Add in the numerous films and television series that reference Salem, and things get even more distorted. Two days before the court convened, a Puritan minister from Boston named Cotton Mather wrote to one of the judges expressing his concern over the admissibility of such evidence. By May 1693 . I wonder how many people ran away from The Salem Witch Trials. Hi Indigo, Im assuming you mean eyewitness accounts. The trials were held in the Salem courthouse, which was located in the center of Washington Street about 100 feet south of Lynde Street, opposite of where the Masonic Temple now stands. Both, like Good, were viewed as outcasts by the local community; Tituba for her race and Osborne for the shedding of any religious beliefs she might once have held. Children were also accused of witchcraft. In mid-January 1692, Elizabeth "Betty" Parris, the 9-year-old daughter of the local Reverend Samuel Parris, and. Europe's favorite test was the swimming test. They took place in a number of cities in Massachusetts Bay Colony in the years 1692 and 1693, but primarily in the town of Salem. Proctors entire family was accused, including all of his children, his pregnant wife Elizabeth, and sister-in-law. 15 Dark Truths You Didn't Know About The Salem Witch Trials. Even Sarah Goods four-year-old daughter Dorothy was arrested and interrogated by the magistrates. The witch trials were held in Salem, Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693. Anja Grar is a writer, based in Ljubljana, Slovenia. I really enjoy reading your blog! Legal Legacy of the Salem Witch Trials. And insularity bred paranoia, as Schiff sharply explains. Being burned at the stake was an occasionally used method of execution in Europe, when one was convicted of witchcraft, but was generally reserved for those who refused to repent of their sins. InJanuary 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 unsettling facts will shed light. I lasted edited this page on October 18, 2015. I need to do a bibliography, and I have this page on it. To identify witches, authorities used the "touching test", in which victims of witchcraft would become calm upon touching the culprit. The following are some facts about the Salem Witch Trials: The Salem Witch Trials were a series of witchcraft cases brought before local magistrates in a settlement called Salem which was a part of the Massachusetts Bay colony in the 17th century. Good had been among the first local women to be arrested, after several young girls from the village had experienced mysterious afflictions the previous February. One freezing day in January of 1692, something strange happened inside the Parris household of Salem Village, Massachusetts. Brooks, Rebecca Beatrice. In isolated settlements, in dim, smoky, firelit homes, New Englanders lived very much in the dark, where one listens more acutely, feels more passionately, imagines most vividly, where the sacred and the occult thrive. These five executions were not the first in New England for the crime of witchcraft. The 17th century Salem has nothing on witch hunts that went down in Europe. The girls were having a type of epileptic fit and would scream out . One major factor was that in 1684, King Charles II revoked the Massachusetts Bay Colonys royal charter, a legal document granting the colonists permission to colonize the area. Although the afflicted girls were the main accusers during the trials, many historians believe the girls parents, particularly Thomas Putnam and Reverend Samuel Parris, were egging the girls on and encouraging them to accuse specific people in the community that they didnt like in an act of revenge. She is the author of Daily Spellbook for the Good Witch, Wicca Practical Magic and The Daily Spell Journal. I sincerely cant thank you enough! Please be respectful of copyright. They basically played the trump card of the times. The courthouse was torn down in 1760 but a plaque dedicated to the courthouse can still be seen today on the wall of the Masonic Temple on Washington Street. i would like to know more about the salem witch trials. Getting the right to vote didn't come easy for women. It also helped with my reading assignment. Related: The 10 Best Witch Things To Do In Salem. Abigail Williams: The Mysterious Afflicted Girl. Text adapted from the National Geographic book Witches! These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. As the weeks passed, other young girls claimed to have been infected by witchcraft too. Cant wait to visit this place! The Salem Witch Trials were not a positive section of American history but have been used as a learning tool for the United States. William was happily a Calvinist, but not even that changed the fact New England theocracy was at an end. The torture consisted of laying the prisoner on the ground, naked, with a board placed on top of him. A large proportion of the case against Bishop also focused on her lifestyle, especially her rumoured promiscuity and un-Puritan ways. Kisses and xoxo Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. In June, Nathaniel Saltonstall resigned and was replaced by Jonathan Corwin. But the particular brand of paranoia that was rife in Salem Village fed by a rivalry with neighbouring Salem Town, ongoing family feuds and attacks by Native Americans developed into mass hysteria. Mather saw the war against Satan as being just as important as the war against the French and the local Native American tribes. For years, Salem Village tried to separate itself politically from Salem Town. Her apology states: I desire to be humbled before God for that sad and humbling providence that befell my fathers family in the year about 92; that I, then being in my childhood, should, by such a providence of God, be made an instrument for the accusing of several persons of a grievous crime, whereby their lives were taken away from them, whom now I have just grounds and good reason to believe they were innocent persons; and that it was a great delusion of Satan that deceived me in that sad time, whereby I justly fear I have been instrumental, with others, though ignorantly and unwittingly, to bring upon myself and this land the guilt of innocent blood; though what was said