6- East Anglia, 1645-47 Flashcards
Legal Structures in East Anglia (Causation)
-assize courts disrupted by Civil War, the journey from London was too dangerous
-trials judged by local magistrates or other individuals appointed with little legal experience
-assizes brought outsider perspective with locals didn’t have
-Due to its disruption, fears of witchcraft intensified and witch-hunt spread quickly
-mayors were willing to pay Hopkins and Sterne as they had the appearance of legal knowledge HOWEVER their main aim was to convict witches
-lack of judges so power was left to individuals who wanted a witch craze due to money motifs
Attitudes to the poor (Causation)
-people were unwilling to give money to the poor
-poor rates suffering from 2 years of crop failure (increased begging)
-charity provided by rich became more rare (idleness viewed as sinfulness)
-people were unsympathetic
-accusations made to the poorest people, so people don’t have to pay poor rates
-when donations were given to older, poor women, they were feared that they would use magic as revenge if they weren’t given enough money
-more beggars accused due to fear of being cursed
-accusing the poor was an easy way to not pay poor rates
Hopkins and Sterne
Matthew Hopkins- devout Puritan
They were responsible for the deaths of over 100 witches
Mayors were willing to pay them because they had the appearance of legitimate legal knowledge
Their main aim was to convict witches which drove the witch craze further
the power to convict people was placed in hands of people who wanted a witch craze
Hopkins and Sterne chose locations that they would receive warm reception at
Hopkins took large profits for his work e.g £23
Iconoclast General- route to find catholics where he knew in advance he would be welcome
Crop Failures- Causation
-October 1645-46, heavy rain rotted crops
-fields trodden with mud, wettest weather in living memory
-no real understanding of why the weather changed so was easier for people to blame someone
-belief that it was the work of the devil, so they scapegoated witches
-Winter 1646- wet, wheat and rye was inedible, rot with ergot
-seed corn had to be eaten so there was little seed to be planted for next harvest
-corn prices rose 15% so became expensive
-meat and cheese rose in consumption
-people were starving
-people scapegoated witches as they were unwilling to pay poor rates and wanted to put their survival first (more food to eat if people were being convicted)
Social Dislocation caused by the Civil War
-Men left for the war so a high % never came back
-Shift in social dynamics as women took up more positions in authority HOWEVER East Anglia was highly puritan so they believed that women were inferior to men and when women had more power it was seemed to be the work of the Devil
-something goes wrong, was easy to blame women than believe it was accident or chance
Political Chaos of Civil War
-traditional authority undermined
-Church of England was seen as having large authority due to Civil War, connection between Charles I and COE
-people were untrustworthy of the church, had no respect
-authority of local gentry was undermined
-many had left their estates to fight with the King, so they were undermined due to lack of presence and fighting with opposition
-lack of authority so fears grew
-original fears- royal sympathies
-ministers turn to idea of spies on parliamentarian, suspicious behaviour led to accusations
Ending- The Growing Cost
Imprisonment was expensive- three pence per day , the jailor at Ipswich complained that he was suffering financially because money collected to keep the suspects was never enough
Feeding prisoners- growing with more people being prosecuted
Assize judges- the judge at the trial sent an invoice of £130 to cover his costs
Executions
Fees demanded by H+S- complained about only being paid 20 shillings which was around a months wage for a labourer
IMPACT
money was one of the main motivations behind the craze
without it, people were less concerned about continuing with it if they were receiving any financial incentives. Especially Hopkins and Sterne
Ending- Hopkins Death
-By the end of 1647, Hopkins was dead
-Judges were reluctant to convict suspects- particularly in Suffolk
IMPACTFUL considering the driving force of convicting suspects was by MH, without him, the interrogations would not have been done
Ending- The Re-establishment of traditional authority
-the majority of fighting from the Civil War was finished as Charles surrendered to the Scots at Newark in May 1646.
-East Anglia were able to receive assize judges more regularly as it was safer to do so
