The Salem witchcraft trials began in the year of 1692. The trials caused hysteria in Salem Village. There were twenty people accused of witchcraft and executed. Over one hundred people were thought to be guilty and were placed in jail. However, “The Salem witch-hunt was remarkable not for the numbers hanged and imprisoned but for happening when it did” (Hill 1). The trials began over forty years after the initial European witch-frenzy (Hill 1). Superstition was being challenged by scientists at the time. Why then, would yet another witch-hunt begin? There has been much debate over why the witch-hunt started. Speculations have been made of hostility or psychological disorders being the main cause of the witch hunt. The girls may have been under the influence of Tituba, a Caribbean slave. Ergot poisoning is another theory that was questioned. Whether it was ergotism, the influence of Tituba or hostility that caused the witch-hunt, the one thing that is certain is that the Salem witch trials were hysterical.
Ergot poisoning was one theory of what caused the girls of Salem village to behave as they did. It was speculated that the girls may have contracted ergotism through eating the rye bread that was made from rye on the Putnam farm (Woolf, par.17). Fungus would grow on rye flowers and replace the grain that grew there with a bundle of mycelia that could contain ergots (Woolf, par.9). Different kinds of ergotism could be contracted. The type of ergotism that was believed to have affected the young girls in Salem was convulsive ergotism. When someone or something contracts convulsive ergotism, they experience consistent vertigo, headaches, painful muscular contractions, mania, delirium, and visual and auditory hallucinations (Woolf, ...
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...y be true, or perhaps the real reason is still to be found. Only time will tell.
Works Cited
Hansen, Chadwick. "Andover Witchcraft and the Causes of the Salem Witchcraft Trials." The
Occult in America: New Historical Perspectives. Ed. Howard Kerr and Charles L. Crow. University of Illinois Press, 1983. 38-57. Rpt. in Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800. Ed. Jelena O. Krstovic. Vol. 38. Detroit: Gale Research, 1998. Literature Resource Center. Web. 27 Nov. 2013
Hill, Frances. The Salem Witch Trials Reader. [Cambridge, Mass.]: Da Capo, 2000. Print.
Rosenthal, Bernard. "Tituba." OAH Magazine of History July 2003: 48-50. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 27 Nov. 2013.
Woolf, Alan. "Witchcraft or Mycotoxin? The Salem Witch Trials." Journal of Toxicology: Clinical Toxicology 38.4 (2000): 457. Health and Wellness Resource Center. Gale Cengage Learning. Web. 27 Nov. 2013.
John M. Murrin’s essay Coming to Terms with the Salem Witch Trials helps detail the events of these trials and explains why they might have occurred. The witch trials happened during a “particularly turbulent time in the history of colonial Massachusetts and the early modern atlantic world” (Murrin, 339). Salem came to be in 1629 and less than seventy years later found itself in a mess of witch craft.
The Salem, Massachusetts Witch Trials have generated extensive evaluation and interpretation. To explain the events in Salem, psychological, political, environmental, physical, and sociological analysis have all been examined. The authors Linnda Caporael, Elaine Breslaw, Anne Zeller, and Richard Latner all present differing perspectives to speculate about the events of the Salem Witch Trials. This changing interpretation and perspective has resulted in an extensive historiography to explain the
The Salem witch trials of 1692 were one of the bloodiest witch-hunts in America colonial history. The event started in the house of the new minister of Salem, Samuel Parris, when his daughter, Betty, suffered from mysterious symptoms, and later she accused her slave, Tibuta, for using witchcraft on her. Later, two other women, Sarah Goode and Sarah Osborne, were accused of using witchcraft on other girls; right after the accusations, they were arrested (Lecture 9/13/2016). As a result, the hunt of witches began which led to hundreds of arrests, and nineteen accused were hanged (Text 190). Although three hundred years have passed, the true cause of the episode remains a mystery. Many scholars have conducted numerous studies of the trails, however,
What really happened in Salem that ignited the spark of the Witchcraft Trials? Was it out of boredom? Did the girls come down with a case of Schizophrenia, encephalitis, or Huntington’s chorea? (Vogel 1). These are all possibilities, but there is still one theory that could reveal the truth behind the Salem Witch Trials. According to the research by psychologist Linda Caporael, of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute of Troy, New York, the poisoning of ergot originally created the hysteria. (Vogel 1 and Clark 2). Ergot is a form of fungus that spreads best in cold, damp weather. (Vogel 1). This fungus mostly grows on different types of grain, wheat, and especially rye. (Vogel 1). In the year of 1692, Salem, Massachusetts suffered a cold, wet winter. (Vogel 1). The growth of rye was substantial, making rye the main grain for the citizens of Salem. (Vogel 1).
Even though we have some evidence to back the theories of the Salem witch trials up, the most logical theory is that the people of Salem were all just putting on an act. Everyone had a motive to either hurt someone they despise or have feuds with, or just to save themselves. The other theories can be backed up just as well. But everyone has their own opinion. We may never know the true cause of the Salem Witch Trials.
The Salem Witch Trials is a devastating event in which 19 people and dogs were killed due to the cry of witchcraft. The outburst of these events could be blamed on several things. Certain things like economics, medicines and culture have to be taken into account when trying to understand the events of the Salem Witch Trials. People like Franklin Jr. Mixon, Linnda R. Caporael, Dr. Allan Woolf, Elaine G. Brewslaw, and Isaac Ariail Reed take into account one of the three: economics, medicines and culture and explain as to why or why not the event happened the way it did disregarding all the other factors.
