We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. There were no clear-cut rules besides that: either they were after women for being single, having too many friends, no friends or being too poor. 10. If there is anyone has found anymore supporting theories please share. Of course, remembering the events of 1692 can still act as a brake when contemporary events take a sinister downturn. 9 Men Also Died During The Trials This was so helpful for my project! The mayhem all started in 1692, when two cousins aged nine and 11 began experiencing delusions, strange fits, and other mysterious maladies. An elderly woman accused of witchcraft is taken to the courthouse by an officer of the law. thank you for the bibliography it helps a lot! Rebecca, how long did this take you? Also I was curious to know what the specific compromise was. I think in some forms that witches still exist in hidden arenas. Other medical explanations have included encephalitis lethargica, a disease carried by birds and animals, and Lyme disease, an infection that produces skin rashes similar to those believed to have been administered by the Salem witches. Bridget Bishop - The First to Die in Salem Witch Trials, 8 Famous Witches From Mythology and Folklore, Salem, Massachusetts, and the famous trial in 1692, witchcraft was not seen as a religion at all. The Salem jail was located at the corner of Federal Street and St. Peter Street. HI there! Got the movie and became more interested in what really happened. I read a paper several years ago that attributed much of the Salem Witch Trials to classism and arguments over land and land rights several years ago, but cant seem to remember its authors or publisher. Let me know if you are related to story too. Thirteen womenand five men from all stations of life followed her to the gallows onthree successive hanging daysbefore the court was disbanded by Governor William Phipps in October of that year. A total of 19 accused witches were hanged at Proctors Ledge, near Gallows Hill, during the witch trials. In mid-January 1692, Elizabeth "Betty" Parris, the 9-year-old daughter of the local Reverend Samuel Parris, and. I love this site! It is sad where the mind-set was back then. Well, Sharis, the Salem Witch Trials are quite complicated and cant be accurately summed up in a short article. To understand the events of theSalem Witch Trials, it is necessary to examine the times in which accusations of witchcraft occurred. It will be very easy. (University of Kansas, 1997). Planting, cultivating, the care of houses, barns, roads, fences, were all forgotten. I have all the other bibliographies from some other websites but I still need one from this one and I cant find it could you help me?? You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. Her initial verdict was, in fact, not guilty, but upon hearing the verdict the afflicted girls began to have fits in the courtroom. Add in the numerous films and television series that reference Salem, and things get even more distorted. Bettys alarmed father, the Reverend Parris, immediately called on a doctor to examine the girls. Id really like to see period sources for your assertion here. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. OMG! Susannah Martin was my 10th great grandmother and John Proctor was my 11th great uncle. "The Salem Witchcraft Trials: A Legal History". As if the lonely and misunderstood didn't have a hard enough life on its own, they seemed the most suspicious to the crowds. Another interesting fact about the witch trials is not everyone in Salem actually believed in witchcraft or supported the trials. This was no more notable than when playwright Arthur Miller chose to dramatise the trials in his 1953 play The Crucible. This helped me a lot with an assignment i had to do for school, but i cant find the publisher sadly. The Salem witch trials started with two girls having unexplainable fits. One freezing day in January of 1692, something strange happened inside the Parris household of Salem Village, Massachusetts. Salem witch trial started as feud between Porters n putnums cuz putnums felt Porters gave too much freedom to their black servants. A large proportion of the case against Bishop also focused on her lifestyle, especially her rumoured promiscuity and un-Puritan ways. The bibliography at the bottom of this article list a number of secondary sources. Its entirely possible that much of the blame placed upon Tituba during the trials was based on her racial and social class. Salem Village was populated mostly by poor farmers, and Salem Town was a prosperous port full of middle-class and wealthy merchants. Salem was . "Examination and Evidence of Some the Accused Witches in Salem, 1692. This court consisted of eight judges. They were soft, obvious targets for a mistrustful, God-fearing populace living along strictly defined lines. Why do you think there are so little primary sources on the Salem Witch Trials? Im using this for my History project. This site is not a part of the Smithsonian website. As years passed, apologies were offered and restitution was made to the victims families. And insularity bred paranoia, as Schiff sharply explains. Estimates suggest that over 200 women were executed during this period as a direct result of the investigations of Hopkins and his associates. It means that even though supernatural evidence might seem sketchy to us in this day and age, for people like Cotton Mather and the rest of Salem, it was perfectly acceptable in cases of necessity. Also, In 17th century Massachusetts, people often feared that the Devil was constantly