The history of venereal diseases presents a challenging medico-social problem and many questions regarding the genesis of the disease remain unanswered. There are two main schools of thought on the origin of syphilis in Europe: the Unionist and the Columbian. In 1591, a year of escalated persecution of witches, fear of venereal disease was so intense and the public so wrathful that in cases where witchcraft and syphilis were linked, and condemned women were not strangled before burning as usual, but were burned alive. By 1587, the persecution of women for sexual behaviour intensified. Punishments depended on the woman’s social rank and the number of past offences. ‘Harlots’ were to be carted through the town, ducked in the Clyde, and put in the juggs on a market day. The more respectable members of the medical profession refused to work with venereal patients, so sufferers were left to the ‘mercies of barbers, quacks and old women’.