Throughout accounts of 17th-century witch trials in Europe and North America, physical features alone were considered undeniable proof of witchcraft. The belief was that the devil branded witches’ bodies with symbolic, material marks—such as unusual growths or blemishes. This led to routine bodily inspections in witch trials. The discovery of such marks was thought to be strong medical and scientific evidence of witchcraft and frequently sealed the victim’s fate.
Moles, birthmarks, red hair: The anatomical features used to accuse women of witchcraft in the 17th century
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Cuba’s communist leaders are in the midst of crisis—and not for the first time.This post was originally published on this site
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Stuart monarchs were repeatedly challenged by dangerous threats—a gunpowder plot, a civil war and political revolution. As a result, by the restoration of Charles II in 1660, the English government had come to rely on [...]
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Johanna Neumann was 8 when she witnessed a mob of local citizens and Nazis vandalizing the Bornplatz Synagogue in Hamburg. They were “shouting and throwing stones at the marvelous glass windows,” as she later said [...]
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With U.S. voters across the political spectrum strongly concerned about border security, presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have been trying to one-up each other on who can reduce migration at the nation’s southern [...]
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If historical trends are anything to go by, most young people in the United States will not vote in this week’s presidential election. For example, in the 2016 presidential election, less than half of Americans [...]
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Elon Musk is supporting Donald Trump in his quest to regain the American presidency. He has committed millions of dollars to a pro-Trump “political action committee” (PAC) and has appeared alongside Donald Trump at some [...]
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Press freedom is a pillar of American democracy. But political attacks on US-based journalists and news organizations pose an unprecedented threat to their safety and the integrity of information.This post was originally published on this [...]
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Contemporary economic challenges in Africa appear to be shifting the continent into a new era of development. From COVID-19 to war-induced inflation, many countries in Africa are facing significant economic challenges. The crises of recent [...]
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A nationally representative survey of U.S. adults finds a public highly attuned to the 2024 election campaign. Researchers at the University of South Florida’s Center for Sustainable Democracy, in partnership with researchers at Rutgers University, [...]
