Witch hunting was largely a phenomenon of early modern Europe. In the Middle Ages, people generally had tolerant attitudes towards witchcraft, but this began to change in the 14th century. After the terrible devastation caused by the Black Death [bubonic plague] (1347-1349), rumors of evil magic increased in intensity and focused primarily on witches and “plague-spreaders.” Witchcraft cases increased slowly but steadily from the 14th-15th century. The first mass trials appeared in the 15th century. At the beginning of the 16th century, as the first shock-waves from the Reformation hit, the number of witch trials actually dropped. Then, around 1550, the persecution skyrocketed. What we think of as “the Burning Times” — the crazes, panics, and mass hysteria — largely occurred in one century, from 1550-1650. In the 17th century, the Great Hunt passed nearly as suddenly as it had arisen. Trials dropped sharply after 1650 and disappeared completely by the end of the 18th century.
Between 75-80% of those convicted of witchcraft were female. This discrimination can be seen in the pages of the Malleus maleficarum (The Hammer of Witches), published by Catholic inquisition authorities in 1485-86. “All wickedness,” write the authors, “is but little to the wickedness of a woman. … What else is woman but a foe to friendship, an unescapable punishment, a necessary evil, a natural temptation, a desirable calamity, domestic danger, a delectable detriment, an evil nature, painted with fair colours. … Women are by nature instruments of Satan — they are by nature carnal, a structural defect rooted in the original creation.”
For much more information, and many links on the history of witches and witch hunts in Europe at this time, visit this site, or even go on your own witch hunt.