The End of the Witch Craze (Edexcel A-Level History): Revision Notes
The End of the Witch Craze
The 1736 repeal and its limited impact
In 1736, England repealed its witchcraft legislation, marking the official end of legal prosecution for witchcraft. This legal change meant that sceptical publications - writings that questioned the existence of witches - were no longer necessary to convince authorities to stop prosecutions. However, the repeal only changed the law, not popular beliefs.
A Critical Divide
While educated elites had largely abandoned belief in witchcraft by the early 18th century, ordinary people continued to believe that witches existed and posed real threats to their communities. This gap between official law and popular opinion created a dangerous situation where suspected witches faced vigilante justice despite legal protections.
This divide between official law and popular opinion led to numerous incidents of vigilante justice and mob violence against suspected witches well into the 19th century.
Persistence of popular beliefs in the 19th century
Continuing cases of witch persecution
The 1751 case of John and Ruth Osborne, who were pursued by an angry mob, was not an isolated incident. Similar cases occurred throughout the following century, demonstrating that witchcraft belief remained deeply rooted in popular culture.
Several notable cases illustrate this persistence:
Case Study: The 1785 Voluntary Swimming Test
Gentleman's Magazine reported that a suspected witch voluntarily submitted herself to the swimming test and was found not guilty. This case shows that some accused individuals were willing to prove their innocence through traditional methods, even when such tests had no legal standing.
Case Study: Isaac Stebbings (1825)
In Wickham-Skeith, Suffolk, Stebbings endured the swimming test multiple times before local clergy finally intervened and stopped the persecution. This case demonstrates both the persistence of folk practices and the protective role of educated clergy in saving victims from mob violence.
Case Study: The French Fortune Teller (1863)
An elderly Frenchman living in Essex was suspected of witchcraft because he made his living as a fortune teller. He was subjected to the swimming test and died a month later from inflamed lungs caused by the ordeal. This tragic case shows how suspicion could still lead to fatal consequences nearly 130 years after the repeal.
Case Study: Bridget Cleary (1895)
In Clonmel, Ireland, Cleary died after her family and neighbours became convinced she was possessed by fairies. They held her over a fire, causing significant burns that led to her death. Her husband was found guilty of manslaughter. This shocking case occurred nearly 160 years after the repeal, demonstrating the extraordinary persistence of supernatural beliefs in some communities.
The swimming test as a folk practice
The swimming test remained a popular method for identifying suspected witches long after it lost legal recognition. This practice involved submerging the accused in water, based on the belief that water would reject a witch because they had rejected baptism.
The Danger of Folk Practices
The persistence of the swimming test shows how deeply embedded such beliefs were in popular culture, regardless of what the law or educated opinion stated. These extra-legal practices could and did result in deaths, as victims either drowned during the test or died from complications afterward.
Continued support for witchcraft beliefs
John Wesley and religious opposition to scepticism
Not all educated individuals accepted the new rationalist approach to witchcraft. John Wesley (1703-91), founder of the Protestant Methodist Church, remained a vocal supporter of witchcraft belief even after the trials had ended.
In 1768, Wesley wrote that to disbelieve in witches was to disbelieve the teachings of the Bible itself. He strongly criticised the intellectual climate that had led to the repealing of witchcraft legislation, seeing it as a dangerous rejection of biblical truth.
Wesley's Biblical Justification
Wesley's position demonstrates that religious conviction could still override scientific rationalism, even among influential religious leaders. He believed that accepting the Bible as truth required accepting its accounts of supernatural evil, including witchcraft. His opposition to the repeal highlights the tension between traditional religious teaching and the emerging age of science and reason.
However, Wesley's views represented a minority position among educated people by this time.
Witches in literature: from fact to fiction
In literature, references to witches increasingly appeared in fictional rather than factual contexts. This shift reflected changing educated attitudes - witches were becoming subjects for imaginative storytelling rather than serious theological or legal discussion. This transformation helped to marginalise witchcraft belief, relegating it to the realm of fantasy and folklore.
Despite this general trend, some writers continued to express support for witchcraft belief after the last trials, showing that the intellectual transition was not uniform or immediate.
The triumph of rationalism
Despite Wesley's prominent objections, the vast majority of learned individuals accepted the rationalism that accompanied the age of science and reason. This intellectual movement prioritised evidence, observation, and logical reasoning over supernatural explanations and traditional beliefs.
The Great Divide in Society
The triumph of rationalism among educated elites created a clear divide in society. While the educated classes embraced scientific explanations for natural phenomena and rejected supernatural causation, many ordinary people maintained traditional beliefs about witches, magic, and the supernatural. This division between elite and popular culture would persist throughout the 19th century.
The acceptance of rationalism represented a fundamental shift in how educated people understood the world. Rather than attributing misfortune to supernatural forces like witchcraft, they sought natural explanations based on observation and evidence. This change in thinking made the legal persecution of witches intellectually unsustainable among those who shaped law and policy.
Remember!
Key Points to Remember:
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The 1736 repeal ended legal prosecution but not popular belief: Witchcraft legislation was repealed in England in 1736, but ordinary people continued to believe in and persecute suspected witches for over a century afterward.
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Vigilante justice persisted into the late 19th century: Cases of mob violence and swimming tests occurred in 1751, 1785, 1825, 1863, and as late as 1895 with Bridget Cleary's death in Ireland, showing the remarkable persistence of popular belief.
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Elite opinion divided along religious and rational lines: While most educated individuals embraced rationalism and scientific thinking, religious figures like John Wesley (writing in 1768) continued to defend witchcraft belief on biblical grounds.
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A clear divide emerged between educated and popular opinion: The end of the witch craze was not uniform across society - educated elites abandoned belief in witchcraft much earlier than ordinary people, creating a significant cultural gap.
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The swimming test remained a popular folk practice: Despite having no legal status after 1736, the swimming test continued to be used by communities to identify suspected witches, sometimes with fatal consequences.