In addition to the twenty people convicted and executed for witchcraft, two dogs were also accused of and executed for the same crime. Salem witch trials, (June 1692-May 1693), in American history, a series of investigations and persecutions that caused 19 convicted "witches" to be hanged and many other suspects to be imprisoned in Salem Village in the Massachusetts Bay Colony (now Danvers, Massachusetts). 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. By late February 1692, when traditional medicines and prayers failed to cure the girls, the reverend called upon a local doctor, William Griggs. Ann Putnam, for example, used spectral evidence to accuse Rebecca Nurse,said, I saw the Apperishtion of [Rebecca Nurse] and she did immediatly afflect me. Such evidence was also used against Bridget Bishop, with many men claiming she had visited them in spectral form in the middle of the night. 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. Seven more died in jail. The story goes that Corey and her husband, Giles, sat in on the trials early on, causing Martha to express scepticism about the legitimacy of the proceedings. In June 1692, Governor Phips appointed Stoughton as chief judge and prosecutor in the Salem witch trials despite Stoughtons lack of legal experience. 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! Because he refused to comply with the court, he was given the sentence of being pressed to death. They found it by following clues in an accused witchs writings and through guesses on where prisoners would be transported. Many possible answers have been proposed, but one likely explanation is that they were suffering from some kind of natural medical afflictions. In late May 1692, Sir William Phips, the first royal governor of Massachusetts established the criminal court to conduct the Salem witch trials. There's something about the family structure that encourages secrets. By the end of the Salem witch trials, 19 people had been hanged and 5 others had died in custody. Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23,24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, With roles ranging from Miss Congeniality to Gravity, The Heat, and Minions, Sandra Bullock has, "You might belong in Gryffindor / Where dwell the brave at heart / Their daring,, Star-studded premieres, massive advertising campaigns, and big budget blockbusters: The movies are big money. Some of the families now only remembered for their connection to the trials had actually been important and well-known people before that. The episode is heavily ingrained in American history and perpetuated through pop culture, but the souls lost and persecuted during that time aren't just present in our literature, media, and popular culture. Another reason why it sucked that these trials took place before the Bill of Rights existed? However, after the dogs death, the local Minister reasoned that if the devil had possessed the dog, it would not have been so easily killed with a bullet. Unlike the others who were hanged, this unfortunate fellow was crushed to death by stones. Lynch, Patrick. At the suggestion of a neighbour, a witch cake (made with the urine of the victims) was baked by Tituba to try to ferret out the supernatural perpetrator of the girls illness. The death warrant, signed on June 8, 1692, ordered for her death to take place by hanging on Friday, June 10, 1692, between 8 a.m. and noon. In October 1692, a girl in Andover accused a neighbors dog of trying to bewitch her. The Salem Witch Trials, the events of 1692 in Salem Village which resulted in 185 accused of witchcraft, 156 formally charged, 47 confessions, and 19 executed by hanging, remain one of the most studied phenomena in colonial American history. If you think its all dramatic court rooms and burning at the stake, then you need to see these 25 Disturbing Facts About the Salem Witch Trials! Many citizens believed that they way witches will get you is by baking a cake. Alexander, Mary Jane. The legacy of the trials has far outlasted their duration, even . Massachusetts formally apologized for the witch trials in 1957something that Chief Magistrate William Stoughton never did. As the most commanding mistress in the French court, she bettered the lives of many and became a beloved figure. This resulted in him being accused as well, and in the end it was he who was executed while Elizabeth was instead sentenced to prison so that her unborn baby would not have to die. 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. They were eventually assumed to be possessed. Millers famous play about the Salem witch trials is called The Cruciblebut what is a crucible anyway? SALEM WITCH TRIALS CHRONOLOGY. There is little doubt that some individuals did worship the devil and attempt to practice sorcery with harmful intent. All Rights Reserved. Historically, women were the ones to be called witches, and unfortunately, they were also the . Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. It was shut down on October 29, 1692. As she did when she was accused of bewitching her second husband, Bishop once again claimed innocence during her trial. The Salem witch trails reveal about gender and power in the 17 th century in the US is that the roles men expected of women followed a strict guideline. After Governor Phips's wife faced accusations of witchcraft, he outlawed spectral evidence in October 1692. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/salem-witch-trial-descendants/. There were two Salems in the late 17th century: a bustling commerce-oriented port community on Massachusetts Bay known as Salem Town, which would evolve into modern Salem, and, roughly 10 miles (16 km) inland from it, a smaller, poorer farming community of some 500 persons known as Salem Village. While Miller maintained that he kept everything historically accurate, some have noted that he made changes to the real record for the sake of the play. 