From the BBC:
“Catalonia pardons women
executed for witchcraft”
The Catalan regional parliament
has formally pardoned hundreds of women executed for witchcraft between the
15th and 18th centuries. MPs passed a resolution by a large majority to
rehabilitate the memory of more than 700 women who were tortured and put to
death. Spanish historians have discovered that Catalonia was one of the first
regions in Europe to carry out witch hunts. It was also considered one of the
worst areas for executions. "We have recently discovered the names of more
than 700 women who were persecuted, tortured and executed between the 15th and
18th centuries," said the groups behind the resolution. Witches were often
blamed for the sudden death of children or for poor harvests, according to Pau
Castell, a professor of modern history at the University of Barcelona. Pro-independence
and left-wing groups say the women were "victims of misogynistic
persecution" and want their memory honoured by naming streets after them. Tens
of thousands - mostly women - are believed to have been condemned to death for
witchcraft across Europe. The move follows similar initiatives in Scotland,
Switzerland and Norway. "Before they called us witches, now they call us
'feminazis' or hysterical or sexually frustrated. Before they carried out witch
hunts, now we call them femicides," said regional deputy Jenn Diaz of the
ruling ERC, according to the AFP news agency.
^ Witchcraft and the fear of the
unknown was a major part of life until the very recent past. Millions of
innocent people (men and women) were tortured, persecuted and killed throughout
Europe, North America and around the world and little to nothing has been done
in modern times to atone for those actions. It is nice to see Catalonia) and
Scotland, Switzerland and Norway) do just that. ^
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