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Salem Witchcraft History

These violations included basing laws on religious beliefs, running an illegal mint an d discriminating against Anglicans. A newer, more interrelations charter replaced the original one in 1691 and also embodied the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Plymouth Colony and several other colonies into o en. The puritans, who had left England due to religious persecution, feared they were under attack again and were losing control of their colony. A feeling of uneasiness and disc intent surrounded them.

The colony was also under a great deal of strain at the time due to a recent s mall pox epidemic, growing rivalries between families within the colony, a constant thru eat of attack from nearby Anticlerical tribes, and a recent influx of refugees trying to escape King Williams war with France in Canada and upstate New York. All of these factors created a tense environment in Salem. Events The hysteria first began in January of 1 692 when a group of young girls, who eater came to be known as the “afflicted girls,” fell ill after playing a fortunetelling game and be gang behaving strangely.

Afflicted Girls: Elizabeth Booth Elizabeth Hubbard Mercy Lewis Betty Paris Ann Putnam Jar Susann Sheldon Abigail Williams Mary Walcott Mary Warren The first of the girls to start experiencing symptoms was Betty Paris, followed by Abigail Williams, Ann Putnam Jar, Mary Walcott and Mercy Lewis. Shortly after, Elizabeth h Hubbard, Susann Sheldon, Mary Warren and Elizabeth Booth all started to experience e the same symptoms, which consisted of suffering “fits,” hiding under furniture, contortion Eng in pain and experiencing fever.

Many modern theories suggest the girls were suffering fro m epilepsy, boredom, child abuse, mental illness or even a disease brought on by eating r ye infected with fungus. 1856 Map of Salem Village in 1692 by W. P. Puma, circa 1856 In February, Samuel Paris called for a doctor, who is believed to be Dry. William m Grids, to examine the girls. The doctor was unable to find anything physically wrong WI the them and suggested they may be bewitched. Shortly after, two of the girls named the w omen they believed were bewitching them.

These women were Sarah Good, Sarah Suburb n and a slave named Tuba who worked for Samuel Paris. These three women were social outcasts and easy targets for the accusation of witchcraft. It was not difficult for the people of Salem to believe they were involved in witchcraft. On March 1st, Tuba, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborn were arrested and exam indeed. During Tuba’s examination, she confessed that she had been approached by Satan, along with Sarah Good and Sarah Osborn, and they had all agreed to do his bidding as w etches.

The confession spurred the hunt for more witches and silenced any opposition to the idea of witchcraft invading the village. That same month, four more women were AC used an arrested: Rebecca Nurse, Martha Corey, Dorothy Good and Rachel Clinton fro m Physics. Although the afflicted girls were the main accusers during the trials, many hiss Arians believe the girl’s parents, particularly Thomas Putnam and Samuel Paris, were egging the girls on and encouraging them to accuse specific people in the community that they d didn’t like in an act of revenge. In April, more women were accused, as well as a number Of men:

Sarah Close Elizabeth Proctor John Proctor Giles Corey Abigail Hobbs Deliverance Hobbs William Hobbs Bridget Bishop Sarah Wildest Inhumane Abbott Jar. Mary States Edward Bishop Sarah Bishop Mary English Phillip English Reverend George Burroughs Lydia Dustin Susann Martin Dorsa Hoar Sarah More In May, as the number of cases grew, Governor William Phips set up a special court, known as the Court of O’er and Determiner, to hear the cases. This court consisted of eight judges. In June, Nathaniel Swallowtails resigned and was replaced by Jonathan Conning. Court of O’er and Determiner: Jonathan Corning Bartholomew Sydney John Hawthorne

John Richards William Sought, Chief Magistrate As mule Seawall Nathaniel Swallowtails peter sergeant Whitetails Winthrop The number of people accused and arrested in May surged to over 30 people: Sarah Dustin Ann Sears Arthur Abbott Bethink Carter Sir. Bethink Carter Jar. Mary Withered George Jacobs Sir. Margaret Jacobs Rebecca Jacobs John Willard Alice Parker Ann Puppeteer Abigail Shames Sarah Buckley Elizabeth Colon Elizabeth Hart, Thomas Farad Sir. Roger Toothache Mary Toothache Margaret Toothache Sarah Proctor Mary Deride Sarah Bassett Susann Roots Elizabeth Cary Sarah Pease Martha Carrier Elizabeth Fossils

Willow Reed Elizabeth Howe Sarah Rice John Alden Jar William Proctor John Flood Arrest warrants were issued for George Jacobs Jar. And Daniel Andrews but the y evaded arrest. Site of Court House Where Witch Trials Took Place published in the New Engle ND Magazine volume 5 1892 400 XI “Site of Court House Where Witch Trials Took Place” published in the New Eng land Magazine Volume 5 circa 1892 The accusations and arrests began to decline in June but still continued and s non the local jails held more than 200 accused witches.

