History 101
Short Assignment
The Salem Witch Trial
Salem witch trial is a very significant part in the American history. There were various reasons why it took place. When I first learned about it I was very surprised how something like this could have happened in the US. How it took lives of 40 people. Salem witch trial occurred in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. It started with a rivalry between people when Reverend Parris’s daughter and niece started having fits and doctor blamed it on supernatural. This small event leads to a very violent and terrible event in the history. According to colonial America video 344 people were accused in colonial period, and 80% were female and 50% men which were relatives of the accused witches. Females were more accused than men. On the other hand, there is a huge difference between in New England Colonies. In 1647-1663, 75 persons were accused, and 15 were hanged from them. It makes difference when we looked in 1692, 200 were accused and 19 were hanged. Many Salem village farmers wanted to separate from the town Salem. Because they had same thought regarding small and big city living. They thought town had more crime than village areas. Like, Revered Samuel Paris daughter, Elizabeth Parris, and his niece, Abigail Williams, had trouble. They had some problem, and he shows them to the doctor. When doctor didn’t found any kind of physical problem, and he decided one of them is witch like in witchcraft. After he asked from those girls, and they pointed the finger to “Tituba.” She is jailed. After that they were going to accuse other women of witchcraft like homeless Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborn. From fourteen to sixteen century, estimated 40-50,000 people were executed in witchcraft. The unusually authorities actually encouraged the people to be afraid from each other. If person was accused as a witch, then they had to provide the concrete evidence. In the 1486, the book “MALEFICARM”