What is the setting in the opening pages of the nonfiction book, Witches, Midwives, and Nurses?

Western Europe is the location of the book's first chapter on medieval witch hunts. The power of the Catholic and Protestant Churches in medieval Europe plays a significant role, not just in instigating witch hunts, but also in connecting witchcraft to female healers. This violent attempt to suppress female healers, combined with the exclusion of women from professional medical training institutions, is largely responsible for the lack of women in the healthcare industry in the United States. For the authors, the story of female healers in Western Europe serves as one example of how class, power, and misogynistic social structures have come together to suppress female healers throughout history.