Economic hardship, shifting social structures, and tensions in community life were crucial in fuelling witchcraft accusations, as fears, resentments, and instability often sought scapegoats.

Economic Pressures and Witchcraft Persecution

The 16th and 17th centuries were periods of significant economic volatility. Population growth, inflation, and recurring harvest failures created an environment of scarcity and fear. In many regions, subsistence agriculture could barely provide for communities. Economic stress translated into social tension, particularly when communities sought to explain hardship by attributing it to the malicious agency of witches.

Inflation and Poverty

• The rapid growth in population during this period placed strain on resources.

• Prices of basic goods, especially grain, rose significantly, leaving poorer households vulnerable.

Weekly rye and barley prices from Cologne across the sixteenth century demonstrate both rising price levels and increased volatility. Such instability strained subsistence budgets and fuelled resentments that could be channelled into scapegoating. The chart’s focus on staple grains directly illustrates how economic pressure translated into social tension. Source

• Economic inequality increased, creating resentment between those who were able to adapt and those left in dire poverty.

The perception that marginal individuals—often the poor, widows, or elderly women—could harm others’ economic well-being contributed to the rise in prosecutions. When misfortune struck, communities were quick to attribute losses to supposed witchcraft.

Social Structure and Community Divisions

Hierarchical Society

The social hierarchy of early modern Europe placed heavy emphasis on order and conformity. At the top stood nobles and clergy, while peasants and labourers formed the bulk of society. Such rigid stratification meant that resentment and suspicion could easily develop between classes.

Breakdown of Communal Solidarity

The customary support systems of rural life began to weaken as economic and social pressures increased:

• Traditional practices such as charitable giving to the poor became less consistent as resources dwindled.

• Those left unsupported, such as elderly widows, often became associated with malevolent supernatural influence.

• Communities fragmented under the strain of repeated crises, weakening trust between neighbours.

This scapegoating dynamic was central to the persecution of witches, where marginalised people became the focus of collective anxiety.

The Role of Change and Division

Rural versus Urban Communities

• In rural communities, economic survival depended heavily on the harvest.

Ridge-and-furrow ridges mark the long, narrow strips cultivated in the open-field system. The pattern reflects shared labour and interdependence within villages before enclosure consolidated holdings. (Extra detail: the file page includes licensing and camera metadata not required by the syllabus.) Source

• In urban settings, competition for trade and work heightened tensions, sometimes leading to witchcraft accusations against rivals.

The stresses of economic change, such as the gradual shift toward market economies and away from feudal ties, further destabilised traditional relationships. As change deepened, conflict between old and new social expectations became fertile ground for witch-hunting.

Enclosure and Displacement

The enclosure movement—where common lands were converted into private holdings—displaced many peasants.

Mark Pierce’s 1635 plan of Laxton shows thousands of narrow strips radiating from the village, a classic open-field pattern that structured labour, tenure, and neighbourly reciprocity. Such dispersed holdings shaped obligations and tensions within rural communities. The map provides concrete context for why enclosure represented a disruptive social and economic change. Source
Dispossession and migration fuelled instability, and displaced individuals often appeared threatening to settled communities. Such people were prime candidates for witchcraft accusations, as they embodied economic disruption.

Vulnerable Groups and Accusations

Women and the Poor

The majority of those accused of witchcraft belonged to groups already marginalised by social and economic status:

• Widows, who lacked male protection and often relied on charity.

• Older women, whose declining productivity in agricultural economies made them economically vulnerable.

• The impoverished, whose dependency on neighbours or parish relief could turn to resentment when aid was refused.

The connection between gender, poverty, and suspicion was reinforced by cultural beliefs associating women with weakness, moral frailty, and susceptibility to the Devil.

Social Relations and Tensions

Neighbourly quarrels, disputes over resources, or perceived failures of reciprocity frequently led to accusations:

• If a beggar was refused alms and the household later suffered misfortune, suspicions of witchcraft followed.

• Accusations often emerged in close-knit communities where tensions simmered over time.

Scapegoating in Times of Crisis

Periods of war, famine, or epidemic disease intensified the need for explanations. In such contexts:

• Communities sought control and order by targeting perceived sources of harm.

• Witch trials provided a visible means of reasserting social discipline in times of upheaval.

• Persecution offered authorities a way to channel popular anger toward individual scapegoats rather than systemic failings.

Authorities reinforced persecution by adopting local suspicions, transforming communal accusations into formal trials.

The Link Between Authority and Social Order

While economic stress and social division fuelled suspicion at the community level, authorities often amplified these dynamics:

• Local magistrates and clergy exploited witchcraft accusations to reinforce social conformity.

• Persecutions were sometimes used to divert discontent away from rulers’ failure to alleviate economic hardship.

• By prosecuting witches, authorities projected an image of restoring order amidst instability.

This interplay between popular fears and institutional responses embedded witchcraft persecution into the social fabric of the 16th and 17th centuries.