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
Danvers
Danvers is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the Danvers River near the northeastern coast of Massachusetts. The suburb is a short ride from Boston and is also easy to get to the beaches in Gloucester. Originally known as Salem Village, th…
What was the real cause of the Salem witch trials?
What were the causes and effects of the Salem witch trials? The Salem Witch trials were caused by jealousy, fear, and lying. People believed that the devil was real and that one of his tricks was to enter a normal person ‘s body and turn that person into a witch. This caused many deaths and became a serious problem in 1692.
Who finally ended the Salem witch trials?
Who finally ended Salem witch trials? Today is October 12, 2017, and on this date, 325 years back, in 1692, Governor Sir William Phips issued a declaration effectively ending the Salem Witch Trials. Why did the Salem witch trials abruptly come to an end? There are many reasons that the Salem Witch Trials ended in early 1693.
How many people were accused in the Salem witch trials?
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than two hundred people were accused. Thirty were found guilty, nineteen of whom were executed by hanging (fourteen women and five men).
What event sparked the Salem witch hunts and trials?
The main factors that started and fueled the trials were politics, religion, family feuds, economics, and the imaginations and fears of the people. The following essay on these causes and the events surrounding the Salem witch trials of 1692 is divided into four sections: 1) Salem Politics2) Cold Winter Days3) Salem Witchcraft4) Aftermath.
What are 3 facts about the Salem witch trials?
The Salem Witch Trials: Real Facts That Will Haunt YouNo One Was Burned at the Stake. ... Most Accusers Were Girls Under Age 20. ... Courts Allowed Spectral Evidence. ... Witch Tests Were Impossible to Pass. ... The Prison Basement Was Known as Witch Jail. ... The Youngest Accused Witch Was Four Years Old.More items...
Why are the Salem witch trials so famous?
More than 300 years later, the Salem witch trials testify to the way fear can ruin lives of innocent people and the importance of due process in protecting individuals against false accusations.
What were the causes and results of the Salem witch trials?
The Salem Witch trials were caused by jealousy, fear, and lying. People believed that the devil was real and that one of his tricks was to enter a normal person 's body and turn that person into a witch. This caused many deaths and became a serious problem in 1692.
How did the witch trials end?
On October 29, 1692, Phips dissolved the Court of Oyer and Terminer, a decision that marked the beginning of the end for the Salem witch trials. By May 1693, Phips had pardoned and released all those remaining in prison on witchcraft charges.
How were witches killed?
Common methods of execution for convicted witches were hanging, drowning and burning. Burning was often favored, particularly in Europe, as it was considered a more painful way to die. Prosecutors in the American colonies generally preferred hanging in cases of witchcraft.
Who finally ended the Salem witch trials?
Governor Sir William PhipsToday is October 12, 2017, and on this date, 325 years back, in 1692, Governor Sir William Phips issued a declaration effectively ending the Salem Witch Trials.
How many witches were killed in Salem?
TwentyDuring the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, more than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft. Twenty of those people were executed, most by hanging.
How many people died in the witch trials?
According to The Boston Globe, 25 people were killed during the witch trials in Salem. "All 19 who were executed through a hanging died at Proctor's Ledge. Five others died in jail, and one was crushed to death," the paper reports.
What caused the Salem witch trials?
In the late 1600s the Salem Village community in the Massachusetts Bay Colony (now Danvers, Massachusetts) was fairly small and undergoing a period...
How many people were killed during the Salem witch trials?
By the end of the Salem witch trials, 19 people had been hanged and 5 others had died in custody. Additionally, a man was pressed beneath heavy sto...
How did the Salem witch trials end?
After weeks of informal hearings, Sir William Phips, governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, interceded to add some formality to the proceedings....
What is the legacy of the Salem witch trials?
The haphazard fashion in which the Salem witch trials were conducted contributed to changes in U.S. court procedures, including rights to legal rep...
How many Salems were there in the 17th century?
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.
Where did the witch hunts take place?
