a lot of Names, interrupted with a lot of Traitors, Lily's Crush, McG/Hooch

[Neri]

No: HPFGUIDX 154773


> 
> Carol notes:
> But the Statute of Secrecy was passed in 1692, the year of the Salem
> Witch Trials, in which the convicted witches were hanged (and the one
> convicted warlock, IIRC, crushed to death by a stone block).
> Historically speaking, I don't doubt that they were all innocent
> (i.e., Muggles), but from the perspective of the books, they were
> probably witches and a wizard. The spells that froze the flames of the
> burned witches (who must somehow have faked their deaths or the
> punishment would have been abandoned as ineffectual) would not have
> saved them from strangulation or the bone-crushing weight of a block
> of stone). That these deaths occurred in Morth America wouldn't have
> mattered because the colonies were considered part of England at the
> time. The Salem Witch trials can't explain Salazar Slytherin's hatred
> of Muggles and Muggleborns, but they could certainly explain the new
> burst of fear that prompted the Statute of Secrecy and the continuing
> prejudice against Muggles that permeates the WW, at least among
> purebloods and some half-bloods, ranging from virulent hatred
> (Voldemort) to contempt (Hagrid) to condescension (Arthur Weasley).
> 

Neri:
I don't see any reason to suppose that the people hanged in the Salem
trials were (in the Potterverse) true witches and wizards. There are
many spells that would enable a witch or a wizard escape from a muggle
jail – no reason for them to stay around for the hanging – even if we
don't consider that the wizarding community would probably come to
their aid. As a whole I doubt JKR is even familiar with the
particulars of the Salem trials. From her point of view we have Newt
Scamander, Bathilda Bagshot and Prof. Binns all agreeing that
persecutions by muggles weren't a danger for true wizards.

It is true that there seems to be a disparity in time – Binns' essay
in PoA refers to the 14th century while in FB the Statue of Secrecy is
from the 17th century. The most likely explanation for this disparity
is that JKR, like most people that aren't very familiar with the
history of the witch-hunts, mistakenly believed it mainly happened
during the Dark Ages. Only when she did a bit of research for FB she
discovered it was mainly a phenomenon of the 16th and 17th centuries.
But still, she had Newt Scamander in FB mention Bathilda Bagshot's
book as his reference.

Note also that Florean Fortescue, who knows a lot about the history of
the witch-hunts and is apparently from an old wizarding family
(another Fortescue was a Hogwarts headmaster) doesn't appear to be
part of the Slytherin faction: In HBP (Ch. 6) he's described as "a
good man" by Bill and "disappears" with his place trashed, apparently
by the DEs. OTOH the purebloods and DEs never mention the witch-hunt
as justification for their deeds and indeed AFAIK never even suggest
that muggles might be a threat to wizards in any way. 

Also, in the pretty long list of "famous wizards" cards and "Wizard of
the Months" in JKR's site I can't recall a single wizard who was
persecuted or hurt by muggles in any way. On the contrary, the current
Wizard of the Month is Tarquin Mc'Tavish (1955 – present) "imprisoned
for crimes against Muggle neighbor, who was discovered trapped inside
Mc'Tavish's kettle". 

Neri