In January of 1692 a series of witch trials, caused by economical stress and fear of the devil, began in Salem. The Salem witch trials included executions that ended in devastation and the death of several men, women, and even children. The stress of the King William’s War in Europe caused people to flee to the closest place which was Massachusetts. With the overpopulating town the people ran out of occupations to offer and dwelling places. Christians and religious people believed that the devil used this time of stress to overtake their religious society.
Tituba caused the witch hunt outrage in Salem. Tituba, the servant of Reverend Parris practiced black magic. She showed this practice to Reverend Parris’s curious daughter and niece.
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The fits included screaming, throwing of objects, peculiar sounds, not wanting to hear the word of God, and contortion. These women, called the “afflicted girls”, would later put pressure upon the accused for repentance. To better understand bewitchments you could compare it to people being possessed by demons in the twenty first century.
In response to the peculiarities, the leaders of Salem began the witch hunts. Trying and executing the witches began in 1648 with Margaret Jones of Charleston. The series of trials and executions recorded in history did not begin until much later.
Even though Tituba might not have been the first witch tried and executed, she admitted to practicing black magic and seeing the devil call her to this practice. She also revealed to the court that many other women practiced black magic. She and two others named Osborne and Good were the first women tried before court and were imprisoned on February 29, 1692, at the beginnings of the Salem witch trials. This was just the beginning of the trials. These trials alone resulted in two hundred people accused and placed before the
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The first step when accusing someone was to tell the town magistrates. The magistrates would then decide if it was worth taking the accused prisoner. If they took your accusation into account, a public warrant for that person’s arrest would be sent out. When a citizen was arrested, he or she went before the court and were expected to confess. If the accused did not confess, “afflicted girls” began throwing fits for psychological pressure. When this did not work, they were brought before the Superior Court. In 1642 they would go to prison for several months. After the imprisonment they would appear in front of the superior court once more. After this last trial most men or women received the death penalty. The trials resulted in execution dates, June 10, July 19, August 19, and September
Tituba caused the witch hunt outrage in Salem. Tituba was the servant of Reverend Parris. Practicing black magic was one of her hobbies and she showed this hobby to Reverend Parris’s curious daughter and niece. The young
In the winter of 1691-1692 Tituba taught black magic to a group of young girls. In May 1692, Samuel Parris and his daughter and niece gave testimony against Tituba. The people of Salem Village realized how easy it was to accuse people of witchcraft that they accused anyone that they despised bringing them to
Because the fact that she told the truth, Tituba did not have to go to trial and ended up being a big help with catching the rest of the witches. The other witch was Sarah Good. She had been accused by 7 people. One of those 7 was her own daughter, Dorcas Good. Sarah was arrested on March 23th and executed on July 19th.
Witchcraft was considered a capital offense. The first to be accused of witchcraft was Tituba and Sarah Good. Tituba was the servant of Reverend Parris. The Salem accusations began in Reverend Parris’ kitchen.
Though Good and Osborn denied their guilt, Tituba confessed. Likely seeking to save herself from certain conviction by acting as an informer, she claimed there were other witches acting alongside her in service of the devil against the Puritans. As hysteria spread through the community and beyond into the rest of Massachusetts, a number of others were accused, including Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse–both regarded as upstanding members of church and community–and the four-year-old
19 people were hung during the trials. After a few more deaths, the town’s citizens started having doubt about if they were doing the right thing. Many citizens started to doubt that so many people were witches. Most of the evidence seemed to be unreliable, like dreams and halusinations. The trials ended after the hanging of eight people.
Tituba was the first accused and first to confess to committing witchcraft. This to the Puritans was the devils work. Tituba was fortunate to not be put to death but did sit in jail for months until someone paid for her freedom. She escaped the village and was never heard from again. Tituba was just the start of this.
Salem Witch Trials Twenty four people were killed during the Salem Witch Trail madness. How, you ask, did this happen (Unknown, Life In Salem 1692, 2013)? In 1692 a circle of young girls started a sport in the middle of this town. Witch Craft.
As word of the illness spread, more young girls started experimenting with forms of white witchcraft (Findling 159-160). This resulted in a growing number of girls behaving in the same odd manner. More symptoms were experienced by the girls including howling, spitting, and the feeling of being pinched (Jones n. pag.). The behavior of the girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts was similar to that of hysteria. According to Findling, hysteria is commonly referred to as temporary excitement or the victim’s loss of self-control.
There were some people who were found guilty or either plead guilty that were pardoned. Other people were never arrested. Bridget Bishop was the first person to be convicted during the witch trials. Bishop was hanged eight days after her conviction in the month of June. Five people were hanged in both July and August.
This jealousy was created from other’s female gender, age and marital status. Based on document B provided, the accusers were around the age of 16-20, female, and accused mostly women (41-60), that were married of being a witch. Drawing to a conclusion, the accusers, younger and single girls, were jealous of old, married women who had their future set for them
These women were easily accused because of their social status in the town. If, for some reason, they were to be accused then no one would defend them; it would be seen as a given that they would be witches. During the trial, Tituba, the slave that was accused, admitted of being a witch and that there are more witches that are still in town that have not been discovered. After admitting to witchcraft and confessing that there are more witches, the town was scared and the girls were able to accuse over 100 men and women of witchcraft. The Salem Witch trials are one of the most unforgettable events of American history.
The first “witch” accused was Tituba, a female slave of Native South American ancestry (Miller 1154). Also, the first to confess, Tituba also implicated others, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne. The first witch executed was Bridget Bishop. When accused, one had two routes they could have taken: either confess to witchcraft or accuse others. Women were not the only ones accused of witchcraft, men found themselves being accused as well; George Burroughs was the only Puritan minister indicted and executed in Salem.
Salem, Massachusetts, USA and occurred between February 1692 and May 1693. Over 150 people were arrested and imprisoned and even more accused; but not pursued by the authorities. 29 were convicted of witchcraft but only 19 were hanged. The best known trials were in the Court of Oyer and Terminer.
The Salem witch trial was a time about accusing your fellow neighbor or being accused yourself, this all began in 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. During this time many people were being accused of being a witch, a majority of the time it was because either someone truly believed that you were a witch and were reeking havoc or they were trying to find someone to take the blame if they were to being accused. So this leads us to question, what began the Salem Witch Trials? There were at least three causes of the Salem witch trials hysteria. These were Betty Parris and Abigail Williams story, Ergotism, and the acknowledgment of hysteria.