Witches Be Bumming
Charts are really great!
You may know that back in Olde Times, witches were all over the place. They were doing crazy witch stuff and freaking people out.
The freaked out people responded by forming angry mobs and just going to town on witches (See chart).
Clearly, the mobs were fairly successful, if a little over-zealous. Despite the precipitous decline in the witch population, the burnings continued apace (though never again reaching the peek levels of 1670, the decline in burnings may have been more directly related to the great firewood shortage of 1672).
The number of angry mobs also steadily declined, possibly due to rampant burnings of future mob members.