Economically Motivated Persecution: Witchcraft Trials in 17th Century Poland

• In Event: New Agendas in Historical Political Economy

Abstract

While prior research has focused on socio-cultural explanations for witchcraft trials in Europe, we instead examine the economic determinants of witchcraft-based targeting of women in the 15-17th centuries. We argue that economic independence of women may have made them local targets for persecution, and document that the collapse of the female-dominated local industries corresponds with witchcraft trials. We study this link during the peak of European witchcraft trials in the case of 17th century Poland, focusing on two regions at the epicenter of the craze, Małopolska and Wielkopolska. Using detailed, micro-level data on the trials and the accused, drawn from municipal and village court books and testimonies, as well as local data on economic shocks and ethnic heterogeneity, we test both cultural and economic theories of persecution.

Authors

• Ali Cirone, London School of Economics

• Frances Cayton, Cornell University