Witch-hunting was an accepted moral pursuit through much of the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Though thousands of witches were burned during that time period, relatively few witches were executed during Elizabeth's reign. However, King James (who came to the throne in 1603) took a special interest in the subject. His lifelong interest in the subject of witches is supported by the fact that he himself participated in a number of trials of alleged witches. King James I of England held much legal influence of the witch-hunts of the late 1500s. He greatly feared the power of witches and believed wholly that a storm which threatened to sink his ship and drown both him and his wife, Queen Anne, was summoned by witches. As a result of this belief, the two women "responsible" were burned at the stake. King James knew full well that witches were mostly concerned with healing (this was how many earned a living) but to him this was still evil, and a crime. Take for example the trials of the "North Berwick Witches" through 1590-91 that provided Scotland with its most celebrated witch trials and executions. King James VI, a believer in witchcraft, took part in the proceedings himself. The torture applied to the victims was among the most brutal in Scotland's entire history of witch trials. In all, approximately 70 persons were accused of witchcraft or treason in the North Berwick trials. All were probably imprisoned, but it is unclear as to how many were executed, left in jail, or released. Although James believed witches were to be destroyed, he did change some unfair court procedures. He ended one form of condemnation: that of denunciation by children at a time when the courts were ready to accept childrens testimonies as evidence. Thus, denunciation by children would no longer be accepted in court. In his later years, James came to realize that many witchcraft accusations were false. Nonetheless, James authorized the translation of the King James Bible. In addition, in 1597 he wrote Daemonologie to counter Discoverie of Witchcraft written by the skeptic Reginald Scot.