Kirsty Mckenzie
WOMEN who were condemned as witches and tortured to death in 16th, 17th and 18th centuries could soon have streets named after them in Spain.
MPs in the Catalan parliament passed a resolution by a large majority to rehabilitate the memory of more than 700 women who were tortured and executed as witches.
The women have been formally pardoned by the regional government and are now recognised as victims of ‘misogynist persecution’ following the move.
Part of the proposed rehabilitation is for local councils in Catalunya to revise street names to include the names of women convicted of witchcraft as an ‘exercise in historical reparation.’
An investigation by the scientific journal Sapiens and research by Barcelona historian Pau Castell found that Catalunya was one of the first regions in Europe to carry out witch hunts and it was also considered one of the worst areas for executions.
Witches were often blamed for the sudden death of children or for poor harvests, according to Castell, a professor of modern history at the University of Barcelona.
Fourteen women were hanged between 1618 and 1622 for witchcraft in Spain. They were not burned to death because they had been tried by secular judges rather than the Inquisition.
Tens of thousands – mostly women – are believed to have been condemned to death for witchcraft across Europe.
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