Essay On Salem Witch Trial

The ordinary stresses of 17th-century life in Massachusetts Bay Colony, a strong belief in the devil, factions among Salem Village fanatics and rivalry with nearby Salem Town, a recent smallpox epidemic and the threat of attack by warring tribes created a fertile ground for fear and suspicion. The Salem witchcraft events soon began in late February 1692 and lasted through April 1693 after the village’s new ministers niece and daughter suddenly fell ill. The town doctor could not explain their illness and erratic behavior and blamed it on bewitchment. Soon many others fell ill with the same symptoms and the village was quick to blame the ministers slave from the Barbados, a homeless woman, and a poor old woman who was said to rarely go to church. Tituba, the slave woman, confessed that Satan came to her to do his bidding and she and others agreed to destroy the Puritans. At least twenty-five people died: nineteen were executed by hanging, one was tortured to death, and at least five died in jail due to harsh conditions (some were young children). Over 160 people were accused of witchcraft, most were jailed, and many deprived of property and legal rights. Nearly fifty people confessed to witchcraft, most to save themselves from immediate trial. Hundreds of other people in the Bay Colony (neighbors,

Numerous hypotheses have been devised to explain the strange behavior that occurred in Salem. One of the most concrete studies blamed the abnormal habits of the accused on the fungus ergot, which can be found in rye, wheat, and other cereal grasses. Toxicologists say that eating ergot-contaminated foods can lead to muscle spasms, vomiting, delusions, and hallucinations (alike to the effects of LSD). Also, the fungus thrives in warm and damp climates, not too unlike the swampy meadows in Salem Village, where rye was the staple grain during the spring and summer