During the 1600s something devastating was going on in America. The Salem witch trials in Massachusetts. But I bet you didn’t know the same thing was going on in Europe at the same time. The Salem witch trials and European witch hunts had a lot of things in common‚ yet they had their differences as well. People accused other people of being witches all the time‚ then when people started believing that is when the hysteria kicked in. The thought of witches being in their presence terrified them. They
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The History and Definition of Witchcraft In England and New England in the 17th century‚ it was believed that an evil witch made a pact with the devil that involved the exchange of her soul for powers with which she could torture other mortals‚ which brings about the beginning of witchcraft. Those who practiced witchcraft were rarely the people being executed for it and according to Al Pugh‚ “In early modern tradition‚ witches were stereotypically women” (Pugh 1). It was also believed that these
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common and older name for witchcraft; the term witchcraft has been defined in many different ways – in past times it was mostly referred to as a human harnessing of supernatural powers for the purpose of practicing black magic. For this reason‚ magic‚ witchcraft and sorcery has been associated with Satanism. Not all withes worship Satan; in fact most of them do not have a belief in Satan – nor is there a belief in hell‚ original sin or evil. During the Middle Ages‚ witchcraft experienced a huge revival
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Bryan F. Le Beau. The Story of the Salem Witch Trials Upper Saddle River‚ NJ: Prentice Hall‚ 1998. The Salem Witch Trials has been a debatable topic for many historians enamored by its deviation from the normal as seen in Europe or other European Colonies in North America. As presented in Bryan Le Beau’s book The Story of the Salem Witch Trials‚ the story of Salem is unique in that it is centered primarily around the communities incapability to harmonize with one another. In the first two chapters
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Brennyn Mackey 2 May 2011 The Secret War of Salem Exposing the Culprit behind the Mass Hysteria The Salem Witch Trials were a series of infamous events that demand an explanation for their occurrence. The trials that took place in 1692 caused neighbors in the community of Salem Village in the colony of Massachusetts to turn on one another out of paranoia‚ accusing one another of witchcraft. According to Carol Karlsen‚ a longtime author of the subject‚ nineteen people were hanged
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The famous Salem Witch Trials took place during the early months of the year 1692 and into the first month of 1693‚ in the small village of Salem. Salem Village was part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony‚ which was located on the coast of Massachusetts Bay‚ north of present day Boston‚ where the present day city of Salem stands now. Salem was an “important seaport in Massachusetts.” (Burgan‚ 4) The population of Salem was around 550 people. Of the 500 plus people living there practically the whole
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What Caused the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria? 1692 was a year packed with excitement and terror for the citizens of Salem‚ Massachusetts. Belief and accusations of people being witches/warlocks under the possession of the Devil swept across the town and wreaked havoc among its settlers. There are many possible ways to justify this madness. However‚ the 3 most valid and evidential reasons are: attention-seeking‚ jealousy (of one another and the amount of land owned)‚ and lack of acceptance towards
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Some people say that the Salem Witch Trials were less a religious persecution than economic in purpose‚ using religion as a guise to gain property. I believe that the Salem witch trials were less a religious persecution than economical. I believe this for several reasons; one being that the accused witches were using their witchcraft on other people in the town and it was affecting them. Many people were accused of performing witchcraft and were persecuted for doing so. But I believe that people
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Wicca‚ Witchcraft‚ and Paganism are not synonyms‚ they mean different things. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary‚ paganism is »a religion that has many gods or goddesses‚ considers the earth holy‚ and does not have a central authority« (Merriam-Webster Dictionary‚ Paganism‚ http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paganism). Paganism as a term describes religions‚ that are not Christianity‚ Judaism‚ and Islam. The word »pagan« had a pejorative meaning in the past and the people practicing that
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Only resulting in 20 deaths‚ the Salem witch trials still managed to permanently edge its way into American history and continue to cause controversy for hundreds of years. Even though the causalities were low‚ the chaos and confusion was not. The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a play that gives insight on how the lives of Salem citizens would have been during 1692. These people lived in fear everyday of being accused of a witch or potentially being executed as well. Mass hysteria‚ rendering power
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