Rastrick High School Year 8 History History Home Learning: 17th Century England Information Booklet Y8 History Home Learning: How Bloody and Brutal was 17th Century England? Information booklet Lesson Two: Were witches real? Witches in the 1600s were believed to be usually old poor women with: • birth marks, pocs or warts on their face • Sunken faces with hairy lips • and familiars. Familiars were demons that followed witches that were believed to assume the form of animals, usually cats. These ideas that we hold about what witches look like are stereotypical. Stereotype means an oversimplified image of a person or thing that are usually wrong. In 1597 James I produced a book on witchcraft entitled ‘Daemononlogie’. In the book he explained how to ‘spot’ a witch simply by looking for the previous signs. He also said a witch could be spotted: 1. If they are a friend, neighbour or relative of a witch. 2. If a person dies or has an accident after arguing with the accused. 3. If everybody who lives near the person believes that they are a witch. Why did people believe in witches? Lesson Three: Were witches real? Who was Matthew Hopkins? A bloodthirsty Altofts man was responsible for the deaths of more than 300 women - according to an old legend. Nearly 350 years ago self-styled ‘Witch-finder General’ Matthew Hopkins roamed the counties of eastern England preying on elderly women. His reign of terror began in 1644 when he was employed by towns to seek out and destroy women believed to be witches. Such has been the interest in Matthew Hopkins’ crimes that in 1968 Vincent Price starred in a horror film called The Witch- finder General. Hopkins was commissioned by Parliament to seek out and sentence those he thought guilty of witchcraft and rewarded a handsome sum of 20 shillings per witch. Hopkins elevated his killings to an art form by examining his victims to obtain ‘proof’ that someone was actually a ‘witch’. His means of extracting a confession included torture which shed no blood. One of his methods was sleep deprivation. He was convinced witches had what he termed ‘familiars’ who were sent to do hellish work. These ‘familiars’ often took the form of everyday creatures and were said to suckle on the blood of the witch by way of an extra nipple hidden on their body. Hopkins and his assistants, John Stearne and Mary Philips, would strip a suspect and dress her in a loose shift. She would be forced to sit on a stool in the middle of a room – sometimes for days and nights. At all times the suspect was watched to see if the familiar crawled out to feed on the suspect. To make sure she did not fall asleep the ‘witch’ was periodically walked. This watching and walking often lasted many days and nights until the suspect’s feet were bloody and sore. A large number of women confessed after a few days and nights of this treatment. Hopkins also stripped his suspects naked and tied them up – right thumb to left big toe and vice versa. He then threw them into a stream. If they drowned, they were declared innocent – if they stayed afloat, they would be found guilty and sentenced to death. Confessing or being guilty of witchcraft usually resulted in a death sentence, either by drowning, hanging or being burned at the stake. In 1647 Hopkins was forced to take one of his own tests. He was bound and thrown into a river, floated and was sentenced to death. Lesson Four: Assessment – Did Matthew Hopkins deserve to die? He was earned a lot of money from killing women who were accused of being witches. It was Parliament who hired him to do his job. He used torture to force his victims to confess. Most of society and Matthew Hopkins believed in witches. The women who were accused were often too poor, weak or lonely to defend themselves. Hopkins believed he was doing his religious duty by killing witches because the bible said it was the job of the holy to destroy evil. The ‘tests’ used to find out if you were guilty or innocent were rigged so that you rarely survived. He killed over 300 women Villages and towns would invite Matthew Hopkins in to find and get rid of witches. Lesson Five: Why do we remember the 5th of November? In 1603 Queen Elizabeth of England died with no heir. Her cousin, King James VI of Scotland was declared King James I of England. By the end of her reign the Church of England was safe. Most of the English population was now firmly Protestant and King James was a protestant, but his mother was a Catholic. Catholics in England had been persecuted since the days of Henry VIII and hoped that James would treat them fairly and allow Catholics freedom of worship. However – they were very wrong. James