The events in Salem in 1692 were but one chapter in a long story of witch hunts that began in Europe between 1300 and 1330 and ended in the late 18th century (with the last known execution for witchcraft taking place in Switzerland in 1782). 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. Some three-fourths of those European witch hunts took place in western Germany, the Low Countries, France, northern Italy, and Switzerland . The number of trials and executions varied according to time and place, but it is generally believed that some 110,000 persons in total were tried for witchcraft and between 40,000 to 60,000 were executed.
What was the Salem village?
In the late 1600s the Salem Village community in the Massachusetts Bay Colony (now Danvers, Massachusetts) was fairly small and undergoing a period of turmoil with little political guidance. There was a social divide between the leading families as well as a split between factions that were for and against the village’s new pastor, Samuel Parris.
Who was the woman who was bewitched by Tituba?
Pressured by Parris to identify their tormentor, Betty and Abigail claimed to have been bewitched by Tituba and two other marginalized members of the community, neither of whom attended church regularly: Sarah Good , an irascible beggar, and Sarah Osborn (also spelled Osborne), an elderly bed-ridden woman who was scorned for her romantic involvement with an indentured servant. On March 1 two magistrates from Salem Town, John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin, went to the village to conduct a public inquiry. Both Good and Osborn protested their own innocence, though Good accused Osborn. 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 hear—that she had been visited by the devil and made a deal with him. In three days of vivid testimony, she described encounters with Satan’s animal familiars and with a tall, dark man from Boston who had called upon her to sign the devil’s book, in which she saw the names of Good and Osborn along with those of seven others that she could not read.
Why did Tituba bake witch cakes?
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. Although it provided no answers, its baking outraged Parris, who saw it as a blasphemous act.
Who was the first person to be tried for witchcraft in Salem?
Presided over by Chief Justice William Stoughton, the court was made up of magistrates and jurors. The first to be tried was Bridget Bishop of Salem who was found guilty and was hanged on June 10.
Who produced the Salem Witch Trials?
Salem Witch Trials Weekly, produced by the Salem Witch Museum. Bewitchment in Salem, produced by the Salem Witch Museum in conjunction with SATV. The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege by Marilynne K. Roach (Jul 22, 2004)
How many women and men followed the Witchcraft court?
Thirteen women and five men from all stations of life followed her to the gallows on three successive hanging days before the court was disbanded by Governor William Phipps in October of that year. The Superior Court of Judicature, formed to replace the "witchcraft" court, did not allow spectral evidence.
Who was the doctor who was called in to the witch trials?
Witch Trials. William A. Crafts (1876) In January 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. His diagnosis of bewitchment put into motion the forces that would ultimately result in the hanging deaths of 19 men and women.
What happens when someone concludes that a loss, illness, or death had been caused by witchcraft?
After someone concluded that a loss, illness, or death had been caused by witchcraft, the accuser entered a complaint against the alleged witch with the local magistrates. If the complaint was deemed credible, the magistrates had the person arrested and brought in for a public examination —essentially an interrogation where the magistrates pressed the accused to confess.
Who was the first person to be executed for witchcraft?
The earliest recorded witchcraft execution was that of Alse Young in 1647 in Hartford, Connecticut, the start of the Connecticut Witch Trials which lasted until 1663. Historian Clarence F. Jewett included a list of other people executed in New England in his 1881 book.
What happened to Betty Parris?
In Salem Village in February 1692, Betty Parris (age nine) and her cousin Abigail Williams (age 11), the daughter and the niece, respectively, of Reverend Samuel Parris, began to have fits described as "beyond the power of epileptic fits or natural disease to effect" by John Hale, the minister of the nearby town of Beverly. The girls screamed, threw things about the room, uttered strange sounds, crawled under furniture, and contorted themselves into peculiar positions, according to the eyewitness account of Reverend Deodat Lawson, a former minister in Salem Village.
What was Salem known for?