Not everyone in Salem believed in witchcraft or supported the trials. There we re many critics f the witch hunt, such as a local farmer John Proctor, who scoffed at the idea of witchcraft in Salem and called the young girls scam artists. Critics such as Proctor were oft en accused of witchcraft as well, under the assumption that anyone who denied the existent CE of witches or defended the accused must be one of them, and were brought to trial. Proctor or’s entire family was accused, including all of his children, his pregnant wife and existential.

Although the witch hunt started in Salem, it quickly spread to the neighboring towns, including Masseurs, Andover, Deposited, Physics and Gloucester, and numerous reside TTS of those towns were brought to Salem and put on trial. Bridget Bishop was the first person brought to trial. Bishop was a local tavern owner who often quarreled with her neighbors, dressed provocatively and entertained GU sets late at night in her home. Furthermore, Bishop had also been accused of witchcraft’s before but was cleared of the crime.

Bridget was accused by five of the afflicted girls, Abigail Williams, Ann Putnam Jar. , Mercy Lewis, Mary Walcott and Elizabeth Hubbard, who stated she had physically hurt them and tried to make them sign a pact with the devil. During her trial, Bishop pedaled defended herself, stating “l am innocent, I know nothing Of it, I have e done no witchcraft I am as innocent as the child unborn... ” Bishop was quickly convince acted and hanged on June 10th at Gallows hill. Five people were hanged in July, one of which was Rebecca Nurse. Rebecca N ruse’s execution was a pivotal moment in the Salem Witch Trials.

Although many oft he other accused women were unpopular social outcasts, Nurse was a pious, wellness acted and welcomed member Of the community. When she was first arrested, many me members of the community signed a petition asking for her release. Although she wasn’t relearn seed, most people were confident she would be found not guilty and released. Her initial verdict was, in fact, not guilty, but upon hearing the verdict the afflicted girls began to have if TTS in the courtroom. Judge Sought asked the jury to reconsider their verdict.

A week later, the jury changed their minds and declared Nurse guilty. After Nurse’s execution on July y 19th, the residents of Salem started to seriously question the validity of the trials. Son Matheson 1855 “Trial of George Jacobs of Salem for Witchcraft” painting by Tompkins Harrison n Matheson, circa 1855 On July 23, Proctor wrote to the clergy in Boston. He knew the clergy did not f Lully approve of the witch hunts. Proctor told them about the torture inflicted on the accused and asked that the trials be moved to Boston where he felt he would get a fair trial.

The clergy y later held a meeting on August 1 to discuss the trials but were not able to help Proctor b before his execution. Proctors wife managed to escape execution because she was prep ant, but Proctor was hanged on August 1 9th along with five other people. Another notable person who was accused of witchcraft was Captain John Lade n Jar. , the son of he Mayflower crew member John Alden. Alden was accused of witchcraft by a child during a trip to Salem while he was on his way home to Boston from Canada. Alden SP .NET 15 weeks in jail before friends helped break him out and he escaped to New York. He was later exonerated.

Yet another crucial moment during the Salem Witch Trials was the public tort ere and death of Giles Corey. Corey was accused of witchcraft in April after his wife’s cautious n and examination. Knowing that if he was convicted his large estate would be confine seated and wouldn’t be passed down to his children, Corey brought his trial to a halt by r fusing to enter a plea. English law at the time dictated that anyone who refused to enter a plea could be tortured in an attempt to force a plea out of them. This legal tactic was known as “penne forte et dour’ which means “until he either answered or died. The torture consists d of laying the prisoner on the ground, naked, with a board placed on top of him. Heavy stone sees were loaded onto the board and the weight was gradually increased until the prison either entered a plea or died. In Midwesterner, Corey was tortured this way for three days in a file d near Howard Street until he finally died on September 1 9th. His death was gruesome and c rule and strengthened the growing opposition to the Salem Witch Trials. As the trials and executions continued, colonists began to doubt so many pee plea could actually be guilty of this crime.

They feared many innocent people were being executed. Local clergymen began speaking out against the witch hunt and tried to persuade o officials to stop the trials. Around the end of September, the use of spectral evidence was finally declare d inadmissible, thus marking the beginning of the end of the Salem Witch Trials. Although esp. actual evidence, evidence based on dreams and visions, wasn’t the only evidence used in court during the Salem Witch Trails, it was the most common and the easiest evidence for accuse seers to fake.

Other evidence used in the trials included confessions Of the accused, posses Soon of certain items such as poppet’s, ointments or books on the occult, as well as the prose once of an alleged “witch’s teat,” which was a strange mole or blemish, on the accused pee arson’s body. On September 22, eight people were hanged. These were the last hangings of the Salem Witch Trials. On October 29th, Phips dismissed the court that had been set up to hear the asses. The 52 remaining people in jail were tried in a new court, the Superior Court Of Judaic true, the following winter.

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