Temporal and Spatial Variations in Early Modern Witch Hunts

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This is a study of the relevance of plague and war to the witch hunts which took place in Germany, England and Scotland during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Previous historical research has shown that witch-hunting was a patterned activity that spread throughout Europe and, ultimately, to the American colonies. This study will concentrate on two specific threats or crises that have been suggested as causes of the European witch craze--plague and war. The study will examine whether witch hunts fluctuated in a manner that correlates with similar fluctuations in war and plague. Data on witch-hunts, plague, war and population characteristics will be coded from historical works and demographies for GErmany, Scotland and England. These data will be analyzed using time series and spatial analysis techniques. The study will be the first study addressing the hypotheses relating witch-hunting to plague and war through a systematic, quantitative examination of historical and demographic data. The study will improve our understanding of the social and economic causes of witch-hunting in particular, and of the persecution of deviant groups in general.