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. Omissions? At the end of the 17th century, after years of mostly resisting witch hunts and witch trial prosecutions, Puritans in New England suddenly found themselves facing a conspiracy of witches in a war against Satan and his minions. A total of 25 people died because of the Salem witch trials. The girls are examined by a . What gave witches away were body marks, such as scars and moles. Another more disturbing theory proposed by researchers like behavioral psychologist Linnda Caporael suggests that Salem suffered from ergot poisoning. The colony passed a bill in 1711 restoring the rights and good names of those accused and granted 600 restitution to their heirs. Those people lived in quite a horrific time. Of them, thirty were found guilty, and nineteen of whom were executed. Salem Witch Trials of 1692. The most terrifying part, perhaps, was that anyone could be accused of engaging in witchcraft, and there was little they could do to defend themselves. Citizens began to believe that people were practicing witchcraft in their town. 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. Spectral evidence refers to the description of harm committed by the specters of the accused, described by those who were bewitched [PDF]. The Salem Witch Trials begin. Around the end of WWII, he surprisingly converted, Its said that the customer is always right. Over the following year many trials were held and many people imprisoned. For everyone who remains intrigued by Salem, here are a few lesser-known facts about the witchcraft trials. The madness of the witch trials eventually resulted in 200 people accused of witchcraft, 140 to 150 arrests for witchcraft, and the hangings of thirteen women and six men. Looking back with the perspective provided by modern science, some scholars have speculated that the strange behaviour may have resulted from some combination of asthma, encephalitis, Lyme disease, epilepsy, child abuse, delusional psychosis, or convulsive ergotismthe last a disease caused by eating bread or cereal made of rye that has been infected with the fungus ergot, which can elicit vomiting, choking, fits, hallucinations, and the sense of something crawling on ones skin. During the trials, two dogs were killed based on suspicions of witchcraft. Other proof was the touch test, where if a witch who cursed someone touched the cursed person in the midst of a fit, theit fit would stop. This series of prosecutions and hangings of those accused of practicing witchcraft provoked a major backlash, andthe event still haunts us today. This evidence was later banned bythe courts, leading to a sharp drop in accusations. Copyright 2023 by Factinate.com. No other mode of punishment was entertained by the Salem puritans. A crucible is a kind of container used for heating substances at very high temperatures, and the term is often used to describe high pressure situationssuch as the onethe witch trials creates for the accused. On a Saturday night in mid-October, Dmitry and his friend Misha met up to experience The Haunted Witch Trials, a Halloween attraction in which the Salem Witch Trials were re-imagined into a haunted house type of attraction that took place on a 100-acre plot of land. 10 The Symptoms That Gave Witches Away Make No Sense At All All witches are women, but not every woman is a witch. the devil's army against the Puritans, probably in an effort to protect herself from certain conviction by serving as an informant. Let those stories inspire you to start your family history research today. Witch trials had actually been a fairly common phenomenon in Europe during that period. Check out the top history lists on the internet all in one place. Over 150 people were arrested for allegedly using witchcraft to inflict harm on their fellow townspeople, resulting in the executions of 20 people and the prison deaths of five more. In the midst of all this religious and political controversy, there was also a major racial incident. Learn all about secret burials, door to door witch hunters, the touch test, the swimming test, and the witchcraft act that made all of this possible. When all was said and done, 25 people lost their lives because of the trials. Villagers killed that second dog and sent the man fleeing for his life. In fact, there was fear in Europe that an entire group of evil witches were consciously attacking Europeans in order to destroy Christendom. In addition, one man was pressed to death by giant stones for refusing to even plea innocent. What is the legacy of the Salem witch trials? One was pressed to death by heavy stones. The hunts were efforts to identify witches rather than pursuits of individuals who were already thought to be witches. January 1692- Reverend Samuel Parris of Salem Village's daughter, 9-year-old Elizabeth "Betty" Parris, falls ill, soon followed by his 11-year-old niece, Abigail Williams. Jeff Wallenfeldt, manager of Geography and History, has worked as an editor at Encyclopaedia Britannica since 1992. Nineteen were hanged, and one-elderly Giles Corey-pressed to death. The Salem Witch Trials, 1692 17th Century Pocahontas Saves John Smith, 1608 Aboard the Mayflower, 1620 The First Thanksgiving, 1621 The Price of Adultery in Puritan Massachusetts, 1641 Living Among the Mohawks, 1644 The Execution of Charles I, 1649 The Great Fire of London, 1666 Inside the Court of Louis XIV, 1671 New York City, 1679 Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23,24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, These Jerks Had No Idea Who They Were Messing With, Stabbed In The Back: These Real-Life Betrayals Are Straight Up Brutal, "The Bride Kissed The Best Man" And Other Real-Life Wedding Disasters, Everyone Has A Limit: These Moments Made People Say Enough Is Enough, Bloody Facts About Ivan the Terrible, The Mad Tsar Of Russia. 