How one of humanity’s most important inventions fuelled deadly witch hunts in Europe - Early books and influence of nearby cities created perfect conditions for persecution of women, study says.

The witch hunts in Central Europe took off in the late 15th century and lasted for almost 300 years, resulting in the prosecution of roughly 90,000 people, with nearly 45,000 executions.

The European witch hunts were most intense from approximately 1450 to 1750, a period marked by religious upheaval and social instability. Key factors contributing to these trials included: ...

About 12,000 confirmed witch executions have been identified in documents, but the number of those killed could be many times that, Lewis found in her timeline on the witch hunts of Europe. The ...

For 300 years in Europe, thousands were executed for being "witches." But witch hunts are still happening today, says historian Wolfgang Behringer.

The witch hunts in Central Europe took off in the late 15th century and lasted for almost 300 years, resulting in the prosecution of roughly 90,000 people, with nearly 45,000 executions.

The old-school take on Europe’s witch hunts attributed them to excesses of Catholic fanaticism, but as Roper, who focuses on witch crazes in small German towns, points out, ...

The demand for silver and gold among Europe's elites also spurred witch hunts in South America, where repression helped to crush rebellions against colonization and round up laborers for the mines.

The advent of the printing press fuelled the spread of misinformation and the emergence of witch trials across Europe in the second half of the 15th century, according to a new study.. Researchers ...