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History · Crime and punishment in early modern England
Witchcraft and the Witch-Hunts of 1645-47
How witchcraft became a crime punishable by death, and why Matthew Hopkins was able to lead England's worst witch-hunt during the Civil War.
Learning Objectives
- 1Describe the laws that made witchcraft a crime, and how they changed.
- 2Explain why accusations of witchcraft increased, especially in the 1640s.
- 3Explain the role of Matthew Hopkins in the witch-hunts of 1645-47.
Setting the Scene
In the 1500s and 1600s almost everyone believed the Devil was real and that witches could use his power to harm people, animals and crops. When something went wrong - a sick child, a dead cow, a failed harvest - neighbours looked for someone to blame. Witchcraft became a crime that could be punished by death.
- 1542 Henry VIII's Witchcraft Act makes witchcraft punishable by death.
- 1547 The 1542 Act is repealed under Edward VI.
- 1563 Elizabeth I's Witchcraft Act: death for killing someone by witchcraft.
- 1597 James VI of Scotland publishes Daemonologie, a book about witches.
- 1604 James I's Witchcraft Act: death for a first offence of calling up evil spirits.
- 1645-47 Matthew Hopkins leads a witch-hunt in East Anglia.
The Witchcraft Acts
Each Act made witchcraft more clearly a crime.
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1542
Monarch: Henry VIII. What it said: Witchcraft punishable by death; repealed in 1547
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1563
Monarch: Elizabeth I. What it said: Death for causing a death by witchcraft; lesser harm punished by the pillory and prison
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1604
Monarch: James I. What it said: Death for a first offence of invoking evil spirits, even if no one was harmed
Why Were People Accused?
Accusations grew out of belief, fear and hardship.
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Religious belief
Belief in the Devil was universal, and Puritans stressed his power.
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Hard times
Bad harvests, disease and poverty made people look for someone to blame.
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Who was accused
Most were poor, elderly women, often living alone or dependent on neighbours.
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Tension
A woman refused charity who then cursed her neighbour might be blamed for any bad luck that followed.
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The king's example
James I believed strongly in witches and wrote Daemonologie (1597).
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Evidence
"Proof" included a witch's mark, a familiar such as a pet cat, or a neighbour's word.
The Witchfinder General
Matthew Hopkins called himself the Witchfinder General. With John Stearne he travelled through Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk in 1645-47, and more than 100 people were executed as a result - more than in any other English witch-hunt.
His methods
- Watching Suspects were kept awake for days until they "confessed".
- Searching Their bodies were searched for a devil's mark.
- Swimming Suspects were tied and thrown in water; floating meant guilt.
- Payment Towns paid him fees, so he had a reason to find witches.
Frontispiece of The Discovery of Witches, 1647.
Why the Witch-Hunts of 1645-47 Happened
Hopkins was important - but he could only work because of the circumstances around him.
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The Civil War
The Civil War (1642-51) disrupted normal government, and the usual assize courts were not held regularly, so local courts acted with less control.
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Puritanism
East Anglia was strongly Puritan, and Puritans saw the Devil at work everywhere.
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Hardship
War, bad harvests and disease left people anxious and looking for someone to blame.
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Hopkins himself
His methods produced confessions, and his fame spread through his 1647 pamphlet The Discovery of Witches.
Case study
The End of the Hunt
Hopkins's witch-hunt ended almost as quickly as it had begun. Some ministers, such as John Gaule, openly criticised his methods, and people began to question whether confessions made after days without sleep could be trusted. By 1647 the witch-hunt had collapsed, and Hopkins died that same year. The hunt shows how belief, fear and a breakdown of normal authority could combine with one determined man to cause a wave of accusations.
Summary & Exam Focus
- Witchcraft Acts in 1542, 1563 and 1604 made witchcraft a crime punishable by death.
- Most accused were poor, elderly women.
- The Civil War, Puritanism and hardship made the 1645-47 witch-hunt possible.
- Matthew Hopkins's methods led to more than 100 executions.
Exam focus
Explain why there was an increase in accusations of witchcraft in the period c1500-c1700. (12 marks) (12 marks)
Explain several causes - belief, the law, hardship, the Civil War - and do not let Hopkins be your only reason.
Key terms
The vocabulary this lesson expects you to use. Each one is linked from the first place it appears above.
- Witchcraft
- Using supernatural power, believed to come from the Devil, to cause harm.
- Witchcraft Act
- Laws of 1542, 1563 and 1604 that made witchcraft a crime.
- Familiar
- An animal believed to be a witch's helper from the Devil.
- Devil's mark
- A mark on the body believed to show a pact with the Devil.
- Swimming test
- Throwing a suspect into water: floating meant guilt.
- Puritan
- A strict Protestant who wanted a simpler, purer Church.
- Witchfinder General
- The title Matthew Hopkins gave himself.
Downloads
Free to keep, print and annotate.
- Witchcraft and the Witch-Hunts of 1645-47.pptx Built from the lesson script on 23 September 2026. View
- Witchcraft and the Witch-Hunts of 1645-47 - Completed Notes.docx The full notes for the lesson, every gap filled in - to check against, or to revise from. Built from the lesson script on 23 September 2026. View
- Witchcraft and the Witch-Hunts of 1645-47 - Exam Questions.docx Built from the lesson script on 23 September 2026. View
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