The Climax of Witchcraft in the Western Europe
The Salem Witch Trials, one of the darkest events in U.S. History, has been described as mad and sorrowful. Although the event killed 20 innocent people, still, it could not compare with an insanity the Europeans did with their response to claims of witchcraft in the 16th and 17th centuries. If the Salem Witch Trials were horrific enough, the Witch-hunts in Western Europe were worse.
In the Early Modern Period, most of the kingdoms in Western Europe followed Christianity. In the dominant opinion, the Devil hated how people respected God and lived as the Bible taught, so he sent magic and powers for his followers, which were witches. The Europeans at that time believed people who signed in the Devil’s book mostly were women because the Bible taught them how the Devil persuaded Eve to go against God. They concluded that women, because of frustration and struggles, would appeal to the devil in order to gain powers to deal with infertility, fear for her children's well-being, or to get revenge against a lover.
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In their report, the crimes of witchcraft were defined. The book itself offered hints to judges and prosecutors, such as the suggestion to strip each suspect completely and look for a sign of Devil, which they believed a person must have who contracts with the Devil. Also, most of the Europeans believed cats were mysterious creatures with strange powers, and might have contact with the Devil. Therefore, if a woman was an owner of a cat, she would be considered as a witch,