Question

What social & economic conditions allowed the century in which Europe launched the Scientific Revolution & the Enlightenment to coincide with Europe’s last great witch hunt?

Answer 1

Witch hunts originated due to social and economic pressures in Europe. Because of this, we see that changes in economic and social conditions led to a decline of such events.

When the Scientific Revolution started, this was accompanied by other social events such as a rise in the urban population and an improvement of weather conditions. The improvement of the weather led to higher crop yield, and in turn, to better conditions in rural communities. Moreover, a rise in the urban population of Europe led to better job opportunities for people.

On the other hand, these changes were not only economic. The rise of the urban population led to better communication among different communities. These allowed the ideas of the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment to spread, providing logical answers to questions that previously led to witchcraft accusations. Moreover, as the economy of the rural areas improved, people had less need to find a scapegoat for their woes, which reduced the social need for witches.