Why did oliver cromwell allow witch hunts?

Answer 1

Oliver Cromwell had been witness to a witch trial and hanging on his street (now Cromwell street) when he was only 13. One can inagine that this stayed with him for the rest of his life. Then again, witchcraft in the 1640's i.e. the Civil War, was mostly due to the lack of administration that existed in that period. Both Royalists and Parliamentarians were too busy fighting eachother to deal with obscure figures such as Matthew Hopkins who only managed to set himself up due to a small inheritance he received; allowing himself to pass as a gentleman. Combine that with the fact that Hopkins was a puritan along with his accomplice John Stearne, and one can see how they managed to slip under, or get the dismissive approval of Oliver Cromell.