Why did most of the accused of witchcraft tend to be females during the European Witch Hunts during 1500-1700s? And what evidence is there that the crime of witchcraft was not primarily about gender?

The Persecution of Women ? The European Witch Hunts from 1500-1700

Introduction

The term `witch hunt ' refers to a search for either evidence of witch craft or witches in general . While evidence exists that the first trials against witches began in Europe around the 13th century , witch hunts escalated around the year 1450 spanning across three centuries to 1700 . The results were devastating with executions reaching numbers in the tens of thousands . Historians refer to this period of European witch hunting as an exercise in mass panic and hysteria . Whatever , the causes

for the European witch hunts , women were targeted , but evidence suggests that this was not a result of some male driven sexist view , but rather a result of the church 's attitude toward women 's vulnerability to the influences of the Devil . Authors such as Remy Nichols , Thomas Ady and Jean Bodin bear this out . Historians such as Diane Purkis , Robin Brigs and C .L . Ewens demonstrate that there were also other factors that had little if nothing to do with sexist attitudes toward women that resulted in the large numbers of women that were prosecuted and executed on suspicion of witchcraft practices . The second most prominent claim was economic driven and the relative ease with which a woman could be captured and forced to confess

The escalation in witch hunting throughout Europe from 1450-1700 is largely attributed to the social challenges associated with the Reformation period . With Reformation emphasis was placed on economic social , political and religious change . Moreover , a spurt of natural disasters only served to complicate matters with the masses looking for a scapegoat or someone to blame for the apparent bad luck . Religious leaders were advancing the concept that Europeans were being punished for tolerating the evil influences of the Devil

It is not certain whether or not these facts accounted for the European witch hunts although there appears to be no other logical explanation One thing however is undisputed and that is that women were the primary target for witch hunters and some historians will argue that the witch hunts were not primarily gender biased . Some theorists have aligned the European witch hunting escapades with `women hunting ' and some have even claimed women were targeted because they were actually witches . A review of the literature reflects that at the root of the witch hunt legacy was economic and religious conflict making the actual target the non-believer . It is hardly surprising that women became the primary target of the European witch hunts

The facts speak for themselves . In South Western Germany , for instance there were approximately 480 witch trials from about 1561 to 1670 , 317 of which occurred in Catholic regions and 163 occurred in Protestant areas . During the same period there were approximately 3 ,229 persons were executed for witchcraft in Germany Southwest , 2 , 527 were executed in Catholic areas while only 702 were executed in the Protestant areas

While historians have attributed the European Witch hunts to a number of causes the common...