King James was ardent in his searches for witches and eliminating them from his realms. The number of accused practitioners of witchcraft is astounding.
While I was writing North Berwick Witches' Persecution and Witch of Edmonton, England, I began to wonder how many accused witches were executed during James’ reigns of both countries. He was James VI of Scotland from 1585 to 1603 and James I of England, 1603 to 1625. The exact numbers of victims are unknown because records weren’t always kept. Some, although accused of witchcraft, were charged with another capital crime. The Earl of Bothwell, alleged enemy of James VI, was accused of conspiring with witches, but charged with high treason for political reasons.
James was zealous about ridding witchcraft from his realms. The North Berwick witch persecution, 1590 – 1591, was responsible for witch hunts flourishing in Scotland. It’s estimated that seventy people were accused of witchcraft in North Berwick; however no records exist of the exact amount or how many were executed.
Although the number is high, it’s estimated that between 1563-1603, over 17,000 killed in Scotland.
James believed in the powers of witches.When he became King of England, the crime of witchcraft wasn’t a capital offense unless the alleged witch killed a person by sorcery. The next year, he changed this. Bewitching a person or animal carried a death penalty, even if this was done for a good purpose, like healing. It was also a crime for doctors to use a cadaver for medical research and for one to sell a corpse for this practice. This set the scene for even more intense witch hunts.
It’s estimated that, between 1600 and 1680, 40,000 people were executed for witchcraft in England. The first officially recorded one was Mary Pannel, 1603. The last ones so recorded during James’ reign, were 13 burned to death in Scotland and 2 executed in England in 1622.
