Pottermore unveils origins of The Magical Congress of the United States of America

Pottermore published its final installment of J.K. Rowling’s Magic in North America this morning, detailing the origins of The Magical Congress of the United States.

A short video was also released in addition to the piece of writing on Pottermore. The new installment offers new information on the founding of the Congress (or MACUSA, as it’s more commonly referred to). Pottermore says this new information offers important background information for Rowling’s upcoming film, ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’.

Watch the video:

READ ROWLING’S WRITING ON POTTERMORE

Lots of interesting details are revealed in Rowling’s new writing. Here’s the gist:

• MACUSA was founded in 1693, following the creation of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy.
• The Congress was modeled after the Wizards’ Council of Great Britain, a predecessor to the Ministry of Magic.
• MACUSA’s original goal was to rid America of Scourers, wizards who hunted their magical peers on behalf of No-Maj witch hunters.
• The first twelve Aurors trained by MACUSA are prominent figures in the American wizarding community. Their names are: Wilhelm Fischer, Theodard Fontaine, Gondulphus Graves, Robert Grimsditch, Mary Jauncey, Carlos Lopez, Mungo MacDuff, Cormac O’Brien, Abraham Potter, Berthilde Roche, Helmut Weiss and Charity Wilkinson.
• Theodard Fontaine’s direct descendant Agilbert is the present-day headmaster of Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
• The headquarters of MACUSA changed locations multiple times over the years, first starting in the Appalachian Mountains, then moving to Virgina, Baltimore, Washington D.C. and then finally settling in New York City. They left Washington when the Sasquatch population got out of control and risked outing them.
• Unlike other Western countries, there was no cooperation between MACUSA and the No-Maj government.
• In 1777, the American wizarding community met to debate whether or not they owed their allegiance to their country or to the global underground wizarding community. A large part of the discussion focused on whether or not they should fight alongside No-Majs in the American Revolution. We also learn that the Ministry of Magic did not participate alongside their Muggle neighbors in the fight against American revolutionaries. While MACUSA didn’t engage in the war, many witches and wizards helped protect their No-Maj friends and in the end celebrated their independence.
• Rappaport’s Law, banning all wizard-No-Maj relations, is still enforced in the 1920’s, when Newt Scamander arrives in New York City.

If you want a fuller picture of everything revealed, be sure to read the article itself.

“Magic developed very differently in America,” Rowling said in the video released on Pottermore. “After the Potter books, this was always where I was interested in going. If I ever did anything, this is what I wanted to do.”

This just has us all the more excited for ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’! The film will hit theaters worldwide on Novemeber 18. 2016.