The vast majority of persons are conscious of the witch trials held in Salem, Massachusetts in the course of the late seventeenth century, however do you know the identical hysteria occurred throughout northern Europe? Catalonia, in Spain, was one of many first on the continent to carry witch trials, and its authorities has just lately tried to make amends for the area’s previous.
A “witch” at her judgment trial being dunked in water to show her guilt. (Picture Credit score: Bettmann / Getty Pictures)
The area’s authorities handed a measure in late 2021, permitting for the posthumous pardoning of over 700 witches who have been killed between the fifteenth and 18th centuries. It additionally known as upon native leaders to look into renaming streets in honor of the victims. Out of 135 votes, 114 have been in favor of the measure, whereas 21 have been towards.
“We’re heiresses of the witches, the poisoners and the healers,” Catalonian parliament member Jenn Díaz advised Vice Information. “There was an evolution – at present they name us feminazis. There’s a connection between witch hunts and femicide. We would like reparation and an understanding that the previous isn’t as distant as we expect.”
“The Witch No. 1” – Salem witch trials lithograph. (Picture Credit score: Joseph E. Baker / Wikimedia Commons / Public Area)
Between 1580 and 1630, it’s estimated that fifty,000 people have been sentenced to loss of life for witchcraft throughout Europe. Of that quantity, roughly 80 % have been ladies.
The witch hunts in Catalonia have been among the first and started domestically, with villagers enlisting the assistance of witch hunters. Whereas the overwhelming majority of Spaniards have been skeptical of the existence of witches, because of the Inquisition, rural areas below the rule of feudal lords have been extra prone to imagine in accusations of witchcraft and magic.
These accused of witchcraft have been sometimes impartial ladies or those that practiced conventional medication, and the vast majority of accusations got here following a pure catastrophe, a failed harvest or the unexplained loss of life of a kid. In Catalonia, a confession alone was sufficient to show guilt, until the Inquisition was known as in. Within the majority of these cases, the accused have been let out, on account of a scarcity of proof.
These unfortunate sufficient to be discovered responsible have been hanged, in accordance with the secular courts of justice. It was cheaper than burning the ladies on the stake and didn’t waste firewood.
Villagers punished after being convicted of witchcraft. (Picture Credit score: Bettmann / Getty Pictures)
Catalonia wasn’t the primary area in Europe to confront its historical past concerning witch trials. In 2008, Switzerland pardoned a “witch” accused of killing a younger lady in 1782, whereas in 2011, the federal government of Vardø, Norway erected a tribute to the realm’s witch trial victims.