or done by me against any person I can truly and uprightly say, before God and man, I did it not out of any anger, malice, or ill-will to any person, for I had no such thing against one of them; but what I did was ignorantly, being deluded by Satan. European Witch trials started at a similar time as Protestantism. The Salem Witch Trials are a dark stain on American history and on the history of Christianity. One of them, George Burroughs, protested his innocence as the noose was readied. It was divided into two distinct and very different socioeconomic parts. The indictments then came thick and fast. Presided over by Chief Justice William Stoughton, the court was made up of magistrates and jurors. The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem by Rosalyn Schnauzer. Then after said the dog died so it must have been innocent. Planting, cultivating, the care of houses, barns, roads, fences, were all forgotten. The exact cause of the Salem Witch Trials is unknown but they were probably a number of causes. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your device and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. 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. Heavy stones were loaded onto the board and the weight was gradually increased until the prison either entered a plea or died. The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem. thanks, primary sources of the Salem Witch Trials, View all posts by Rebecca Beatrice Brooks, http://www.zazzle.com/salem_village_map_poster-228789587972988887?rf=238784808055391622, https://historyofmassachusetts.org/best-books-about-salem-witch-trials/. The Story of the Salem Witch Trials - Bryan F. Le Beau 2016-05-23 Between June 10 and September 22, 1692, nineteen people were hanged for practicing witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. Judge Stoughton asked the jury to reconsider their verdict. No one was burned at the stake in the Salem witch trials. It will be very easy. Does that mean they couldnt have been practicing witchcraft? Random House, 1956Fowler, Samuel Page. Other diagnoses have focused more on the mental wellbeing of the Salem girls. One of the greatest tragedies of the Salem Witch Trials was the concept of the familiars. When was this site last edited? One of the most popular theories as to what could have caused the mass hysteria of Salem is that of ergot poisoning, but recent scholars have questioned this idea. 9, 17181718, Chap. On September 22, eight people were hanged. Massachusetts State Archives. The Salem Witch Trials. The Untold Story of the Salem Witch Trials Welcome back to Unfolding History!While the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 are often remembered as a dark period of. Get ready to pull out your history books as we bring you the most DISTURBING facts about the Salem Witch Trials. I love this site! As if the lonely and misunderstood didn't have a hard enough life on its own, they seemed the most suspicious to the crowds. The puritans, who had left England due to religious persecution, feared their religion was under attack again and worried they were losing control of their colony. When James II, unspeakably Catholic, became the titular head of the Church of England (itself considered evil), it was proof that the mother country had come under diabolical control When James II created the Dominion of New England, ordering the New England theocracy to allow the C of E inside, it was the end of their holy mission in the wilderness. 121, p. 108. Thanks! Oh well, live n learn, Its sad when you can pick out names of your relatives in every list. 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. Salem was . Got the movie and became more interested in what really happened. Here's what we know about the original witch hunt: 1. Bridget Bishop was convicted at the end of her trial and sentenced to death. In Salem for example, the first significant victim of the witch trials was Tituba, a slave from the Caribbean. I edit the site in general pretty much every day. I last updated this article on March 26, 2016. You never know what you will find when you start researching your family tree! Most of the accusers were Puritans who lived on the farms. By now, seven months on from the arrest of Sarah Good, the hysteria was decelerating. This series of prosecutions and hangings of those accused of practicing witchcraft provoked a major backlash, and the event still haunts us today. This series of prosecutions and hangings of those accused of practicing witchcraft provoked a major backlash, and the event still haunts us today. I think in some forms that witches still exist in hidden arenas. Thanks so much! I just found this out. We know not whether some remarkable affronts given to the Devils by our disbelieving those testimonies whose whole force and strength is from them alone, may not put a period unto the progress of the dreadful calamity begun upon us, in the accusations of so many persons, whereof some, we hope, are yet clear from the great transgression laid unto their charge. Bernard Rosenthal, "Medievalism and the Salem Witch Trials," in: Protests against early modern witch trials, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Cultural depictions of the Salem witch trials, Medical and psychological explanations of bewitchment, List of wrongful convictions in the United States, "Six Victims of 1692 Salem Witch Trials "Cleared" by Massachusetts", "Massachusetts Clears 5 From Salem Witch Trials", "Salem may pardon accused witches of 1692", "On 325th anniversary, city dedicates Proctor's Ledge memorial to Salem Witch Trials victims", "Memorable Providence, Relating to Witchcraft and Possessions", "Examination of Dorothy Good, As Told by Deodat Lawson", "Religiosity and the political economy of the Salem witch trials", Virginia.edu Salem witch trials (archives), "Massachusetts Archives: Superior Court of Judicature Witchcraft Trials (JanuaryMay 1693), Cases Heard". Here are 10 facts about the witch trials that will surely send chills down your spine. Presided over by William Stoughton . 