An intensive period of witch-hunts occurring in Early Modern Europe and to a smaller extent Colonial America, took place about 1450 to 1750, spanning the upheavals of the Counter Reformation and the Thirty Years' War, resulting in an estimated 35,000 to 50,000 executions. In medieval Europe, witch-hunts often arose in connection to charges of heresy from Christianity. Practicing evil spells or incantations was proscribed and punishable in early human civilizations in the Middle East.
For other uses, see Witch hunt (disambiguation) and Witch trial (disambiguation).īurning of three 'witches' in Baden, Switzerland (1585), by Johann Jakob WickĪ witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. 'Witch hunt' and 'Witch trial' redirect here.
