James VI personally supervised the examination and execution of the North Berwick witches in 1591, including attending torture sessions to verify confessions. The king's personal involvement in the witch trials was unprecedented — no previous Scottish king had taken such close interest in witch prosecution. James VI wrote his Daemonologie published in 1597 partly as a result of his experience. The political dimension was unmistakable: the witch confessions had implicated Bothwell, and James VI's personal superintendence of the trials ensured the evidence against his enemy was developed fully. The executions were carried out in Edinburgh with armed guards.
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