Elizabeth 5 - The persecution of witches

Question 1

What did Elizabeth believe believe about witches?

Answer 1

witches could perform magic to cure illness, control the actions of others, or recover stolen goods

Question 2

What did people believe about witches?

Answer 2

Some people believed witches power came from their relationship with the devil
Witches were believed to have familiars: small animals such as cats and toads thatassisted with their evil acts

Question 3

What did the 1563 law against witchcraft input?

Answer 3

Death by hangingfor using witchcraft to kill
Prison for damage to property

Question 4

What was historians interpretations of the reasons for persecution of witches (1)?

Answer 4

1. Tension between villagers
   Powerfor the powerless: explains confessions
   Lots of unexplained terrible things happen

Question 5

What was historians interpretations of the reasons for persecution of witches (2)?

Answer 5

2. Attacks on
   90% of those accused of witchcraft were women
   In a patriarchal society, persecuting witches was a way to deal with women who did not have husbands to control them

Question 6

What was historians interpretations of the reasons for persecution of witches (3)?

Answer 6

3. Puritans
   Puritan ministers encouraged persecution to get rid of magical beliefs
   Essex, a hotbed of accusations of witchcraft, was a highly Puritan area