Shakespeare’s tempest, witchcraft and the little ice age

Abstract

A storm at sea conjured up by witchcraft plays a central role in Shakespeare's play The Tempest, illustrating the then‐widespread belief that the damaging cold and wet conditions prevailing during the Little Ice Age were man‐made. Recent studies enable the relationship between climate change and the number and outcome of the many witchcraft trials held at that time to be quantified. The relevance of this early episode to the current heated debate on mankind's role in climate change is discussed.