Welcome to Harry Potter Theory. Today, we’ll be discussing whether or not Muggles would have evolved the way that we did if witches and wizards had never gone into hiding.

For centuries leading up to the late 1700s, individuals with magical abilities—primarily witches—were hunted down and persecuted by Muggles. In what would later be referred to as the infamous witch hunts, formal and informal trials were held between the 14th and 18th centuries in which global communities tried and executed around 40,000 to 60,000 people. 50-to-70,000 more people were accused without being condemned. Among these witch hunts were the infamous Salem Witch Trials of the early 1690s, where the brutalities of the American townsfolk killed 19 people for crimes that included worshipping the devil and taking part in sinful activities. 

Around this same time, in the latter half of the 1700s, people with magical abilities—who had previously lived openly among Muggles—disappeared from Muggle society. This, of course, was due to the institution of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, a law that was conceived to protect the wizarding world from the threats of ill-advised Muggles, which went into effect in the year of 1689.

This is also around the same time in history in which Muggles began rapidly evolving. In particular, we had the Age of EnlightenmentLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices