East Anglia context Flashcards
How did traditional authority breakdown?
During King Charles’ reign, he implemented many controversial policies that caused outrage with the parliament.
–> Between 1640 and 1642, Charles and parliament continued debating
–> August 1642, Charles signalled the start of the Civil War
How was Suffolk related to the Civil War?
Became the epicentre of the witch-hunt and served as parliament’s main recruiting ground.
What were the two sides of the war?
Catholic / royalist sympathisers and Protestant / Parliamentarian supporters
How many men from East Anglia left to fight?
20%
What was the result of the Civil War on women?
Traditional power relationships began to shift.
–> fears arose women becoming too powerful translated into witchcraft accusations
–> women joined extreme sects and began to preach
Where can we see evidence of the social context on witchcraft accusations?
1645: Royalist woman from Lancashire was reported to have given birth to a headless baby.
Women were beginning to drink and swear like men.
What impact did the Civil War have on religious authority?
It was undermined; in areas controlled by parliament, undesirable ministers were ejected from their churches and often replaced by Puritans.
The local gentry was also undermined as many of them left their estates to fight.
How did legal structures change?
Assize courts were unable to function normally –> as a result, many wealthy Lords gave out justice .
- Earl of Warwick = no legal experience yet sent 19 women to hang in 1645
What taxes did King Charles implement?
1643: a new type of tax which was 12x higher than Ship Tax
Economic context?
1646: crop failure from ergot
Inflation: livestock increased 12%, and grain by 15%
October 1645 and 1646: heavy rains ruined the harvest again (perceived as a punishment from God)
Changing land use –> economic context?
As the rich were able to acquire more land to feed their cattle, the poorest residents of parishes felt shut out from prosperity –> charity was also becoming very rare.
Landlords began enclosing land in order to focus on one agricultural product and maximise profit.
Wealthier residents expected to pay poor rates, but many thought this feckless.
How can we see evidence of economic context in witchcraft accusations?
Margaret Moone fell into poverty –> started begging –> was blamed for the death of livestock and crop failures, as well as the murder of a child