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 second slain dog was actually thought to be a victim of witchcraft whose tormentors fled Salem before they could be tried in court. Thanks for your time! Kyle Climans has been a published writer since 2011. Accusations followed, often escalating to convictions and executions. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Phips. She stayed out for long hours, had people in her home late at night, and hosted drinking and gambling parties frequently. The girls were having a type of epileptic fit and would scream out . 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 it was all over, 141 suspects, both men and women, were tried as witches. It was believed that they employed demons to accomplish magical deeds, that they changed from human to animal form or from one human form to another, that animals acted as their familiar spirits, and that they rode through the air at night to secret meetings and orgies. Today, witchcraftis recognized by the government as a protected and legitimate religion under the First Amendment. Here's what we know about the original witch hunt: 1. Tituba: The Slave of Salem. History of Massachusetts Blog, January 2, 2013. https://historyofmassachusetts.org/tituba-the-slave-of-salem/. (The hallucinogen LSD is a derivative of ergot.) 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. 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. Some scholars believe that they were of African heritage, while others think that they may have been of Caribbean Native American heritage.). The Salem witch trials of the late 17thcentury were a formative episode in Americas early history, and have remained at the forefront of the national consciousness ever since. Significantly, those that they began identifying as other witches were no longer just outsiders and outcasts but rather upstanding members of the community, beginning with Rebecca Nurse, a mature woman of some prominence. Tituba ultimately survived the saga and was not hanged. William Phips. Wikipedia. The Multitude of Salem Witch Trials Descendants. New England Historical Society. William Good, who lost his wife Sarah and infant daughter Mercy, and whose daughter Dorothy was imprisoned, was one of the people who received the largest settlement. The origins of the Salem witch trials are long and complex, but we do our best to break down the most disturbing information about this task. People thought that witches used demons to do magic. Having an angry witch killing your children made sense. After her second husband died, Bishopwho had been married three timeswas accused of bewitching him to death, though she was later acquitted due to a lack of evidence. In January 1692, two little girls living in Salem began acting strangely. We want our readers to trust us. When Millers The Crucible was produced, it was in the aftermath of his feud with Elia Kazan, the man who had directed his two earlier hit plays All My Sons and Death of a Salesman. On January 14, 1697five years after the trialsthe General Court ordered a day of fasting and prayers for the tragedy of Salem, stating, That so all God's people may offer up fervent Supplications unto him for ye preservation & prosperity of his Majtys.. 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. I knew that she was going to take it badly, but I had no idea about the insane lengths she would go to just to get revenge and mess with my life. Unlike the stereotype surrounding witchcraft that indicates that it is primarily done by women, the people of Salem did not discriminate on the basis of gender. Learn about the Salem witch trials and their legacy. The Salem witch trials are considered one of Americas most noteworthy cases of mass hysteria. Other proof was the touch test, where if a witch who cursed someone touched the cursed person in the midst of a fit, theit fit would stop. When the first accusations of witchcraft began in Salem Village, they initially targeted women. When all was said and done, 25 people lost their lives because of the trials. Initially, Tituba also claimed to be blameless, but after being repeatedly badgered (and undoubtedly fearful owing to her vulnerable status as a slave), she told the magistrates what they apparently wanted to hearthat she had been visited by the devil and made a deal with him. The Salem witch trials occurred in colonial Massachusetts between early 1692 and mid-1693. Other girls and young women began experiencing fits, among them Ann Putnam, Jr.; her mother; her cousin, Mary Walcott; and the Putnamss servant, Mercy Lewis. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. The crisis in Salem, Massachusetts took place partly because the community lived under an ominous cloud of suspicion. