

seventeenth century which are often considered by some historians as the most pivotal

factor leading to the decline. William Dampier proposed that the changes of attitudes

towards witchcraft was primarily due to the advances in science which slowly defined the

man’s mastery of nature which allowed for the civilised world to gradually discover that it

had ceased to believe in the existence of witches. 2 Dampier’s suggestion is supported by

Elmer, who argued that the scientific revolution had taken the witch trials “out of existence”

due to the overthrow of antiquated scientific and medical opinion following the Scientific

Revolution. 3Johannes Kepler’s work lends credence to Elmer’s interpretation. Johannes

Kepler was a German astronomer and mathematician. He published ‘Astronoma Nova’ in

1609, where he established his first two laws of planetary motion, which brought

transparency to many about the universe, eradicating outdated explanations. 4 Kepler also

published a second book, ‘Harmones Mundi’ where he stated that ‘there is no room for

divine or demonic intervention’ 5. This is indicative to the idea that although scientists of the

time believed that the Devil was real, they also believed in a God who would not permit the

Devil to exert any influence over humans. This is reinforced as Kepler had a personal


2
Sir William Cecil Dampier, ‘A History of Science and Its Relations with Philosophy and Religion’ (4 th
edn, Cambridge, 1996; 1st edn, 1929) pg.144
3
Elmer. P, Science, Medicine and Witchcraft, Witchcraft historiography, Palgrave Macmillan,
Basingstoke, 2007, chapter 3, pg. 33
4
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johannes-Kepler
5
Barker, Peter, and Bernard R. Goldstein. “Theological Foundations of Kepler's Astronomy.” Osiris, vol. 16,
2001, pp. 88–113. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/301981

[Type here]

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