trying to find ways to infiltrate and destroy Christians and their communities. They were part of a long story of witch hunts that began in Europe in the 14th century. A newer, more anti-religious charter replaced the original one in 1691 and also combined the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Plymouth Colony and several other colonies into one. Since the witch trials ended, the colony also began to suffer many misfortunes such as droughts, crop failures, smallpox outbreaks and Native-American attacks and many began to wonder if God was punishing them for their mistake. Good and Osbourne insisted they were innocent. For years, Salem Village tried to separate itself politically from Salem Town. The eight-point response, penned by Cotton Mather, advised prudence when it came to procedure, cautioning that hastiness shouldnt overwhelm lawfulness. In mid-September, a further group went to the gallows Eight Firebrands of Hell in the words of Rev Noyes. When asked who it was that had afflicted them, they named Good a homeless woman who had fallen destitute after denying the inheritance of her wealthy fathers estate as one of the three culprits. We also have kept good records of everything. 14 (in the history 201 course-pack compiled by S. McSheffrey & T. McCormick), Trans. "5 Facts About the Salem Trials." Where did theses trials take place were there anymore places then Massachusetts Bay. They did so in order to gather the observations of the colonys most senior ministers, to hear their reflections upon the state of things as they then stood. Do you have a version number for this site? Montague Summer. I am totally shocked to be related in this way. I find this to be very well put and want to read more. I am the author and publisher of this blog. Every March, people in the United States celebrate the achievements and history of women as part of Womens History Month. If you are looking for more info on the victims themselves, you can check out the article I wrote specifically about them titled The Salem Witch Trials Victims: Who Were They? In January of 2016, the site where the Salem Witch Trials hangings took place was officially identified as Proctors Ledge, which is a small wooded area in between Proctor Street and Pope Street in Salem. This belief in the power of the accused to use their invisible shapes or spectres to torture their victims had sealed the fates of those tried by the Court of Oyer and Terminer. You can unsubscribe at any time. Thanks so much for this! When asked who had done this to them, Betty and Abigail blamed three townswomen, including Tituba, a Native American slave who worked in the Parris household. Went to the library to look for my family history but came across my friends families name. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft and 20 were killed during the hysteria. Then say they were wrong. The charter was revoked because the colonists had violated several of the charters rules, which included basing laws on religious beliefs and discriminating against Anglicans. In an insular society like Salem, where anyone straying from the norm was immediately criticised or condemned, accusations of witchcraft were a method of self-defence, of keeping the more undesirable elements of the local community at arms length, if not removing them completely. Although spectral evidence, evidence based on dreams and visions, wasnt the only evidence used in court during the Salem Witch Trails, it was the most common evidence and the easiest evidence for accusers to fake. The Superior Court of Judicature, formed to replace the witchcraft court, did not allow spectral evidence. The afflicted state of our poor neighbours, that are now suffering by molestations from the invisible world, we apprehend so deplorable, that we think their condition calls for the utmost help of all persons in their several capacities. Salem Witch Trials of 1692 In January of 1692, the daughter and niece of Reverend Samuel Parris of Salem Village became ill. William Griggs, the village doctor, was called in when they failed to improve. These three women were social outcasts and easy targets for the accusation of witchcraft. The Salem witch trials of the late 17th century were a formative episode in America's early history, and have remained at the forefront of the national consciousness ever since. Visit this site's About page to find out more about Rebecca. Then after said the dog died so it must have been innocent. The accused was thrown into a river and if they made it out alive, it was because they were a witch. One bitterly cold evening, Betty Parris and Abigail Williams the daughter and niece of the local Puritan minister Samuel Parris began displaying disturbing behaviour described as being beyond the power of epileptic fits or natural disease to effect. Good luck! When the first inquiry is made into the circumstances of such as may lie under the just suspicion of witchcrafts, we could wish that there may be admitted as little as is possible of such noise, company and openness as may too hastily expose them that are examined, and that there may no thing be used as a test for the trial of the suspected, the lawfulness whereof may be doubted among the people of God; but that the directions given by such judicious writers as Perkins and Bernard [be consulted in such a case]. Second, everyone got their food from the same place, so symptoms would have occurred in every household, not just a select few. Everything we know now about the trials comes from just a handful of primary sources of the Salem Witch Trials. The hysteria gripping Salem