In Search of a Kingdom: Francis Drake, Elizabeth I, and the Invention of the British Empire

by Laurence Bergreen

In Elizabethan England, witches were believed to rely on a “familiar,” perhaps a black cat, or toad, even a bird, to facilitate mayhem. When people or animals died from terrible diseases, when a crop failed, when houses burned to the ground, when soup or milk turned sour and curdled, witches were held responsible. Superstitions regarding witches abounded. Spilled salt brought misfortune. (Salt was expensive.) Walking under a ladder was considered bad luck. (A ladder resembled the gallows.) If someone sneezed, others immediately recited “Bless you” to prevent the Devil from entering the body through the mouth. Gruesome tests sprang up to detect witches. The accused might be lashed to a stool, or simply bound, and cast into the water. If she sank, she was innocent. But if she floated—most, but not all witches were female—she was guilty and would be executed. Anyone who had fallen into severe disfavor was liable to be branded a witch, including Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth’s ill-starred mother.