# data[].attributes.body
There isn't a definitive answer to why the witch hunts happened. It was likely a mixture of many different events and ideas that were around at the time. Some major contributors to the conditions that caused the witch hunts are listed below:

- The reformed Kirk (church) had a lot Calvinism and Presbyterianism influence and because of that women would have been seen as a moral threat, and therefore the witch-hunts were seen as a way of controlling women.

- The inquisitorial justice system (the court investigates and plays a much bigger role rather than a impartial referee) that they had in Scotland had more use of judicial torture. That would lead to more confessions so the pain would stop, and that would snowball as they went after accomplices.

- King James VI also played a large role. He was one of the most avid campaigners against witchcraft. He made several laws to help criminalize witchcraft and gave witch hunting the royal seal of approval.

# data[].attributes.body
Convicted were often strangled to death and then burned at the stake. Being burned alive happened very rarely.

Common torture methods were: crushing and pulling out nails, sleep deprivation, pricking the accused to see if they blead. There was also the witch's bridle, a iron contraption that forced 4 sharp prongs into your mouth, 2 against the tongue and two against the cheeks. There are methods not mentioned here because they are so grotesque and gory and so much worse than the witch's bridle.

That "pricking" method was used to find a Devil's mark where they could not feel pain. It was also used for convicting a person who had a birth mark.

The term "Witchcraft" was used mostly for magic or supernatural powers that caused harm.

Around 8 times the about of people died in just the the 1597 hunt than in the Salem trials (~200 vs 25), and double were tried (400 vs 200).

Both men and women were accused but the majority who were were women (75%).

# data[].attributes.body
“Witch Trials in Early Modern Scotland.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 20 June 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch_trials_in_early_modern_Scotland.

Davies, Caroline. “Women Executed 300 Years Ago as Witches in Scotland Set to Receive Pardons.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 19 Dec. 2021, www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/dec/19/executed-witches-scotland-pardons-witchcraft-act.

“James VI and I.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 5 July 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_VI_and_I#Witch_hunts.

Solly, Meilan. “This Map Shows the Scale of 16th- and 17th-Century Scottish Witch Hunts.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 26 Sept. 2019, www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/map-visualizes-scale-16th-and-17th-century-scottish-witch-hunts-180973226/.

“Witchcraft.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 July 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witchcraft#Concept.

“Witchcraft Acts.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Apr. 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witchcraft_Acts#Scottish_Witchcraft_Act_1563.

Henton, Kirsten. “Heresy, They Say? James VI and the Witch Trials.” Scotland Magazine, 28 Sept. 2020, www.scotlandmag.com/james-vi-and-witch-trials/.

“North Berwick Witch Trials.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 June 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Berwick_witch_trials.

Brown, Lauren. “Our Legal Heritage: The Great Scottish Witch Hunt of 1597.” Scottish Legal News, 2 Aug. 2019, www.scottishlegal.com/articles/our-legal-heritage-the-great-scottish-witch-hunt-of-1597.

“Great Scottish Witch Hunt of 1597.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 20 May 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Scottish_Witch_Hunt_of_1597.

“William Shakespeare.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 23 July 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare#Influence.

“Macbeth.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 18 July 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macbeth.

# data[].attributes.body
Next were a series of nationwide trials during 1597. They followed the publication of King James' Daemonologie which was very anti-witchcraft. About 400 were tried and around 200 were likely executed. The exact cause is unknown but could be because of political tensions between James VI and the Presbyterian Church, and/or plague and famine causing tensions to run high and accusations being thrown.

ALSO: I started reading about the Witch Hunt between 1628 - 1631 before I realized that I didn't have too. But there is a guy named Alexander Hamilton??? And he killed a noble??? I just really didn't expect that name to come up here.

# data[].attributes.body
There was a bunch of trials after the Scottish Witchcraft Act 1563. Below are the two that would have influenced Shakespeare. The rest come after he died.

The first series of trials was between 1590-1591. They were called the North Berwick witch trials (Also known as The Great Scottish Witch Hunt of 1590-1591) as the accused were accused of witchcraft in the St Andrew's Auld Kirk in North Berwick, on Halloween night. Around 70 suspected witches were arrested and "confessed" under torture that they had attempted to sink the King's ship. These trials were attended by James VI the aforementioned king.

# data[].attributes.body
In 1604 James VI of Scotland would bring elements of the Scottish act to England and Ireland when he rose to power. The Elizabethan Act was broadened to make invoking or communing with spirits punishable by death. That and the new Witchcraft Act of 1604 would make Witchcraft a felony again. Minor witchcraft would only be punished with death if the accused had been found guilty a first time.

# data[].attributes.body
As mentioned before there was also a Scottish Witchcraft Act of 1563. It made witchcraft a capital offence and punishable by death. It was used for the base for a series of trials from 1590-1662.

# data[].attributes.body
It was eventually replaced by the Witchcraft Act of 1563, under Elizabeth I. It was a little more merciful but not by much. This time you would only be sentenced to death if you killed someone with witchcraft, anything else would cause the person to be imprisoned for a while.

# data[].attributes.headline
Witchcraft Acts In England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. (Before and during Shakespeare's life)

# data[].attributes.subject
Witchcraft Acts In England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. (Before and during Shakespeare's life)

# data[].attributes.body
There were many acts against witchcraft Before and during Shakespeare's life.

First was the Witchcraft Act of 1542. It was made under Henry VIII was the first of such laws to define witchcraft as a felony and punishable by death.

# data[].attributes.body
Most places is Europe didn't like witches as the Church didn't like witches, so, because of this some laws were put in place. In England you would be thrown in jail for witchcraft and would be killed if you had harmed someone with witchcraft. Scotland however, really didn't like witches. In 1563 the Scottish Witchcraft Act of 1563 was passed making the practice of witchcraft and the consultation of witches a capital offences and punishable by death. This act was used by witch hunters to interrogate, torture, try, and kill potential 'witches'. This was driven forward by James VI and his campaigns against witchcraft. Scotland only had about one quarter of the population of England but had the three - five times the number of witchcraft prosecutions (about 4,000).

# data[].attributes.body
James VI (or I in England and Ireland) did not like witches. During his reign over Scotland, England and Ireland he oversaw the interrogation, torture, and trials of several 'witches' such as the North Berwick witch trials, and the 'interrogation' of Agnes Sampson and Geillis Duncan. He also wrote the Daemonologie which had information on 'necromancy, witchcraft and sorcery.' and described witchcraft as “high treason against God” giving witch-hunts royal approval. He did relax his stance later and even helped debunk some accusations of witchcraft, but he was very committed to purging witches in his early rule of Scotland.