Case Study- East Anglia

Question 1

What years did the East Anglia Witch hunt take place?

Answer 1

1645-1647

Question 2

Why did the original quarrel with parliament begin?

Answer 2

Charles came to blows with the government over his approach to government finance and his failed military expeditions

Question 3

When did Charles officially dissolve parliament?

Answer 3

1629

Question 4

How long did Charles rule alone for?

Answer 4

11 years

Question 5

When and Why did Charles recall parliament

Answer 5

• 1640

- To persuade them to vote him the funds to fight a war with the Scot’s

Question 6

What did Charles do while parliament was dissolved which further angered MP’s

Answer 6

The religious policies Charles had formulated with William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury were catholic in appearance, most MP’s were puritan

Question 7

What was Ship Money?

Answer 7

Charles’s form of tax which was at first just in coastal towns to pay for his fleet but eventually reached the entirety of England

Question 8

When did the Civil War officially begin?

Answer 8

August 1642

Question 9

What was the New Model Army?

Answer 9

A national army made up of former parliamentary regiments. It was disciplined and well trained. Helped parliament gain a decisive victory at the Battle of Naseby in 1945.

Question 10

Why was Suffolk significant in the Civil War?

Answer 10

It was parliament’s main recruiting ground

Question 11

How Many Men left Suffolk during the war?

Answer 11

20%

Question 12

Who was Margey Sparham?

Answer 12

An accused witch in Suffolk, she was a witch due to her husband being at war leaving her vulnerable

Question 13

Did the Church of England lose or gain authority during the civil war

Answer 13

• They lost authority, in areas controlled by parliament undesirable ministers were ejected and replaced by puritan ones

Question 14

What did authority for the local gentry look like?

Answer 14

• it was undermined as many of them left their estates to fight, those with royalist sympathies faced arrest and confiscation of their assets

Question 15

What happened as a result of a loss of traditional authority?

Answer 15

Fear began to grow of not only enemies on the outside but enemies within, this would manifest itself into the witch hunt.

Question 16

What did the Legal Structure look like in East Anglia?

Answer 16

Assize courts were unable to function normally during the war meaning ‘justice’ was often handed over to local magistrates or by individuals with limited legal education.

Question 17

Which areas did the witch hunt take place?

Answer 17

Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire.

Question 18

What was the Eastern Association?

Answer 18

A military organization compromising of the seven-county militias of Eastern England during the English Civil War

Question 19

Who was the Earl of Warwick?

Answer 19

One of the most senior members of parliament, sent to oversee justice in Essex, he had little legal experience and he worked closely with county magistrates. He sentenced 19 women to hang.

Question 20

How many people were executed?

Answer 20

700 were accused 400 were killed

Question 21

What was Ergot?

Answer 21

A fungal disease that particularly affects Rye.

Question 22

What was Ergotism

Answer 22

A poisoning that caused headaches, vomiting, and spasms caused by ingesting ergot. Some historians blame this for accusations of witchcraft as it may have caused hallucinatons

Question 23

What led to crop failure during the mid-1640s?

Answer 23

wet summers and freezing winters

Question 24

What percentage did wheat, cheese, and meat rise by in 1646?

Answer 24

20%

Question 25

What did puritan preachers interpret the economic challenges as?

Answer 25

A punishment from God that Charles should not be back on the throne, led to people blaming witches for their problems

Question 26

How much did livestock prices increase by?

Answer 26

12%

Question 27

How much did grain prices increase by?

Answer 27

15%

Question 28

How many women were accused?

Answer 28

80%

Question 29

When did Hopkins first become concerned with witches?

Answer 29

1644 - claimed his house was next to a witches meeting place

Question 30

Who were Hopkins and Stearne?

Answer 30

Men who offered their services as witchfinders to parishes and towns.

Question 31

Who was Elizabeth Clarke?

Answer 31

The first woman to be accused in Manningtree. She was inspected by four women for a devils mark and was found with three teats. She was sleep deprived and then named other witches.

Question 32

Who was John Lowes?

Answer 32

an 80 year old royalist clergymen who was accused of witchcraft due to his defense of a woman accused of being a witch. He was made to endure the swimming test, he floated and then was tortured into confessing and giving other names

Question 33

Did Hopkins and Stearne charge?

Answer 33

Yes - they charged local councils for their services

Question 34

What was Hopkins defense pamphlet called?

Answer 34

The Discovery of witches - written after he was subjected to questioning of his methods.

Question 35

What did Hopkins want to find evidence of in his cases?

Answer 35

Evidence of sexual activity with the Devil and the suckling of imps.

Question 36

What percentage of witches were charged with killing children?

Answer 36

20%

Question 37

Which people were mainly targeted as being witches?

Answer 37

Women and the poorer class. Often people who went to wealthier neigbours for charity and were deined

Question 38

What religion were both Stearne and Hopkins?

Answer 38

Puritan

Question 39

What did Hopkins and Stearne mainly look for in witches?

Answer 39

• relationship between witch and devil
• Devils mark
• Imps or familiars given by the Devil
• Other witches of the same coven

Question 40

What methods did Hopkins and Stearne use?

Answer 40

• Isolation
• Invasive searches
• “watching” essentially being sleep deprived and watched by a group of people
• made to walk around a room
• (not on record but suspected) physical violence
• Swimming test

Question 41

Who was Matthew Hopkins?

Answer 41

A self declared “witchfinder general” who was the son of puritan clergyman James Hopkins

Question 42

When was the discovery of witches published?

Answer 42

1647

Question 43

REASONS FOR WITCHCRAZE ENDING:

- What was the growing costs

Answer 43

• Imprisonment cost - £50 while waiting for execution per prisoner
• Assizes carried an expense 1945 Bury st. Edmunds judge sent an invoice for £130
• Executions cost money, some cost £3 per execution
• Fees demanded by Hopkins and Stearne became controversial, Hopkins complained about not being paid enough. Took increasingly more money for each search

Question 44

REASONS FOR WITCHCRAZE ENDING:

- Re-establishment of traditional authority

Answer 44

• Fighting ceased in 1646
• Royalists were returning to their estates
• Traditional assize courts are returned towards the end of the hunts
• 1647 presiding judges on a case were given questions on Hopkins and Stearne phrased by local gentry

Question 45

REASONS FOR WITCHCRAZE ENDING:

- Role of John Gaule

Answer 45

Gaule was the minister of Great Staugton

• He published his works ‘Select cases of consience touching Witches and Witchcrafts’ where he criticised Hopkins and Stearnes methods
• He also began a campagin of preaching against the witchfinders
• He helped in the long term to persuade judges that there was no need for witch hunts