The Witches of New York

The period between the 15th and the 18th centuries (also known as the Early Modern period) was marked by growing religious fervor and fear of the devil and witchcraft. From the 14th century onward, European populations were gripped by several waves of bubonic plague (known as the Black Death) along with several social upheavals (the Peasants’ Revolt in the 14th and 15th centuries; the Thirty Years’ War (1618-48); the English Civil War (1642-51); the Renaissance Period and its interest in scientific inquiry, among others). As fear rose within the peasantry, many pointed to witchcraft as the source of these social ills, which cultivated widespread hostility.

Accusations of witchcraft seldom had any evidence of legitimate witchcraft; rather, accusing a person of witchcraft was often a way to enact personal vendettas or get retribution for local strife. Displaying any kind of behavior considered abnormal or threatening was also often a cause for accusation. When the Malleus Maleficarum, or The Hammer of Witches, was published in 1486, authorities across Europe such as witch hunters, judges, and ecclesiastical representatives were provided with a manual that justified the persecution of so-called witches. The book created a theological basis and gave legal justifications for identifying, prosecuting, and punishing the accused.