True, unless you consider it a continuation of the practice in countries where these early colonists recently came, such as England and other European countries. About 30,000–60,000 people were executed in the whole of the main era of witchcraft persecutions, from the 1427–36 witch-hunts in Savoy (in the western Alps) to the execution of Anna Goldi in the Swiss canton of Glarus in 1782. These figures include estimates for cases where no records exist.
Was this MORE reasonable than the European witch trials? Many of those witch killings were based on accusations like failure to say the Our Father prayer properly; such a nervousness induced memory blank was said to be the result of Satanic possession. As I understand it, there were a LOT of dead people around this African witch, not just “shrinkage,” etc. But rather, ALLEGEDLY, this woman made up a list of people she wanted dead, and they all ended up dead.