Witchcraft, Weather and Economic Growth in Renaissance Europe
研究巫术审判是否因经济恶化引发的大规模暴力与替罪羊现象，发现审判活跃期与“小冰期”气温下降导致的粮食短缺相吻合。
This paper explores the possibility that the witchcraft trials are a large-scale example of violence and scapegoating prompted by a deterioration in economic conditions. In this case, the downturn was brought on by a decrease in temperature and resulting food shortages. The most active period of the witchcraft trials coincides with a period of lower than average temperature known to climatologists as the “little ice age.” The colder temperatures increased the frequency of crop failure, and colder seas prevented cod and other fish from migrating as far north, eliminating this vital food source for some northern areas of Europe (Fagan, 2000).