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Credit where credit is due! Unfortunately for Bishop, that allegation of witchcraft would not be her last. Between February 1692 and May 1693, colonial Massachusetts was the scene of a mass hysteria sparked by false accusations from several young girls. Thanks for your help! Since witches were often shackled in jail . Ms Mades-Byrd said there were many misconceptions about the Salem witch trials and the truth had been lost in stories told over the centuries. Photo Credit: https://bit.ly/39AhFc2 Another famous incident from the trials was the case of John Proctor. For instance, after being accused of witchcraft, Philip and Mary English were held for trial in a Boston jail. Life, woman, life is Gods most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it.Arthur Miller, in The Crucible. Making distraction rewarding since 2017. The Salem witch trials marked a seven-month period of mass hysteria in 1692 Colonial America. Tituba was not the only one who thought animals were capable of engaging in the devils work. 1 Most of the accused were women but men were accusedand executedtoo. The Salem Witch Trials Victims: Who Were They? History of Massachusetts Blog, August 19, 2015. https://historyofmassachusetts.org/salem-witch-trials-victims/. Three presidents William Howard Taft, Chester Arthur, and Gerald Ford have been said to descend from one of Salems executed witches or their siblings. The story goes that Corey and her husband, Giles, sat in on the trials early on, causing Martha to express scepticism about the legitimacy of the proceedings. 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. The community, beleaguered with hardships already, then overreacted. They soon spread to individuals regardless of their gender, class, or power in the community. Ancestry has made a home for a piece of that history in its online collection, New England, Salem Witches and Others Tried for Witchcraft, 1647-1697. The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were a dark time in American history. They had seizures, hid under chairs, talked in gibberish, and ran fevers. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://famous-trials.com/salem/2035-sal-bphi. Many parallels have been drawn between the events of Salem and the tactics used by the government during the Red Scare of the 1950s, in which Senator Joseph McCarthy very harshly interrogated and went after anyone suspected of being a communist sympathizer. In fact, there was fear in Europe that an entire group of evil witches were consciously attacking Europeans in order to destroy Christendom. Soon after, other girls including Anne Putnam, Jr., 12, and Elizabeth Hubbard, 17, also started showing similar symptoms. The first accusations during the Salem Witch Trials were against people who were for various reasons marginalized by society. 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. Some three-fourths of those European witch hunts took place in western Germany, the Low Countries, France, northern Italy, and Switzerland. Many parallels have been drawn between the events of Salem and the tactics used by the government during the Red Scare of the 1950s, in which Senator Joseph McCarthy very harshly interrogated and went after anyone suspected of being a communist sympathizer. Squabbles over property were commonplace, and litigiousness was rampant. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Although Giles was a wealthy farmer and Martha was a prominent church member, both of them had pasts they werent exactly advertising to the public. The panic and fear over witches hiding amongst the colony began when two young girls, Abigail Williams and Betty Parris, developed strange symptoms including having fits and screaming in pain at mysterious moments. His vocal support for his wifewho was also accused of witchcraftand claims that the accusers were lying were among the possible reasons why suspicion fell on him as well. The Salem witch trials and executions came about as the result of a combination of church politics, family feuds, and hysterical children, all of which unfolded in a vacuum of political authority. One person was even executed for refusing to testify at the hearings. Witches were considered to be followers of Satan who had traded their souls for his assistance. Music Credit: Spirit of the Dead by Aakash Gandhi#List25 #Didyouknow #WitchTrials Unlike the others who were hanged, this unfortunate fellow was crushed to death by stones. The community, beleaguered with hardships already, then overreacted. Mid-February- After a month of fasting, prayer, and home remedies, Betty and Abigail have not improved. This resulted in him being accused as well, and in the end it was he who was executed while Elizabeth was instead sentenced to prison so that her unborn baby would not have to die. The Salem Witch Trials were a series of trial that took place in 1692, when it was believed "witches" were casting spells on people in the village of Salem. 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. 1 Majority Of Victims Were Girls Under Age 20 The Salem witch trials have been studied for centuries, and there is still no clear consensus on what exactly happened. Back in the 17th - century there was a great amount of stress caused by many different things in that era. Given the subsequent spread of the strange behaviour to other girls and young women in the community and the timing of its display, however, those physiological and psychological explanations are not very convincing. This caused her to be accused of conspiring on behalf of the witches, and eventually of being a witch herself. During 1692, in the city of Salem, a little colony in Massachusetts, US, a horrifying trial started against several neighbors accused of witchcraft. It seems that a shocking number of accusations were made by members of the Putnam family. The litany of odd behaviour also mirrored that of the children of a Boston family who in 1688 were believed to have been bewitched, a description of which had been provided by Congregational minister Cotton Mather in his book Memorable Providences, Relating to Witchcraft and Possessions (1689) and which may have been known by the girls in Salem Village. Mysteriously, in 1692, the reverend's 9-year-old daughter, Elizabeth (aka Betty), and 11-year-old niece, Abigail, began having fits.