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In 1542,(50 years before Macbeth), King Henry VIII passed the first English Witchcraft Act, which made the practice of witchcraft punishable by death

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King James the 1st and 6th played a large role in the North Berwick witch trials. He caused the death of 70-200 people, because of his own superstitions.

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Shakespeare wrote Macbeth in tribute to King James (1 and 6) because the king was convinced witchcraft was real and would harm him.
Shakespeare wrote Macbeth for King James so that James would be a patron of the arts as Queen Elizabeth was.

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Shakespeare used witchcraft to signal to his audience that Scotland was in a vulnerable and unsettled state.

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Shakespeare called the witches in Macbeth the 'weird sisters.'
This term was used when the Scottish chronicles were narrated. The Scottish chronicles is the historical story of Macbeth.

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King James the 1st and 6th, was crossing the sea to Denmark, when there was a huge storm that forced him to go back home. He became convinced the storm was from witches in North Berwick trying to kill him

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King James wrote a book on certain witchcraft and demonic magics. It was  called Daemonologie
James became obsessed with finding the witches that tried to kill him via the storm.

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In the town of  North Berwick and nearby area (in Scotland) 70-200 people who were accused of being witches and were executed. These executions all took place because of King James' obssession and fear.

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The people traditionally accused of performing witchcraft were

Older woman who worked with herbs and medicines or Midwives. this is because the use of herbs and other natural remedies along with their vast medical knowledge could stop the bleeding after birth and other ailments. It was thought that a spell had been cast on the mother, instead of science.

Redheads because it was believed they had stolen fires from hell. Leading to them being branded as witches.

People with birthmarks because it was thought to be a mark of the devil.

Left-handed people because being write handed was more common. Therefore anyone left-handed had the mark of the devil

Basically, anybody who had a disability or was different was considered unnatural or a witch. This is because of a lack of knowledge, understanding and acceptance.

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In both England and Scotland, women (and men) suspected of being witches were arrested and questioned, often after being tortured to confess.

Witches were sentenced to be hanged in England.

In Scotland they were strangled then their corpse was burned at a stake.

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In Scotland

Approximately 100,000 people were put on trial for witchcraft (the majority were women)

in these trials, the 'witch' would be tested with impossible tasks, like weighing exactly like a stack of bibles. The 'witches' were also tortured into confessing their crimes, however many falsely claimed to be a witch to stop the torture.

Approximatly 4000 people were burned at the stake

These are huge amounts when you look at the size and population of Scotland

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Historically, periods of intense concern about witches and witchcraft tend to overlap with periods of political instability, uncertain leadership, and anxieties about power dynamics

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Although not recorded it is generally accepted that many victims died of the injuries that were inflicted upon them during torture.