Salem Village (present-day Danvers, Massachusetts) was known for its fractious population, who had many internal disputes, and for disputes between the village and Salem Town (present-day Salem ). Arguments about property lines, grazing rights, and church privileges were rife, and neighbors considered the population as "quarrelsome." In 1672, the villagers had voted to hire a minister of their own, apart from Salem Town. The first two ministers, James Bayley (1673–79) and George Burroughs (1680–83), stayed only a few years each, departing after the congregation failed to pay their full rate. (Burroughs was subsequently arrested at the height of the witchcraft hysteria and was hanged as a witch in August 1692.)
What evidence was used against the accused?
Much, but not all, of the evidence used against the accused, was spectral evidence, or the testimony of the afflicted who claimed to see the apparition or the shape of the person who was allegedly afflicting them. The theological dispute that ensued about the use of this evidence was based on whether a person had to give permission to the Devil for his/her shape to be used to afflict. Opponents claimed that the Devil was able to use anyone's shape to afflict people, but the Court contended that the Devil could not use a person's shape without that person's permission; therefore, when the afflicted claimed to see the apparition of a specific person, that was accepted as evidence that the accused had been complicit with the Devil.
How old was Dorothy Good when she was accused of witchcraft?
Dorothy Good was four or five years old when she was accused of witchcraft.
When was the last trial in Massachusetts?
Although the last trial was held in May 1693, public response to the events continued. In the decades following the trials, survivors and family members (and their supporters) sought to establish the innocence of the individuals who were convicted and to gain compensation. In the following centuries, the descendants of those unjustly accused and condemned have sought to honor their memories. Events in Salem and Danvers in 1992 were used to commemorate the trials. In November 2001, years after the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the trials, the Massachusetts legislature passed an act exonerating all who had been convicted and naming each of the innocent. The trials have figured in American culture and been explored in numerous works of art, literature and film.
What was the Salem Witch Trials?
The Salem Witch Trials is one of the many events in history that is remembered for the deaths of innocent people. From June 10, 1692 to September 22, 1692, the "witchcraft craze" spread throughout the colonial, Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts. Witchcraft hysteria originally began in Europe in the 1300s.
How many people were killed in the Salem massacre?
On July 19, 1692, five people were hanged, and on August 19, 1692, five more people were hanged. On September 22, the last eight of the 19 total people were hanged. Although only 19 people were killed during this event, several colonists in Salem at the time were also affected due to the accusations made.
Why was Giles Corey pressed to death?
Giles Corey, a man in his 80s, was pressed to death on September 19th under heavy stones for refusing to submit to a trial of witchcraft charges. List of the Dead: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/ASAL_DE.HTM.
What were the factors that contributed to the paranoia of the colonists?
A major factor that contributed to the paranoia the colonists had during this time is religion . The colonists were dominantly. Puritans, and religion was a big aspect of their lives. They believed that Satan could give certain people-known as "witches"- the power to harm others in return for their loyalty.
Where did the accusing family live?
In a lot. of cases, the accusing family wanted to gain land from the convictions of the accused. Most of the accused lived in the southern part of Salem and were financially better than the accusers.
When did paranoia start in Massachusetts?
The paranoia started to spread in Massachusetts in January of 1692, when Reverend Samuel Parris, Salem's first ordained minister's daughter (9 year old Elizabeth) and niece (11 year old Abigail Williams) began having "fits.".
Did Christianity condemn witches?
Since most all of Europe was some form of Christian, they were influenced by religion in their everyday lives. The Bible, Christianity's book of God, condemned witches. Witches were considered "one who whispered a spell" and were know to be linked to Satan, who caused them to do harm in return for their loyalty.
How many people died in the Salem Witch Trials?
Twenty-four people died during the Salem witch trials, though many more were accused of witchcraft. Please be respectful of copyright.
Who were the two women accused of witchcraft?
Tituba was known to have played fortune-telling games, which were strictly forbidden by the Puritans. The other two accused women, Sarah Good and Sarah Osbourne, weren’t well liked by the community either. An elderly woman accused of witchcraft is taken to the courthouse by an officer of the law. Bettmann, Getty Images.
What happened in 1692?
Find out what started the witch hunt of 1692. One freezing day in January of 1692, something strange happened inside the Parris household of Salem Village, Massachusetts. As sleet and snow heaped higher outside their door, Betty Parris and her cousin Abigail began to twitch and twist their bodies into strange shapes, ...
