James I disliked witches mainly be cause he was of homosexual leanings and had a severe distrust for women, believing them to be a threat to an already paranoid king as witches all being women were viewed as directly dealing with the devil himself.
The three witches
Its not just women, men do as well and they are still called witches, its a genderless term. People choose to be witches and practice witchcraft because of their beliefs and desires.
No, Saint Patrick did not kill or burn witches.
No - women accused of being witches were hunted tortured and killed.
'The swimming of witches' was when a women, accused of being a witch, was dragged down a river.
No ^^
All of Them Witches was created in 1996.
Mostly innocent women.
Quick trivia: Men are called witches too. "Witch" is genderless. I do not know where the word "witch" derives from, but I can tell you were the word "Wicca" came from - Wicca being one of the religions for witches. *Not all witches are Wiccans, and vice versa!* "Wicca," in old English is a male witch. "Wicce" is a female witch. In the same family, there is "Wita" meaning a wise man or woman, and "Witan" which means "to know." It could also, possibly, derive from the word "Wie," meaning "To bend/alter."
Witches tend to be women. In Shakespeare's time, I assume that women were witches since Hecate is a woman who is goddess of witchcraft. I don't believe there's any report of a man being accused of witchcraft and being killed for it.
Witches were commonly thought to be old women, poor and usually unprotected. They were often single women or widows. Also witches were closely associated with living alone (in a house in the woods). Common pets for a witch to have were frogs, ravens, goats and mice.