The North Berwick witch trials of 1590-91 had a direct military dimension because the accused witches confessed — under torture — to attempting to murder James VI by raising storms at sea during his Danish voyage. The Earl of Bothwell was named as the master devil who had directed the witches. This gave James VI the pretext to move militarily against Bothwell, who had previously been too powerful to attack directly. The witch crisis converted a political enemy into a criminal one, justifying the subsequent raids, arrests, and ultimately Bothwell's banishment as actions taken against a confessed conspirator rather than a political opponent.
Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any location in Britain — drawing on Domesday records, scheduled monuments, Victorian OS maps, geological data and archaeological archives to tell the full story of a place.
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