Witches & Witch hunts

Witches and warlocks, wizardry and magic, spells and potions, all something we hear in fairy tales and books. These things are not something commonly believe in by most people in today society. However, in the Elizabethan era, witches,witchcraft, and witch hunts were highly believed in. People would often blame unexplainable events and diseases on witches and their work. When the Black Death outbreaks happened, there was no cure for the disease so the people had to direct their anger and sadness onto someone, and witches were the main target. When people would die, houses would burn down, when there would be bad harvests, or when food would go bad people would just blame it on the work of the witches. This era brought a new intellect of supernatural things, but mostly the work of witches, witchcraft and witch hunts. The item that was responsible for people believing in these types of things were bibles and books containing religious themes. These books had many ideas about witchcraft and witches, which promoted the witch hunts in the 15th and 16th century. When books about astrology and magic started to be released in the new Renaissance the witch hunts intensified. The web site http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-witchcraft-and-witches.htm  says that in "1562 Elizabethan Witchcraft Act was passed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. It was an act 'agaynst Conjurations Enchantments and Witchecraftes'."  The people that were often thought to be witches were the old, poor, single, widowed, and unprotected. Also those with prominent deformities like extra fingers or toes and moles. When  the fear of witches and witchcraft increased, the catholic church said that anyone who had knowledge of herbs (since many women would because of trying to find cures for diseases) that they would have had a pact with the Devil, either explicit or implicit. If you were in possession of herbs, especially those who have physcidellic effects, would be executed by burning in Europe. As for a punishment to those convicted of murder by witchcraft in England would be executed by hanging, not burning at the stake which was the terrible death that was only used on French and Spanish witches. Crimes by witchcraft that were not as harsh would result in a punishment by being pilloried. Torture towards witches was not aloud as a procedure for punishing one for witchcraft.
 A witch hunt is the search for witches or evidence of witchcraft. The main reason for witch hunts was because of social, emotional and religious transformations. Witch hunts took many lives of people, including innocent ones. There are still witch hunts going on today, but no where as intense or like the ones that took place in the Elizabethan era. Now a days they take place in southern Africa, and Saharan Africa. Witches and witch hunting play a big role in the story of Macbeth because they were a big influence on him and what choices he should consider and what actions he should make.

http://www.gendercide.org/case_witchhunts.html
http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-witchcraft-and-witches.htm 
http://web.uvic.ca/~mbest1/ISShakespeare/Resources/Witches/Witches.html