Witchcraft The Causes Of The Salem Witch Trials

Witchcraft is the use of magical powers. Witchcraft is often regarded as â€Å"black† magic. The article called â€Å"The Salem Witch Trials: 1692-1693† states that â€Å"[s]ince the early fifteenth century, so-called witch panics had periodically swept across Europe, causing witch hunts, accusations, trials and executions† (â€Å"Salem† 1). Although some children and males were accused, the greater part of the arraigned individuals were female (â€Å"Salem† 1). A debatable amount of around forty thousand individuals were implicated and executed as witches between fourteen hundred and seventeen hundred and fifty (â€Å"Salem† 1). Although the causes of the witchcraft hysteria are debatable, there are three widespread and favored explanations for the hysteria within†¦show more content†¦Spielvogel states that â€Å"Europe’s longtime adversaries-war, famine, and plague-continued to affect population levels† (Spielvogel 43 7). Europeans also experienced another temperature drop that hurt harvests and led to a shortage of food (Spielvogel 437). Anxiety and anger over Europe’s worsening state led people to make allegations of witchcraft in order to explain the worsening conditions in Europe (Spielvogel 437). To summarize, heightened tensions within small communities because of Europe’s longtime worsening conditions played a part in why there was so much hysteria over witchcraft. Furthermore, another cause for the witchcraft frenzy was religious uncertainty (Spielvogel 439). There were numerous witchcraft trials in the region where â€Å"Protestant-Catholic† arguments still fumed (Spielvogel 439). According to Spielvogel, â€Å"[a]s religious passions became inflamed, accusations of being in league with the devil became common on both sides† (Spielvogel 439). Additionally, another contributing factor to the widespread witchcraft hysteria was the escalating amount of trials and executions of alleged witches (Spielvogel 437). There are countless different assumptions about witches. The majority of individuals in the sixteenth and seventeenth century presumed that God and Satan were real (Lambert 1). They also assumed that â€Å"witches† were in allegiance with Satan and made a vow to bow down and serve him (Lambert 1). Furthermore, another common belief wasShow MoreRelatedThe Causes Of Witchcraft Hysteria In The Salem Witch Trials1110 Words   |  5 PagesIn 1692, the British colony of Massachusetts endured abnormal accusations of witchcraft against more than 150 people (Prentice Hall Literature, p. 1087). Many factors caused the witchcraft hysteria to come alive during the 1600’s. Two important factors were: Daemonologie, written by England’s King James I, and the bewildering behavior of the accusing teenage girls. 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