Considering the fact that we’ve taken to calling it the Wizarding World, have you ever wondered why that “World” consists solely of England?  (Well, and kinda Russia and France, even though we never see them.)  Well, your patience has paid off as J.K. Rowling, the mastermind behind ‘Harry Potter’ and the upcoming ‘Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them’ has been steadily releasing supplemental information via Pottermore.

Now she’s going all out with ‘The History of Magic In North America’ which will explore the continent’s rich– yet very dangerous– exploration of the mystical forces, which begins with the indigenous people and their shamans and “skin walkers” and just why North American mystics don’t need wands.

In this installment, Rowling reveals that magic wielders became aware of North America before Muggles (presumably this means European Muggles) and that North American magicians/medicine men were more naturally adept at animal and plant magic and are more adept at crafting complex potions than those in Europe.

Rowling also explores the mystical history of skin-walkers, human able to transform into animals, which partially inspired legends of werewolves.  She defends these shape-shifters by explaining that they used their abilities to escape persecution and chalked up their negative reputation to No-Maj (American Muggles) fake medicine men who used trickery to their own ends and feared exposure from real magic-users.

Further installments will explore the evolution of magic including Ilvermorny, the Salem Witch Trials and The Magical Congress of the United States of America.

The first chapter is now available, but here’s what you can expect from upcoming chapters, available daily:

Seventeenth Century and Beyond
Debuting March 9 at 9 a.m. EST
Being a witch or wizard in North America is even more dangerous than in Europe. This account, which includes the histories of the Salem witch trials and the Scourers (a rogue band of magical mercenaries), explains why.

Rappaport’s Law
Debuting March 10 at 9 a.m. EST
In the eighteenth century, the laws governing secrecy for the wizarding community became even stricter after a major violation that resulted in humiliation for the Magical Congress of the United States of America, the U.S. version of the Ministry of Magic.

1920s Wizarding America
Debuting March 11 at 9 a.m. EST
Ollivanders might have a corner on the wand market across the pond, but the American makers of the finest wizarding implements were Wolfe, Jonker, Quintana and Beauvais. This is their story.

The last installment covers the 1920s… which just happens to be the setting of ‘Fantastic Beasts’, so in a sense, these writings work as a prequel to what will be the first in-depth storyline set within the Wizarding World.

Are you fascinated to learn about North America’s magical history?  Would you like to see Rowling reveal the histories of other regions of the world?

Source: People