witchs during the 1500

…

…was most concentrated. Society in these areas would just assume that a witch was responsible and would rush an old, defenseless woman to her death. If not old, almost always a woman. This was due partly to the belief that evil was connected with Eve. These trials involved horrible sadism against women and children. Persecution ended after 1660 most likely because educated authorities began believing that natural disasters were from natural causes rather than supernatural causes.