Duke of Alba the House of Álvarez de Toledo (extinct in 1755), the House of Silva (extinct in 1802), and the House of FitzJames, which descends from an illegitimate son of King James II of England. Famous dukes include Don Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba, governor of the Spanish Netherlands (references to "Alba" (Alva in Dutch), particularly in the context of Dutch history, are usually about him), and Doña María del Pilar de Silva, 13th Duchess of Alba, a muse of the painter Francisco Goya. Various dukes have married into the families of Christopher Columbus and Cosimo de Medici, as
History of women in the United Kingdom and a witches' Sabbath with the devil deprived women of political influence. Occult power was supposedly a womanly trait because women were weaker and more susceptible to the devil. Enlightenment attitudes after 1700 made a mockery of beliefs in witches. The Witchcraft Act of 1735 marked a complete reversal in attitudes. Penalties for the practice of witchcraft as traditionally constituted, which by that time was considered by many influential figures to be an impossible crime, were replaced by penalties for the pretence of witchcraft. A person who claimed to have the power to call up spirits, or foretell the future,