It was said that Tituba had a circle of witches, almost like a witch army that she commanded that would attack other people with. After a while, people believed that Tituba’s circle met inside of the Parris household. (See Figure 1 in the Appendix) Tituba disappeared after the trials, and was never seen
The Salem witch trials began in October 1692, where the towns people of Salem Village Massachusetts thought they were being attacked by a conspiracy of witches. The Puritans also thought of North America as the devil’s territory, a super natural enemy. During the spring of 1692 a group of young girls started acting really bazar they claimed to possessed by the devil. The girls accused many older local women of witchcraft, usually all the women accused were usually outcasts. The result of those young girls Salem Village began a special court to hear the cases of accused women.
In Salem, Massachusetts, Puritans were strong believers in the Bible. The Bible states, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” The Puritans beliefs led to them accusing 20 innocent people of being a witch, this resulted in their deaths in 1692. Even though the Puritans couldn’t see it at the time, their accusations were really based off jealousy, lies, and Salem being divided into two parts. One cause of the Salem witch trial hysteria was jealousy.
The Hysteria Behind the Salem Witch Trials The Salem witch trials, dating back to February 1692, was a series of hearings against a group of young girls and those claimed to be witches. The girls had professed that their bodies had been dominated by the devil and blamed innocent citizens of using the “witchcraft” behind it. Anyone who seemed slightly out of the ordinary were accused by the girls to have dealt with “the devil’s magic.” The court put these accusations to the test by performing various executions and distinguishing whether the supposed witches could escape or not.
They believed that God would protect them. So, when things became difficult, they could easily blame it on the Devil and the “witches” that were carrying out his work. The Puritans believed that the Devil chose the weakest of the village, such as women and children, to do his work. The Salem Witchcraft Trials began January 1692, when two girls, Betty Paris and Abigail Williams, began to have fits and convulsions.
After Tituba admitted to being a witch she
When someone in the town noticed someone practicing different religions or not going to church then they were accused of being a witch. Some may argue that the Puritan Society had first hand evidence of people being witches. For example, someone in the town would blame another person for witchcraft
Mostly woman were accused of witchcraft during this time period, however, men could be dragged into the accusations and sometimes persecuted as well. Citizens that were high in the community usually did not bother to believe those who were accused of being witches, however, if someone was accused of being a witch and they were not high up in the community, then they were usually accused and convicted. These types of cases were not fair to the slighted and was a major reason why the Puritan religion had some bad qualities behind
In the seventeenth-century, many people believed in things such as magic, astrology, and witchcraft. Witches were believed to have made a pact with the devil to obtain supernatural powers. So when bad things, such as crops failing or if a child was born stillborn, started to occur, many people started to blame witches. Beginning in late 1691, many girls were being accused of being a witch during the Salem Witch Trials. The accusers believed that their lives were in danger and that these so-called “witches” were causing all this evil to occur.
Every place has its dark time; that moment in history that everyone would rather just forget about. The Salem Witch Trials are no different. Filled with confrontation, accusation, and misery, these trials proved to be a feat for anyone accused of being a witch to overcome. The debate of why these trials happened has been going on for many years. There are many reasons that historians have come up with to try and explain and justify these trials, some are merely speculation, while others have proof to back them up.
Tituba was an Indian woman that was convicted of being a witch from this situation. Tituba was a slave of Reverend Samuel Parris, and she was married to a man named John that was also a slave of Parris. When “Betty” Parris began to have these fits that would suggest witchcraft activity, Tituba made a “witchcake” out of rye and some of Betty’s urine. She fed this cake to the dog because the dog was considered a “familiar” of the Devil. When Reverend Parris found out, he was infuriated and made Tituba confess to being a witch.
The public began seeing many were being accused due to town gossip. They were all beginning to register this because they saw that many of the accused were ethical persons and that the accusers seemed to be in perfect health outside of the courtroom. Along with this, far too many people were being charged as witches, clearly not all of them were witches. Once this was realized, the questionability of validity caused the governor to release those accused after September 17th, 1692. Furthermore, in early 1963 the trials of witchcraft ended for good.
Many people in the town had their issues with others. Therefore they would accuse eachother of witchcraft to get rid of their problems. The author states,“More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft—the devil’s magic—and 20 were executed” (Blumberg). This quote tells that Salem had many false accusations, making it more challenging for the court to find the real witches. Similarly, people in the village that were known for their good reputations, were being accused which confused the court even more.
The Salem Witch Trials were a gruesome part of our history in America. More than two hundred people were accused of witchcraft during years of 1692 through 1693. Historians believe that Ann Putnam Jr. and other accusers were badgered to accuse certain people. The parents (of the afflicted girls), Thomas Putnam and Reverend Samuel Parris told the afflicted girls to accuse others, were thought to be seeking out revenge for the accused. Most of the accused victims were either very wealthy or were social outcasts.
A group of young girls began to behave strangely, complaining of physical maladies, visions, and trembling, and babbling uncontrollably. They blamed their behavior on three village women who, the girls believed, practiced witchcraft upon them. (“Salem Witch Trials” Gale). Women who were accused of witch crafted were imprisoned, then hanged, drowned and stoned (Karlsen). Throughout 1692, 156 women were accused of witchcraft, and 20 of them were sentenced to death (Karlsen).
