Henry Hunt

It was around 1799 that the French Revolution would finally come to an end. For Britain, the elites were strongly opposed to the Revolution’s ideologies - Liberty, equality, fraternity – afraid they would lose their political power. There was, unavoidably, a pressure for change: in this period, only middle and upper class men could vote. The press was under the censorship of the time leading to the government creating the “Taxes of Knowledge” - taxes and duties that would be imposed upon newspapers – designed to “limit the growth, circulation, and distribution of the press in general and of the radical press in particular” (Negrine 1989) so press would never talk negative things about the system. Workers would face up to eighteen hours of work per day for a very lower wage and children would start working from five years old with no access to education and completely robbed of their childhood. It was only by 1830s that slavery and child work would be banned for Britain but the country would still be in a process of change that would affect not only society, politics and economy, but also the press itself. Radicalism emerged at the end of the eighteenth century – a century full of corruption and war – and beginning of the nineteenth century. “Although essentially political in language and values (…) radicalism has generally been interpreted by historians in socio-economic terms by which the expanding middle and working classes of urban-industrial Britain sought to attain…

the majority of prosecutors were of the protestant faith which thus exemplifies a dividing conflict between the two forms of Christianity. This is due to the fact that the Reformation had fragmented the ‘religious uniformity’ of the middle ages and prompted a greater degree of self-conception, identity and cynicism among the ranks of the elite’ . Therefore, rivalries between Roman Catholic and Protestants became more prevalent during the 16th century which only intensified the witch hunts rather…

There were many contributions to why this particular time period was the most dangerous time to be accused of witchcraft, mainly of political and cultural nature. Witch hunts largely occurred during the creation of nation-states, because rulers of said new nations were required to prove their faith, not only to the people, but to the church as well. The popularization of the printing press helped put documents such as Malleus Maleficarum into circulation, so the contents of them were readily…

Seventh grade, my second year now at what I thought to be the worst school in the world. On back to school night I met a man who would change my perspective on life completely, that man being Brandon Lilly. Henry Adams once said “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” At a mere five-foot four he appeared to be a kid minus the burly lumberjack beard that he possessed. I remember being skeptical at first because I had never had a male teacher before. All of my…

The following paper will best explain the judicial system used during the Salem Witch Trials, a series of hearings over a witchcraft scare that took place from June through September of 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. The writer shall include a brief history of the events, explain the judicial system of the Trials, and give detail to what methods were used to determine fate of a victim. Additionally, the writer will explain how the Trials were based on false views that were not supported. The…

The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were a series of trials in which twenty-four people were killed after being accused of practicing witchcraft. These trials were caused by different social climates of the area including the very strong lack of a governor, the split between Salem Village and Salem Town, and the strict puritan lifestyle during the time period. Tituba, the black slave, was a foreigner from Barbados. Her role in society was to take care of Mr. Parris’s family. Tituba’s situation…

Understanding Mass Hysteria and its Fundamental Characteristics The power of mass hysteria is so dangerous that it can create both physical and psychological situations that can take lives, change global politics and cause panic in hundreds or even thousands of individuals. Mass hysteria is when emotions, especially fear in a group of people are so strong that it leads people to act in an uncontrolled way. Some examples of mass hysteria are the Salem witch trials, the fear experienced by…

It also started to firmly establish the belief that anyone who expressed doubt or unbelief in witches or in the methods or ideas taught through the book were heretics. The teachings from the book are said to have directly led to and influenced the death of between 40,000 - 60,000 people, mostly women but men as well as children were included. The Witches Hammer was not the first of it’s kind to be written but it was by far the most widely read and influential book on the subject with an…

than 3800 suspected witches were strangled, burned, drowned or hanged at the stake . Similar to majority of European countries, 85% of the accused witches were women while only 15% were men. Authorities extracted fake confessions out of the accused by using various unscrupulous physical and mental torture methods The most common form was sleep deprivation; which proved to be a very effective way of obtaining confessions, because it resulted in vivid hallucinations. Before 1662 this was rarely…

Strathern connect this political disintegration with mysticism, noting, “The basic rumor behind the uprising in 1857 further centered on an idea of pollution, which here exactly corresponds to an imputation of sorcery, that is, that poisonous substances had been introduced into the supplies of food and water threatening life itself,” (Stewart and Strathern loc. 1350). Witchcraft, rumors, gossip, and political power all have such fundamental functions in survival. Despite being incorporeal…