From the beginning of time there has been conflict between the views of different people and their different groups. Conflict has brought prejudice and fear into communities around the world. As conflict is an inescapable part of any society, it can be expected to extend to the greatest impact possible. The Salem Witch Trials are one such conflict. This conflict caused many to be accused, arrested, and killed. Because of social, economic, religious, and physical problems within the community, Salem Village was present with prejudice and panic causing the Salem Witch Trials.
The Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692 were the largest outbreak of witch hunting in colonial New England up to that time. Although it was the largest outbreak, it was not something that was new. Witch-hunting had been a part of colonial New England since the formation of the colonies. Between the years 1648 to 1663, approximately 15 witches were executed. During the winter of 1692 to February of 1693, approximately 150 citizens were accused of being witches and about 25 of those died, either by hanging or while in custody. There is no one clear-cut answer to explain why this plague of accusations happened but rather several that must be examined and tied together. First, at the same time the trials took place, King William's War was raging in present day Maine between the colonists and the Wabanaki Indians with the help of the French. Within this war, many brutal massacres took place on both sides, leaving orphaned children due to the war that had endured very traumatic experiences. Second, many of the witch accusations were based on spectral evidence, most of which were encounters of the accused appearing before the victim and "hurting" them. There were rampant "visions" among the colonies' citizens, which can only be explained as hallucinations due to psychological or medical conditions by virtue of disease, or poisoning.
In the early winter months of 1692, in colonial Massachusetts, two young girls began exhibiting strange symptoms that were described to be "beyond the power of Epileptic Fits or natural disease to effect (examiner.com)." Doctors looked them over, but could not come up with any sort of logical explanation for their ailments. Therefore, the girls were accused of taking part in witchcraft. Soon, other young women in the village started showing similar symptoms. This "illness" of sort slowly made its way through the village to many of the residents. Soon, people started coming up with possible theories as to what started all the madness.
In 1692 everyone was sure that the Devil had come to Salem when young girls started screaming, barking like dogs and doing strange dances in the woods. The Salem Witch Trials originated in the home of Salem's reverend Samuel Parris, who had a slave from the Caribbean named Tibuta. Tibuta would tell stories about witchcraft back from her home. In early 1692 several of Salem's teenage girls began gathering in the kitchen with Tibuta. When winter turned to spring many Salem residents were stunned at the acts and behaviors of Tibuta's young followers. It was said that in the woods nearby they danced a black magic dance, and several of the girls would fall on the floor screaming uncontrollably. These behaviors soon began to spread across Salem. This soon led to ministers from nearby communities coming to Salem to lend their advice on the matter. Many believed that the girls were bewitched. It is believed that the young girls accusations began the Salem witch trials, and they would gather at reverend Parris's house to play fortune-telling games with magic and with Tibuta. One of the games was for them to crack a raw egg into a glass of water and see what shape it made in the glass.
When other people heard about all of what was going on in Salem they started turning on their neighbors thinking and mostly believing that these people were witches because of the way they would go about their everyday activities. During this time of panic and disorder, people started finding ways to torture these “witches” with many different tactics to see if they were real witches or if they were innocent. Most of the people involved in the horrible torture devices were killed because no human could stand these horrible tests
The notorious witch trials of Salem, Massachusetts occurred from June through September. It is a brief, but turbulent period in history and the causes of the trials have long been a source of discussion among historians. Many try to explain or rationalize the bizarre happenings of the witch hunts and the causes that contributed to them. To understand the trials and how they came to be, we must first examine the ideals and views of the people surrounding the events. Although religious beliefs were the most influential factor, socioeconomic tensions, and ergot poisoning are also strongly supported theories. A combination of motives seems the most rational explanation of the frenzy that followed the illness of the two girls. This paper looks closely at the some of the possible causes of one of the most notable occurrences in history.
The witch trials of the late 1600's were full of controversy and uncertainty. The Puritan town of Salem was home to most of these trials, and became the center of much attention in 1692. More than a hundred innocent people were found guilty of practicing witchcraft during these times, and our American government forced over a dozen to pay with their lives. The main reasons why the witch trials occurred were conflicts dealing with politics, religion, family, economics, and fears of the citizens.
The Salem Witchcraft was a series of undesirable events, which was powered by paranoia and fear. Though several witch trials occurred before the Salem Witch Trial, this was the most well known of all. Many innocent people were accused of witchcraft which resulted to 19 men and women that were hanged, 17 innocents that died in unsanitary prisons, and an 80-year old man that was crushed to death by putting stones on top of his stomach until he confesses (movie: The Crucible). In some accounts, it was reported that two dogs were stoned to death for cooperating with the Devil. Why did the Salem Witch trial occur? Were these trials appropriate? Or were they truly a Devil's work? The Salem Witch Trials might have occurred for a variety of reasons such as people's ignorance that led to superstitions. It might have also occurred because people's crave for power, or it might also be because of fear.
The Salem Witch Trials took place in the summer and into the fall of the year 1692, and during this dark time of American history, over 200 people had been accused of witchcraft and put in jail. Twenty of these accused were executed; nineteen of them were found guilty and were put to death by hanging. One refused to plead guilty, so the villagers tortured him by pressing him with large stones until he died. The Salem Witch Trials was an infamous, scary time period in American history that exhibited the amount of fear people had of the devil and the supernatural; the people of this time period accused, arrested, and executed many innocent people because of this fear, and there are several theories as to why the trials happened (Brooks).