25 disturbing facts about the salem witch trials 25 disturbing facts about the salem witch trials

The infant died shortly after her birth, likely due to malnutrition. The Salem Witch Hunt: A Captivating Guide to the Hunt and . For those who are unaware, Salem is located in Massachusetts, which, as you might remember from history class, was New Englands first established colony dating back to the arrival of the Pilgrims of the Mayflower at Plymouth in 1620. Making distraction rewarding since 2017. Despite their obvious Christian commitment, the early American Puritans actually banned Christmas in the Massachusetts Bay colony in 1659, deeming it a sacrilege. Little is known about Tituba besides her role in the witch trials. The hunts were efforts to identify witches rather than pursuits of individuals who were already thought to be witches. The first accusations during the Salem Witch Trials were against people who were for various reasons marginalized by society. George Burroughs had been named the village minister in 1680, but many disapproved of his religious views, and he often wasnt paid his salary. In late May 1692, Sir William Phips, the first royal governor of Massachusetts established the criminal court to conduct the Salem witch trials. During the trials, two dogs were killed based on suspicions of witchcraft. According to the warrant for her apprehension, she was called for trial on March 23, 1692, under suspicion of witchcraft after being accused by Edward Putnam. Although Massachusetts has given up its fight against witchcraft, there are still places in the world where witchcraft is legitimately feared by the public, sometimes even leading to real modern day witch hunts. In 1702, the court declared the trials unlawful. Between February 1692 and May 1693, colonial Massachusetts was the scene of a mass hysteria sparked by false accusations from several young girls. The Salem Witch Trials begin. One exception was Giles Corey, who refused to stand for trialhe believed the court had already decided his fate, and he didn't want his property to be confiscated upon his verdict of being found guilty. Facts: -"At the time of these events Parris was in his middle forties." -"They did not celebrate Christmas, and a holiday from work meant only that they must concentrate even more upon prayer." -"The edge of the wilderness was close by. The witchcraft trials even targeted animals. Tituba: The Slave of Salem. History of Massachusetts Blog, January 2, 2013. https://historyofmassachusetts.org/tituba-the-slave-of-salem/. Arthur Millers play The Crucible played a large role in popularizing many of the details of the Salem witch trials and dramatizing facts that he uncovered in historical records. Madame de Pompadour didn't just share King Louis XV's bed, she also shared his power. The collective delusion of witchcraft took more than a year to loosen its grip on Salem and its surrounding towns. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Because of the similarity in time period, location, and story, people often mix up the Puritans with the Pilgrims, the group of Dutch settlers who created what we now know as the holiday of Thanksgiving. When you think of the Salem witch trials, you probably think of a bunch of confused villagers who didnt know any better, but there is so much more to the story. William Stoughton, who presided over the Salem witch trials, studied theology at Harvard College and Oxford, but never became a minister and chose to enter politics instead. The Salem witchcraft trials, which began in May of 1692 after months of rumors of Satanic influence, still grip the American imagination more than 300 years later. Just when did the Salem witch trials take place in the timeline of American history? The phrase witch hunt, commonly used to refer to an unjustified or falsely conjured-up prosecution, is thought to originate as a reference to this time period in American history. Two of the casualties were babies. The Salem witchcraft trials, which began in May of 1692 after months of rumors of Satanic influence, still grip the American imagination more than 300 years later. Descendants of the Salem community have made constant efforts to clear the names of those ancestors and relatives who were falsely accused and convicted back in the 1690s, with some being officially recognized as innocent by the Massachusetts government as recently as the beginning of the 21st-century. The next time Giles wanted to attend, Martha objected and prevented him from going. Parris had shrewdly negotiated his contract with the congregation, but relatively early in his tenure he sought greater compensation, including ownership of the parsonage, which did not sit well with many members of the congregation. Around the same time, in Salem Village, village girls accused a man of tormenting a different dog with his evil spirit. History. The effects of the Salem Village witch trials were devastating: 141 people imprisoned, 19 people executed, and two more died from other causes directly related to the investigations.1 The Salem witch trials would account for a quarter of all people executed for the crime of witchcraft in the history of New England,2 and would furthermore prove Accessed May 6, 2021. https://famous-trials.com/salem/2078-sal-acct. All Rights Reserved. Salem was . Despite being known as the Salem witch trials, some of the trials actually took place in Ipswich and Andover in addition to Salem itself. In the process Salem divided into pro- and anti-Parris factions. Ann Putnam testified that Good tried to choke and bite her, a claim that Mary Walcott corroborated. List three facts about each and three opinions. Image of The Salem Witch Trials. This often led to panicked citizens pointing out their innocent neighbors, adding to the rising toll of victims. After some young girls of the village (two of them relatives of Parris) started demonstrating strange behaviours and fits, they were urged to identify the person who had bewitched them. It was a time of hysteria, when courts believed in the devil, spectral evidence and teenage girls. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Dorothy Good, the 4-year-old daughter of the previously accused Sarah Good, was the youngest to be accused of witchcraft. In these records you can find the year the accused stood trial, first and last name, town or village where the trial took place, and the outcome of the trial. (The hallucinogen LSD is a derivative of ergot.) Even during the trials, there were many who objected to the whole procedure, even within the religious Puritan community. One of the people who perished in prison was only an infant. Over the following year many trials were held and many people imprisoned. The phrase witch hunt, commonly used to refer to an unjustified or falsely conjured-up prosecution, is thought to originate as a reference to this time period in American history. In fact, there was fear in Europe that an entire group of evil witches were consciously attacking Europeans in order to destroy Christendom. Statistical Analysis of the Accused. Salem Witch Trials . Their initial accusations gave way to trials, hysteria, and a frenzy that resulted in further accusations, often between the differing factions. The haphazard fashion in which the Salem witch trials were conducted contributed to changes in U.S. court procedures, including rights to legal representation and cross-examination of accusers as well as the presumption that one is innocent until proven guilty. His wife, Elizabeth, had been accused of witchcraft and John tried to step in to defend her. The community, beleaguered with hardships already, then overreacted. In January 1692, two little girls living in Salem began acting strangely. But by October 1692, his wife Mary found herself the target of sorcery accusations. Updates? Squabbles over property were commonplace, and litigiousness was rampant. Far more women than men were among the accused, convicted and executed. Apparently they felt that giving gifts took away from ones ability to focus on serious religious thought, and they did not like the pagan origins of some aspects of the holiday. The governor pardoned the rest of the accused witches and they were released from jail. Dont feel too embarrassed if you happen to be from Massachusetts, you guys were not the first to do something like this. How Rye Bread May Have Caused the Salem Witch Trials, Order in the Court: 10 Trials of the Century, https://www.britannica.com/event/Salem-witch-trials, Bill of Rights Institute - The Salem Witch Trials, World History Encyclopedia - Salem Witch Trials, Salem Witch Trials - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Salem witch trials - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Villagers killed that second dog and sent the man fleeing for his life. Rather, as Salem archivist and historian Richard Trask observes, they also included "second-hand rumors" and "fits of fancy." See Richard B. Trask, Legal Procedures Used During the Salem Witch Trials and a Brief History of the Published Versions of the Records, in Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt (Bernard Rosenthal ed., 2009). Her testimony added fuel to the fire, making the witch hunt spiral out of control. Soon after, other girls including Anne Putnam, Jr., 12, and Elizabeth Hubbard, 17, also started showing similar symptoms. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_of_the_Salem_witch_trials. Please reach out to us to let us know what youre interested in reading. They thought that when witches baked cakes, that they were casting a spell in it. Hoffer, who has written extensively on the Salem witch trials, is one of those who believes the girls who accused their neighbors of witchcraft were carrying out a prank. A complicated and long-lasting feud between the Putnam and Porter families of Salem may have been a motivating factor in some of the witchcraft accusations. They argue that the trialscreated a taboo in America against mixing religion and government, and George Lincoln Burr called it, the rock on which the theocracy shattered. There is also no question that the incident remains a constant reminder in our collective minds about the importance of due process in a legal system, and the dangers of premature overreaction and irrational hysteria. An important minister in Boston named Increase Mather was one of these objectors, stating that It were better that ten suspected witches should escape than that one innocent person should be condemned.. This period of witch trials later came to be known as the Salem witch trials, named after the town of Salem and Salem Village (present-day Danvers). As the weeks passed, many of the accused proved to be enemies of the Putnams, and Putnam family members and in-laws would end up being the accusers in dozens of cases. When all was said and done, 25 people lost their lives because of the trials. It involved a woman by the name of Tituba, a most likely South American slave from Barbados, who was the first victim of Salems witchcraft accusations. Well, many workers and service providers will, Being a nurse isnt easy or ordinarybut these nurses had more difficult, and more bizarre,, Sometimes, you hear a story so wild that you heave a sigh of relief when, Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex was the darling of Elizabeths old ageuntil he wasnt., Lets face it: Some people are just rude. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). One dog was shot after a girl suffering from convulsions accused the dog of trying to bewitch her. According to her testimony, she had seen four women and a man, including Sarah Osborne and Sarah Good, asking her to hurt the children. The Witchcraft Trials in Salem: An Account. Famous Trials. The Salem Witch Trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 was most defiantly a time when one could attribute "moral panic" to the deaths of 20 people who were hung for being what society deemed as witches. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. In addition to the twenty people convicted and executed for witchcraft, two dogs were also accused of and executed for the same crime. What gave witches away were body marks, such as scars and moles. Thomas Maule, a Quaker who found himself at odds with the Puritan community at times, was beaten and imprisoned for speaking out against the trials, despite the fact that he himself believed in witches. The Salem witch trials occurred in colonial Massachusetts between early 1692 and mid-1693. The community, beleaguered with hardships already, then overreacted. Burroughs was brought back to Salem, tried, and executed. The Salem witch trials marked a seven-month period of mass hysteria in 1692 Colonial America. By the time it was over, the resulting Salem witch trials had claimed the lives of 20 innocent souls. . He was the first to suggest the girls may be under the evil influence of witchcraft. Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIIIs rejected queenbut few people know her even darker history. Call them ignorant, call them malicious, the, Life, woman, life is Gods most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it., 20 Brave Facts About the House of Gryffindor, 25 Money-Making Facts About Hollywood Industry, Hero to Zero Facts About Robert Devereux, The Rebellious Earl of Essex. While there was no need to provide evidence for accusing someone of witchcraftjust pointing fingers was enoughspectral evidence was often used during the trials. In three days of vivid testimony, she described encounters with Satans animal familiars and with a tall, dark man from Boston who had called upon her to sign the devils book, in which she saw the names of Good and Osborn along with those of seven others that she could not read. She added a hog, a great black dog, a red rat, a black rat, and a yellow bird, among other animals, to her storys cast. 20 wereexecuted (generally hanged) by the prosecutors, and five died while serving prison time. Salem Witch Trials of 1692. In addition, one man was pressed to death by giant stones for refusing to even plea innocent. My mom never told me how her best friend died. For everyone who remains intrigued by Salem, here are a few lesser-known facts about the witchcraft trials. She was an enslaved woman believed to have been from Central America, captured as a child from Barbados, and brought to Massachusetts in 1680 by Reverend Parris. Fourteen women and six men were executed for witchcraft, and five others died in prison during the trials. Maybe theres another reason that people still find themselves intrigued with the Salem witchcraft trials, besides the possibility of sorcery or the specter of mass delusions convulsing into violence. One of the turning points in ending public support and enthusiasm for the trials was the conviction and execution of one of the towns former minsters, George Burroughs, who publicly recited the Lords Prayer at the gallows, which was believed to be impossible for witches to do. Unfortunately for Bishop, that allegation of witchcraft would not be her last. John Proctors son was born in prison while his wife was imprisoned on witchcraft charges. Much of the evidence brought agains the witches, at least at first, was called spectral evidence, where people testified to seeing an apparition of the accused trying to inflict harm on them. The Salem trials occurred late in the sequence, after the abatement of the European witch-hunt fervour, which peaked from the 1580s and 90s to the 1630s and 40s. To save his wife, the governor stepped in to stop the trials and disband the court of Oyer and Terminer. Learn about U.S. history, ancient Egypt, the deadliest wars, historical photos, and so much more. No, it doesnt sound that romantic or comic to me either. A total of 25 people died because of the Salem witch trials. It was actually the local doctor, likely William Griggs, who first diagnosed the girls as having been bewitched when he couldnt find anything medically wrong with them to explain the strange behavior. Two of the casualties were babies. Some have suggested that the man who was truly responsible for initiating the witch trial debacle was Reverend Samuel Parris, the father and uncle of the afflicted girls. So if witchcraft wasnt really happening in Salem, what actually caused those girls to have the fits? Giles had actually been accused and found guilty of murdering one of his farm hands years earlier, but was let off with just a fine! Learn about the Salem witch trials and their legacy. One of the turning points in ending public support and enthusiasm for the trials was the conviction and execution of one of the towns former minsters, George Burroughs, who publicly recited the Lords Prayer at the gallows, which was believed to be impossible for witches to do. Lets just, The Crucible (1996), Twentieth Century Fox, Salem (20142017), 20th Century Fox Television, I Married a Witch (1942), Paramount Pictures, The Truth Always Comes Out: Dark Family Secrets Exposed, Entrancing Facts About Madame de Pompadour, France's Most Powerful Mistress, Tragic Facts About Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIIIs First Wife, Festive Facts About Bing Crosby, The King Of Christmas, Stormy Facts About Sammy Davis Jr., The Worlds Greatest Entertainer, Sorrowful Facts About Alma Rubens, The Silent Film Siren, Daring Facts About Gina Lollobrigida, Golden Hollywoods Last Survivor. Spooky stories abound at the Witch House in Salem, Massachusetts. The stars of the Salem story were the Puritan community of the Massachusetts Bay colony, a religious groupthat came over to America to escape religious persecution back in England. Several episodes of the original Bewitched TV series were actually filmed on location in Salem. But the accusations didnt stop there. Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? They began in 1692, a full 73 years before the start of the American Revolution and some 40 years before George Washington was even born. Bridget Bishop, a woman considered to have questionable morals, was the first to be tried and executed during the Salem witch trials. Move over Montagues and Capulets: You might not be the most vengeful families out there. The village itself had a noticeable social divide that was exacerbated by a rivalry between its two leading familiesthe well-heeled Porters, who had strong connections with Salem Towns wealthy merchants, and the Putnams, who sought greater autonomy for the village and were the standard-bearers for the less-prosperous farm families. These included "violent contortions and uncontrollable . It was a time when Christianity was prominent and no one steered away from the biblical beliefs.