In colonial New England and Europe, belief in the supernatural, specifically in the devil’s procedure of giving some humans –witches –the power to impair others in return for their faith, was unfolded in the early 14th century. People who were thought to be different were accused of witchcraft and apprehended for trials. One of the first trials of Salem was in January 1962, when one of Reverend Samuels Parris’s slaves, called Tituba, would gather a bunch of teenage girls every day. Later in spring, the townspeople were shocked at the girls’ behaviors. It was believed that they danced a black magic dance in nearby woods, and some girls would fall on the floor and hysterically scream.
The first set of witchcraft persecutions occurred during Elizabeth 1st reign, this was Around 1563. Commonly people associated witches with a woman and the beliefs were the following of that they have made a pact with the evil spirit Satan. The rush of the witch persecutions mainly happened after 1563 and by the time period of 1750 roughly 200,000 witches were tortured, burnt, or hung across the whole of Western Europe. Therefore, in this essay, I will be mainly focusing and arguing which of the hysteria surrounding witchcraft and witchcraft trials had a greater impact in Britain or the American colonies in the time period of the 17th century. And I will be arguing it following different factors which could contribute to this such as the social factors geographical factors, religious factors and also control law and order.
There are several incidences in history when someone was accused of witchcraft. Maybe they didn’t have anything to do with witchcraft but if someone said it, everyone believed them. Some many people’s lives were taken because of something they didn’t do not had a part in. From June – September 1692, 19 men and women have been convicted of witchcraft. They were carted to Gallows Hill, a barren slope near Salem Village for hanging.
INTRODUCTION: During the late 17th century, there were many accusations of witchcraft within the thirteen colonies. Many men and women of all ages and authority were accused of witchcraft. When the British were colonizing North America, the traditions of witchcraft were supposedly taken to the new land with the colonists. The Salem Witch Trials taught people that they shouldn’t believe everything they are told and that people shouldn’t assume something without having specific research that can prove it.
The accusations of witchcraft
There was much superstition and ignorance in the 17th century England and hundreds of women were wrongly accused and punished. From 1484 until around 1750 some 200,000 witches were tortured, burnt or hanged in Western Europe and England. Most supposed witches were usually poor old women. Women who weren’t lucky enough to look beautiful. Any woman who was ‘crone-like’ with broken irregular teeth , sunken cheeks and a hairy lip was assumed to be a witch !
They were fearful people and believed that witches,servants of the devil,were real and dangerous. (miller,1124-1128) Many colonists attributed their misfortunes to the power of evil.(miller,1124-1128) Many of the guilty were accused only of practicing folk customs. (miller,1124-1128)
Several centuries ago, many practicing Christians, and those of other religions, had a strong belief that the Devil could give certain people known as witches the power to harm others in return for their loyalty. A “witchcraft craze” rippled through
The secular courts created laws and statues that defined witchcraft as a crime along with procedures on how to prosecute witches. Once the threat, based on shared understanding, was promulgated though the various levels of society the judicial machinery could take over and legally try witches. With a framework in place to handle witchcraft trials at all levels, the template of identifying witches in use, and a fearful populace seeking an outlet in turbulent times all it would take are trigger events to set witch hunts in motion. Wars, religious conflicts, and localized political issues factored into creating fear and anxiety because it created unstable situations that impacted people’s lives. Economic hardship stemming from drought, famine, limited resources for a growing population, and other natural disasters needed an explanation (Levack, 2016).
“An ugly old woman in a peaked hat and rusty black dress, stirring up a loathsome brew of nasty smelling things with a cat perched on her shoulder or flying through the air astride a broomstick in the dead of night.” Belief in the witches and in the devil’s ability to give harm to another person had appeared in Europe not only in Salem MA. It showed the harsh religion of life as a Puritan. Native tribes around them began to have strange happenings with no explanation. From the beginning of time witches were real with abnormal powers; many people believed their powers came from lunar goddesses Hecate, Diana and Selene.
Out of those twenty people there was two infant children that were killed. These were innocent kids who did not know any better. In 1693 a group of young girls made invalid accusations of being possessed by the devil, which was caused by women who were supposedly doing witchcraft. Many people did not think to not believe these young girls. The accusations of these young women caused the deaths of twenty people, as from that day on anyone who did not meet their society’s standards was considered a witch.
For over three centuries the people of Europe lived in a time of mass hysteria and fear. Between the late 1400’s and 1700’s thousands of everyday folks were accused of witchcraft (Lipscomb). Accusations of witchcraft lead to the fantasised myths we know today, but the real stories behind them are far less charming. Witchcraft became a crime in the mid-1500’s thus inducing some of the most prominent legal trails of the century, and the rise of the witch hunter. The first proclamation against witchcraft was passed in 1542 and was followed by a harsher and more intense revision in 1562, which was signed into law by
Witches were stereotypically women, they believed that the women would make a diabolical pact with evil spirits. They would reject Jesus and take part in the witch’s sabbath becoming evil they would have a “devil's mark.” People believed that they would in frustrations, struggle to gain the power to deal with infertility, fear for children, revenge against lover these are reasons they did witchcraft. The people who were accused basically invited the devil to take their body, so the devil would be in human form. The evil things these individuals did were not done by themselves, but by the evil spirit who took over their body.
On the other hand, when someone does something punishable, it is not taken lightly. In fact, that person suffers severe consequences because he or she is believed to be overtaken by evil spirits. To fully understand witchcraft amongst the Cherokee, one has to realize that using medicine, conjuring, and witchcraft have remained an integral part of Cherokee culture even up to the present day (Cherokee Indian Religion). They have used medication as a whole to help with healing people within their
These views, in and of themselves, speak to the level of intolerance permeating America and to the level of fear associated with witchcraft. The Religious intolerance and fear experienced in English North America was not a sole construct of Puritanism in New England. These ideas permeated Southwards throughout the length of the thirteen English colonies. Oftentimes, the fear of witchcraft led to colonial governments establishing capital laws against any person entering into communion with Satan.