I was harsh to Catholics in order to win support from the majority of England who were now Protestants. He treated Catholics badly. Catholics were fined and put in prison if they refused to attend Protestant services. This wasn’t helped by the two small Catholic plots against James that were discovered which angered him. Three ways people can oppose the government and describe which form of opposition the Gunpowder plot takes. There are many ways people can oppose their government. We can all do it legally and safely: Voting against them Protesting Lobbying (asking the government to change their opinion) However. there are other ways that are illegal, dangerous and were very common in the 17th Century. These include: • Plotting and Conspiracy – Plotting in secret. Used when the opposition is weak, and the government is very strong. • Rebellions – when large numbers of people are angry enough to make a large scale protest and the government is usually weak enough to listen. • Revolution – Where the people go to war against its own government. Who are Robert Catesby and Guy Fawkes? rd Robert Catesby, born on the 3 of March 1572, was a devout Catholic who was a prominent recusant. He was very charismatic and influential man who was described as an extremist in his views. Married to a Protestant woman named Catherine Leigh, he also had a son called Robert. During this time, Catesby was much more relaxed in his views. When his wife died just 6 years later, Catesby became radicalised and reverted back to his extreme views. He had a long history of treasonous activity: He had taken part in the Earl of Essex’s 1601 rebellion against Elizabeth but was only fined and then pardoned. In 1603, he tried to convince the King of Spain to invade England. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Guy Fawkes, also known as Guido Fawkes, was born and educated in York. He spent some years fighting for the Spanish Catholics against Protestants in Europe. His family were notable recusants. He also wrote that King James I was a heretic who would eventually force all of the Catholics out of England. Introduced to Catesby by Thomas Wintour, Fawkes quickly got on board with the plot to kill King James I. Given his military experience, Fawkes was quite experienced and skilful with explosives. This made him invaluable to the plot and responsible for lighting the gunpowder that would blow up the Houses of Lords. Create a story board that shows the key eight points of the story of the Gunpowder Plot. Catesby, Fawkes, Catesby takes part in They first tried to dig Catesby travels to Wintour, Percy and the Essex Rebellion a tunnel underneath Spain to ask the king Wright meet at the against Elizabeth. He Parliament, but it to invade England. Duck and Drake inn to is arrested and fined floods so they rent a The King says ‘No’. come up with the plot 4,000 marks. cellar. against King James. 10 days before the King James orders He was arrested, plot Francis Tresham guards to search the tortured and finally sends a letter to his surrounding areas and Guy Fawkes buys 36 gave up names of the brother-in-law Lord cellars. Fawkes is barrels of gunpowder. other plotters. He was Monteagle warning found guarding the later, hung, drawn him to stay away from gunpowder on the 5th and quartered. Parliament. November. Lesson Six: Were the Catholics framed? Outline both the Protestant and Catholic views of the Gunpowder Plot. The Protestant View: • Catesby, Fawkes, Wintour, Wright and Percy were well known Catholics who together had a history of extremist views, rebellious ideas and defying the law (recusants). • The group had come together with one intention only; to blow up Parliament and the King in order to replace him with his Catholic daughter, Elizabeth. • Tresham was only thinking of his brother-in-law’s safety when he sent the letter. • Fawkes was found with the gunpowder and later, after torture was used, confessed to the crimes and named his co-conspirators. The Catholic View: The ‘plotters’ were framed for the crime by James I’s clever and powerful chief minister, Robert Cecil. Cecil hated the Catholics and wanted to show them going against the country. Francis Tresham, who sent the warning note to his brother-in-law, was working for Cecil. Cecil, through the use of his friends and spies, sold them the gunpowder, rented them the cellar, and knew where the crime was taking place so could arrest them. Complete the evidence table, explaining whether it suggests the Catholics were guilty or framed. Source A: The cellar where the 36 barrels of gunpowder were kept was rented to Thomas Percy by a man called John Whynniard.