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Married women in the 17th century could not get divorced. Instead of waiting for their husbands to die of natural causes, some ladies used poison.
Throughout history, women in Europe had but two choices – marrying whomever their parents chose for them or going to a convent. Four hundred years ago, the chances of marrying a man you love were not great and a divorce was out of question. Therefore the words “till death do us part” became more of a warning than a promise. When the husbands absolutely did not live up to expectations, some wives took decisive measures to solve the problem. The solution of choice for extreme marital difficulties was poison.
A 17th century lady faced many challenges in trying to get rid of her husband. She had to overcome much more than only moral resistance. It was necessary to select the appropriate resources and collaborators with care. A married woman risked a lot – in the event of a mishap, she faced a trial as a witch and death at the stake.
Here are some proven tips for desperate housewives. Ladies – do not try them at home!
1. Look for poison
The main obstacle on the way to crime was finding the right means. Women with knowledge about herbs often used plants that grew in the immediate vicinity, for example in a meadow or in the forest. Datura, aconite and nightshade were popular. A common wolfberry looked inconspicuous, but it could become a weapon in skillful hands…
Arsenic was very popular with female killers. This true king of poisons, known since antiquity, was quite easily available. One could buy it everywhere as poison for mice or rats. In England before 1815, there were no restrictions on trading with arsenic. The price was also affordable, especially since a small amount of poison could lead to death. Few of the sellers asked customers what they would use the purchased product for…
Arsenic poisoning caused severe abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. Smaller doses resulted in hair and nails loss, skin ulcerations, indigestion and a lack of appetite, but also a persistent cough. As you can see, these symptoms resembled more than one disease, so the poisoned person often assumed he caught some kind of common illness.
2. Get advice from poison specialists
Preparing poison was not a job for a simple (and often illiterate) homemaker. The best solution seemed to find a professional, a true expert in poisoning art, who would recommend the best specimen.
The choice of poison was also influenced by fashion. ‘Aqua Tofana’ became extremely popular in the 17th century. The arsenic-based mixture could kill any victim within three days. The name of the poison comes from its unlucky inventor, a Sicilian woman Teofania di Adamo, who was captured in 1633 and died a cruel death by hanging.
The secret of ‘Aqua Tofana’ came from Sicily to Naples in the 1640s and then to Rome in 1650s, where it made a female gang popular among unhappily married Roman ladies. A group of women, including Giulia Tofano from Palermo (perhaps the daughter of Teofania di Adamo), Girolama Spara, and four others, started a real business selling arsenic-based potions.
Giulia Tofano, the leader of the gang, died of natural causes in 1651. After her death, Girolama Spara took over the group. She saw preparing poisons not simply as a way to make money. For her it was a charity mission. She sold Aqua Tofana well below the cost to victims of domestic abuse and mistreatment by their husbands.
Many of the ladies in Tofana and Spara’s circle ended up in noose for using poison to change marital statuses. Their charity and good hearts were considered witchcraft.
3. Be careful
When a nobleman Francesco Cesi, Duke of Ceri died, his unexpected death brought suspicion to his young wife, Maria Aldobrandini. Rome then experienced a real witch-hunt fever. Every widow, especially one who was still in her prime, was confronted with rumors of possibly helping the husband leave this world.
Finally, after months of investigations and tortures, in 1659, five women from Spara’s group, dealing in the distribution of poisons, were hanged. Maria Aldobrandini herself barely escaped with her life. Her name was removed from the trial files and she died peacefully in 1705.
4. Don’t mess with ambitious law enforcement officers
Some extremely stubborn policemen posed a huge danger. One of them was Nicolas la Reyna, who headed the Paris police under Louis XIV. He pursued alchemists, witches and all those who tried to use secret powers. La Reyna won the laurels for working out the biggest poisoning scandal in France.
The whole story began innocently, with one woman who decided to eliminate those members of her family she thought were redundant. Marie Madeleine Gobelin, Marquis de Brinvilliers, did not find happiness in her marriage and hence she sought consolation in the arms of a certain mister Gaudin de Sainte-Croix.
Marie’s husband did not oppose this relationship until the spouse began to consider separating her property from her husband’s. His anger led to Gaudin’s imprisonment in 1663. While in custody, the unlucky lover met an Italian poisoner.
After leaving prison, he and his beloved began experimenting with all sorts of potions. Within a few years, Marie’s father and her two brothers died. However, their deaths did not raise any suspicions.
It was only the mysterious death of Gaudin de Sainte-Croix that started an investigation, which resulted in the disclosure of compromising letters. Terrified, Marie Madeleine Gobelin fled to England and then the Netherlands. However, she failed to escape justice. She was arrested in 1675 and then deported to France. The police subjected Marie to sophisticated torture prior to beheading her.
Initially, she did not admit to poisoning anyone. She tried to put all the blame on her deceased lover. Only under the influence of torture did she testify that she poisoned her father, two brothers, and tried to poison her sister-in-law and her husband. She claimed that the murders were carried out in order to ensure the education and proper social position of her children. That’s one devoted mother, right?
On July 16, 1676, Marie Madeleine Gobelin was punished for her actions. It was Nicolaus La Reyna who contributed to her punishment. Marie was beheaded and her body was burned. However, this did not mean the end of the story, as the king ordered the leader of the Paris police to conduct an in-depth investigation.
5. In case of a mishap, talk to the king
One of the most famous poison entrepreneurs of Paris was Catherine Deshayes, better known as La Voisin. She offered services in the field of witchcraft, the sale of poisons, and getting rid of unwanted pregnancies (abortion).
She was arrested on March 12, 1679, on the way home from the church. During the investigation, she stated that her clients were the social crème de la crème of France. She admitted that many influential people sought her help to kill someone. Prominent customers, however, stated not to know her. She was burned at the stake in 1680.
The dealer’s arrest led to further investigations. However, not all suspects faced the judge. The name of the king’s long-time favorite, the Marquis of Montespan, disappeared from the trial files. Mrs. Montespan bore the king seven children. Her influence at the court was so great that she was rumored to be the second wife of the king or the true queen of France. In order to maintain her influence, she did not hesitate to resort to any methods, including mysterious beauty products and poison.
As you can see, despite the lack of advanced investigative techniques, many poisoners were arrested and beheaded or burned at stake for their crimes. Today, however, it is impossible to say how many widows managed to change their marital status on their own. At a time when an autopsy was something exceptional, and toxicology did not exist, many crimes remained a secret…
Nowadays in Europe, there is no need to poison your husband to get rid of him. A separation and a divorce can be long and tenuous but at least they are legal. So do not try poisoning anyone.
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