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CHAPTER 3: SO WHAT HAS CAPITALISM BEEN UP TO IN THE LAST 2000 YEARS? LETS REVIEW THE -HUNTS: In 1258, IV declared that alleged was not to be investigated by the Church. In 1320, Pope John XXII had authorized the to Prosecute Sorcerers. In 1484, it was deemed heresy and was denounced as such by Pope Innocent VIII. FROM 1484 UNTIL AROUND 1750, OVER 200,000 WITCHES WERE TORTURED, BURNT OR HANGED IN WESTERN EUROPE: OVER 752 A YEAR; 2 A DAY! In 1536, the burning of witches increased with Christian IV of Denmark, in particular, who encouraged in this practice and hundreds of people were convicted of Witchcraft and burnt to death.

In England, the Witchcraft Act of 1542, regulated the penalties for Witchcraft, when Elizabeth came to the throne in 1558, she passed a law in the form of An Act Against Conjurations, Enchantments and Witchcrafts. The Act provided that anyone who should ‘use, practice or exercise any Witchcraft, Enchantment, Charm, or Sorcery’, was guilty of a felony without , and was to be put to death or destroyed.

In early 1612, the year of the trials, every Justice of the Peace (JP) in was ordered to compile a list of recusants in their area, i.e. those who refused to attend the English Church and to take communion, a criminal offence at that time.

The trials of the in 1612 are among the most famous Witch Trials in English history. The twelve accused lived in the area surrounding in Lancashire and were charged with the murders of ten people by the use of Witchcraft.

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All but two were tried at Lancaster on 18–19 August 1612, in a series of trials that have become known as the Lancashire Witch Trials. Of the eleven who went to trial – nine women and two men – ten were found guilty and executed by hanging; one was found not guilty.

Lancaster Castle, where the Lancaster Assizes of 1612 took place

It is estimated that between 3,000 and 4,000 accused Witches may have been killed in Scotland over the years from 1560 to 1707.

In England, witch-hunting would reach its apex in 1644 to 1647 due to the work of . Although operating without an official Parliament commission, Hopkins (calling himself Witch – finder General) went on a Witch hunting spree, which was brief but significant: 300 convictions and deaths are attributed to his work.

Hopkins wrote a book on his ‘Methods of Investigation’ on Witches, which was used in the American Colonies as early as May 1647, when Margaret Jones was executed for witchcraft in Connecticut, the first of 17 people executed for Witchcraft in the Colonies from 1647 to 1663.

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Current scholarly estimates of the number of people executed for Witchcraft vary between about 40,000 and 100,000, but others estimated there were 200,000 to 500,000 executed for witchcraft, the total number of Witch Trials in Europe that are known to have ended in executions is around 12,000. The last executions for Witchcraft in England had taken place in 1682, when Temperance Lloyd, Mary Trembles, and Susanna Edwards were executed at Exeter. In other parts of Europe, the practice later died down. In France, the last person to be executed for Witchcraft was Louis Debaraz in 1745. Anna Göldi was executed in Switzerland in 1782 and Barbara Zdunk in Prussia in 1811. Both women have been identified as the last persons executed for Witchcraft in Europe, but in both cases, the official verdict did not mention witchcraft, as this had ceased to be recognized as a criminal offence. READING THROUGH, WE COULD SEE THAT IT WAS LEGALLY A CRIME TO BE A WITCH BECAUSE THE LEADERS OF POWER MADE IT A CRIME TO BE A WITCH THAT DID NOT EVEN EXIST HOW CAN OUR HUMAN LEADERSHIP USE THE LAW TO: BURN, DROWN OR HANG REAL PEOPLE? JUST AS ADOLF HITLER LEGALLY KILLED MILLIONS OF JEWS

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