Analysis Of The Salem Witch Trials - 1131 Words

BACKGROUND BUTTON ON WEBSITE In the early seventeenth century many practicing Christians and those of other religions believed that the Devil could grant â€Å"witches† the ability to hurt people in return for their loyalty. From the 1300s to early 1600 the â€Å"witch craze† (Blumberg) struck Europe accusing many of being witches. In 1889 King William of England pronounced a war with France in the American colonies known as King William’s War. The war hit regions of New York, Nova Scotia, and Quebec, sending refugees to the Essex County and Salem Village in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. This caused the spread of hysteria from Europe to the American colonies. Accusations of witches drove Salem, Massachusetts into a state of hysteria causing the†¦show more content†¦They were soon known as the Afflicted Girls. Abigail Williams was one of the main accusers in the Salem Witch Trials and gave formal testimonies at seven court cases and was involved more than in seventeen capital cases. In March 1692 the trial of Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba trials began. Both Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne pleaded innocent. During Tituba’s court case she confessed to afflicting the girls with witchcraft. She affirmed that the devil and bid for her services. She said that there were four women and one man, two of the women were Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne, that hurt the children. They told Tituba that if she did not hurt the children then they would hurt her. Tituba confessed to hitting the children and said that she was sorry for doing it and would never do it again. She stated that she personally witnessed Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne transformed into winged creatures. Tituba’s case never went to trial because of her confession. She remained in jail but when the witch trials began she withdrew her confession. â€Å"With the seed of paranoia planted, a stream of accusations followed for the next few months† (Blumberg). In the following months after Tituba’s trial, four more women were accused and arrested for being witches. In April, more women were accused and arrested along with a number of men. The Salem Governor William Phips set up aShow MoreRelatedAnalysis of the Salem Witch Trials2099 Words   |  8 Pagesï » ¿History generally regards the period of Salem witchcraft trials as a radical instatement of religious zeal which favored superstition over reason and targeted a large number of women over a much smaller number of men. Admittedly, the 1692 witchcraft crisis is a very complex historical episode, yet seeing as the majority of the people involved were women, it can be perceived as a gender issue, and illustrative for the definition of the role of women in New England. The present works aim is to outlineRead MoreSix Women Of Salem Book Review1124 Words   |  5 Pa gesYasmin Valdez 11/23/15 History 1302 Book Review â€Å"Six Women of Salem† Book Review, By Marilyne K. Roach Marilynne K. 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Because of the random and frequent witchcraft accusations made throughout the time of the trials, the reoccurring characteristics that were often indicative of an individual’s likelihood of being accused of witchcraft were not always consistent. In John Demos’s book Entertaining Satan: Witchcraft and the Culture of Early New England he includes a diagram containing