a settlement resonating with the incessant sound of accusation and counteraccusation showed that no-one was exempt from suspicion. The Story of the Salem Witch Trials is a history of that event. In the 300 years since the Salem Witch Trials, experts have gone to great lengths to offer explanations for the young Salem girls afflictions of a somewhat more rational nature than the witchcraft diagnosed at the time. hope you in joy it was really helpful to my students and i, Thankyou this helpedme a lot for my 3 page essay in english 11 class. . More significant were admissions of attending a witches meeting on Pendle Hill. Nobecause certainly there are some Christians who dobut theres no historical evidence that anyone was really working any kind of magic in Salem. The Salem witch trials of the late 17th century were a formative episode in America's early history, and have remained at the forefront of the national consciousness ever since. And particularly, as I was a chief instrument of accusing of Goodwife Nurse and her two sisters, I desire to lie in the dust, and to be humbled for it, in that I was a cause, with others, of so sad a calamity to them and their families; for which cause I desire to lie in the dust, and earnestly beg forgiveness of God, and from all those unto whom I have given just cause of sorrow and offence, whose relations were taken away or accused.. This, coupled with the fact that the accused also had their estates confiscated if they were convicted has led many historians to believe that religious feuds and property disputes played a big part in the witch trials. Ultimately, eight women and two men were tried and found guilty of attending the gathering. The governor released the last few prisoners the following May. Here are 10 facts about the witch trials that will surely send chills down your spine. His grandfather is a Putnam. Im just going to use Smithsonian, ARe you the editor/author of this site @Rebecca Beatrice Brooks, Hi Gigi, yes Im the editor/author of this site, thanks so much I needed that for my homework, Where can I get a copy of the Salem 1692 map that you posted? Its good to see that the court system has progressed. Which brings us to. The Salem witch trials began because a group of girls claimed they were possessed by the devil. However, the subtlety of the ministers response was largely sidelined by the grand jury, who drew their energy from one particular concluding line from Mather: we cannot but humbly recommend unto the government, the speedy and vigorous prosecution of such as have rendered themselves obnoxious. In possession of such a mandate, the trials moved up a gear. Crown Publishers Inc., 1959. Acts and Resolves, Public and Private, of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, vol. On 2 June, the specially convened Court of Oyer and Terminer (oyer meaning to hear, terminer meaning to decide) sat for the first time, presided over by William Stoughton, the newly appointed lieutenant governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. In June, Nathaniel Saltonstall resigned and was replaced by Jonathan Corwin. North Wind Picture Archives, Alamy Stock Photo. I need to do a bibliography, and I have this page on it. Salem Witch Trials Mass hysteria, social ignorance, and religious intolerance all describe the chaos that took place in Massachusetts during the year 1692. Dr Griggs was a relative through my grandmother. Nige Tassell explains how hysteria in the village of Salem, Massachusets, gave rise to a horror that bedazzled the world Published: June 10, 2020 at 4:45 pm Bad weather isn't the only reason why the witch hype began. The parallels between the Salem Witch Trials and more modem examples ofwitch huntinglike the McCarthy hearings of the 1950s, are remarkable. Kinda sad after reading everything. I know that the accusers, at least some of them were aligned with the Putnam family who was known to have land disputes with several of the villagers. "Maleus Maleficarum Part I.". At the time, Salem Village was a small New England town populated mostly by Puritans, or religious individuals with a belief in the devil. There is actually a compilation of all of the primary sources on the Salem Witch Trials. There the accused were questioned by a judge in front of a jury, which decided whether or not to indict the accused on charges of witchcraft. The slave Tituba, because of her background in the Caribbean (or possibly the West Indies), could have practiced some form of folk magic, but that has never been confirmed. Not many people fled Salem, only a handful did, because Salem was their home and had been for a long time. The Salem Witch Trials officially began in February of 1692, when the afflicted girls accused the first three victims, Tituba, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne, of witchcraft and ended in May of 1693, when the remaining victims were released from jail. No way to fight its power. 62, No. Tituba was known to have played fortune-telling games, which were strictly forbidden by the Puritans. Although the witch hunt started in Salem Village, it quickly spread to the neighboring towns, including Amesbury, Andover, Salisbury, Topsfield, Ipswich and Gloucester, and numerous residents of those towns were brought to Salem and put on trial. As sleet and snow heaped higher outside their door, Betty Parris and. Even when the court ordered further executions, Phips wisely issued pardons to those convicted. The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology. https://www.learnreligions.com/facts-about-the-salem-trials-2562897 (accessed March 5, 2023).