135, no. This was no more notable than when playwright Arthur Miller chose to dramatise the trials in his 1953 play The Crucible. One of them was shot but I dont know how the other one died. The two communities were three hours apart, by foot, which was the most common method of transportation at the time. The bill cleared the names of: George Burroughs, John Proctor, George Jacobs, John Willard, Giles Corey, Martha Corey, Rebecca Nurse, Sarah Good, Elizabeth Howe, Mary Easty, Sarah Wildes, Abigail Hobbs, Samuel Wardwell, Mary Parker, Martha Carrier, Abigail Faulkner, Anne Foster, Rebecca Eames, Mary Post, Mary Lacey, Mary Bradbury and Dorcas Hoar. 1 Most of the accused were women but men were accusedand executedtoo. They hanged the poor souls instead. It has so many details that I need. The Salem Village hangings were the last executions of accused witches in the United States. A. Boston, MA. 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. Very well done! George Burroughs, a minister, was one of the few men accused of witchcraft during the trials. Some of these women were actually witches, though they were entirely innocent of the crimes of which they were convicted. What gave witches away were body marks, such as scars and moles. On March 1st, Tituba, Sarah Good and Sarah Osburn were arrested and examined. 135, p. 112, No. Chapter 145 of the resolves of 1957, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Find out what started the witch hunt of 1692. Salem Witchcraft and Cotton Mather. Has their been any further studies into the ergot theory besides the collage student in the early 70s? This was a special type of court in English law established specifically to hear cases that are extraordinary and serious in nature. He was later exonerated. When Salem Villages new pastor,Reverend Samuel Parris, came to town, he denounced the secular behavior of the innkeepers and blacksmiths and others. In seventeenth-century New England, pretty much everyone was practicing some form of Christianity. 10. Ever since those dark days ended, the trials have become synonymous with mass hysteria and scapegoating. I need to cite this for my reference sheet. No one was burned at the stake in Salem, but nineteen people were hanged, and one was pressed to death under heavy stones. The political instability and threat to their religion created a feeling of uneasiness and discontent in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. 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. Im going to put a note at the bottom of the article that says when it was last updated to make it easier for anyone doing reports and assignments. Salem Witch Trials Memorial at Proctor's Ledge Witchcraft had been made illegal during Henry VIIIs reign, with subsequent legislation passed under Elizabeth I further outlawing conjurations and enchantments. Letters of Governor Phips to the Home Government, 16921693, "Woman condemned in Salem witch trials on verge of pardon 328 years later", "Indictment of Sarah Good for Afflicting Sarah Vibber", "Indictment of Abigail Hobbs for Covenanting", "The Devil's Specter: Spectral Evidence and the Salem Witchcraft Crisis", Narratives of the Witchcraft Trials, p. 342, "Role of skin lesions in the Salem witchcraft trials", "329 years later, last Salem 'witch' who wasn't is pardoned", Cornell University Library Witchcraft Collection, Salem Massachusetts Salem Witch Trials The Stones: July 10 and July 19, 1692, Salem Village Witchcraft Victims' Memorial, etext.virginia.edu, Chapter 122 of the Acts of 2001, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Actual Site Of Salem Witch Hangings Discovered", "The Real Salem Witch Hanging Site Was Located", Salem Witchcraft Trials: The Perception Of Women In History, Literature And Culture, Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project, SalemWitchTrials.com Essays, biographies of the accused and afflicted, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Salem_witch_trials&oldid=1142737002. 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. Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic SocietyCopyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. Im doing the Salem witch trials for my A-Level coursework, does anyone know the full names of any historians that have spoken about this topic? They should've told the US it was all fake once they came to their senses, but they didn't. This was a dark time but it is good to see the court system advance. Eventually, after seeming to realize how unfair the trials were to the accused, the court refused to hear any more charges of witchcraft. The witchcraft hysteria in Salem first began in January of 1692 when a group of young girls, who later came to be known as the afflicted girls, fell ill after playing a fortune-telling game and began behaving strangely. Hi RebeccaI saw that you have a lot of knowledge about Mary EastyI was told this year at a funeral that I am a direct decendent of hersI live in Salem and My Grandfather was name William Esteydo you by any chance have any history of the family tree? Lines going back to Salem and Colonial New England in general are usually well documented. 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. According to Plouffe, Jr., the trials were the largest of . The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were a dark time in American history. Good and Osbourne insisted they were innocent. I thought witchcraft only existed in Africa. In August of 1992, on the 300th anniversary of the trials, the Salem Witch Trials Memorial was unveiled and dedicated by Nobel Laureate Eli Wiesel. The other two accused women, Sarah Good and Sarah Osbourne, werent well liked by the community either. How many people (male and female) were killed in the Trials? Get FREE access to HistoryExtra.com. A child pointed to a dog and said it bewitched me and shot the dog immediately. It's also important to remember that there is no evidence, other than spectral evidence and coerced confessions, that any of the accused actually did practice witchcraft. The governor released the last few prisoners the following May. 136, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA. Thanks hopefully i get an A :). The Puritan way of life was strict, and even small differences in behavior made people suspicious.