That is a good point about the Glorious Revolution - it seems like many of the English saw William as a relief, but British wizards might have been concerned that he'd be more... Continental in his approach to witchcraft. Possibly they'd gotten on better with the Catholics, too. The Salem witch trials might have been a spillover effect from Europe, since they did keep in contact as much as they could. Or hallucinogenic rye fungus.
Possibly not related at all, but they were also going through periodic smallpox epidemics at the time - in fact, Queen Mary died of smallpox in 1695 or thereabouts. By the 1720s, you had Lady Mary Whortley Montagu and Zabdiel Boylston (in Boston) listening to old Greek and Turkish women in Constantinople and African slaves and ex-slaves about this inoculation procedure they used, and so off they all go experimenting. If not for the Statute, might they have relied on their magical friends for help (and given the sheer number of Muggles, not protected very many)? This might have been quite to the Muggles' benefit in the end.
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Possibly not related at all, but they were also going through periodic smallpox epidemics at the time - in fact, Queen Mary died of smallpox in 1695 or thereabouts. By the 1720s, you had Lady Mary Whortley Montagu and Zabdiel Boylston (in Boston) listening to old Greek and Turkish women in Constantinople and African slaves and ex-slaves about this inoculation procedure they used, and so off they all go experimenting. If not for the Statute, might they have relied on their magical friends for help (and given the sheer number of Muggles, not protected very many)? This might have been quite to the Muggles' benefit in the end.