What did Betty and Abigail do to the Parris girls?
When asked who had done this to them, Betty and Abigail blamed three townswomen, including Tituba, a Native American slave who worked in the Parris household.
Is Salem Village a Puritan town?
Unauthorized use is prohibited. At the time, Salem Village was a small New England town populated mostly by Puritans, or religious individuals with a belief in the devil. The Puritan way of life was strict, and even small differences in behavior made people suspicious.
When were the accused of witchcraft pardoned?
All of the accused were finally pardoned in 1711.
Did women get infected by witchcraft?
As the weeks passed, other young girls claimed to have been infected by witchcraft too. They accused other townspeople of torturing them, and a few of the so-called witches on trial even named others as witches. Women were not the only ones believed to be witches—men and children were accused too.
What was the Salem witch trial?
Salem witch trials, (May–October 1692)American colonial persecutions for witchcraft. In the town of Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony, several young girls, stimulated by supernatural tales told by a West Indian slave, claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused three women of witchcraft. Under pressure, the accused women named others in false ...
How many witches were hanged in the colonial era?
They resulted in the conviction and hanging of 19 “witches” and the imprisonment of nearly 150 others. As public zeal abated, the trials were stopped and then condemned. The colonial legislature later annulled the convictions. witch.
Overview
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than two hundred people were accused. Thirty were found guilty, nineteen of whom were executed by hanging (fourteen women and five men). One other man, Giles Corey, was pressed to death for refusing to plead, and at l…
Background
While witch trials had begun to fade out across much of Europe by the mid-17th century, they continued on the fringes of Europe and in the American Colonies. The events in 1692–1693 in Salem became a brief outburst of a sort of hysteria in the New World, while the practice was already waning in most of Europe.
In 1668, in Against Modern Sadducism, Joseph Glanvill claimed that he could p…
Timeline
In Salem Village in February 1692, Betty Parris (age 9) and her cousin Abigail Williams (age 11), the daughter and the niece, respectively, of Reverend Samuel Parris, began to have fits described as "beyond the power of epileptic fits or natural disease to effect" by John Hale, the minister of the nearby town of Beverly. The girls screamed, threw things about the room, uttered strange sounds, cra…
Legal procedures
After someone concluded that a loss, illness, or death had been caused by witchcraft, the accuser entered a complaint against the alleged witch with the local magistrates. If the complaint was deemed credible, the magistrates had the person arrested and brought in for a public examination—essentially an interrogation where the magistrates pressed the accused to confess.
Primary sources and early discussion
Puritan ministers throughout the Massachusetts Bay Colony were exceedingly interested in the trial. Several traveled to Salem in order to gather information about the trial. After witnessing the trials first-hand and gathering accounts, these ministers presented various opinions about the trial starting in 1692.
Deodat Lawson, a former minister in Salem Village, visited Salem Village in Ma…
Aftermath and closure
Although the last trial was held in May 1693, public response to the events continued. In the decades following the trials, survivors and family members (and their supporters) sought to establish the innocence of the individuals who were convicted and to gain compensation. In the following centuries, the descendants of those unjustly accused and condemned have sought to honor …
In literature, media and popular culture
The story of the witchcraft accusations, trials and executions has captured the imagination of writers and artists in the centuries since the event took place. Their earliest impactful use as the basis for an item of popular fiction is the 1828 novel Rachel Dyer by John Neal.
Many interpretations have taken liberties with the facts of the historical episode in the name of literary and/or artistic license. As the trials took place at the intersection between a gradually dis…
Medical theories about the reported afflictions
The cause of the symptoms of those who claimed affliction continues to be a subject of interest. Various medical and psychological explanations for the observed symptoms have been explored by researchers, including psychological hysteria in response to Indian attacks, convulsive ergotism caused by eating rye bread made from grain infected by the fungus Claviceps purpurea (a natural substance from which LSD is derived), an epidemic of bird-borne encephalitis lethargica, and slee…