1
Q
How was New England suited for Witch hunts?
A
- Puritan settlers arrived on the mayflower in 1620 and established Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1629
- As puritans they were very mindful of the devil and WC
- Stricter and more militant religion than English counterparts as they did not tolerate people of other religions and the clergy were well respected
- first official witch executed in colonies was Alice Young in 1647 in Connecticut. 27 more killed before Salem
2
Q
What was the importance of Salem?
A
- Before 1692 hunts in New England were rare with only 100 cases being heard in the previous 50 years and only 25% of those resulting in executions. The majority of the accused were people who were hated by a neighbour but in Salem ANYONE could be accused
- from 1692 200 accused and 20 killed. Craze came about as a result of fear and scapegoating but the events became widespread as they were acted out in a small, isolated community
3
Q
What was the status of the Massachusetts Bay Colony between 1630-85?
A
- 1st settlers to arrive in Salem set sail from England in April 1630. One of the settlers was Governor John Winthrop who carried a colonial charter saying that the colony was a possession of the crown
- 10k Puritans migrated to Massachusetts between 1630-42 as a result of the hardship they were facing in England
- fur and lumber allowed economy to boom in 1640’s and 50’s
- They refused to establish the COE under Charles II orders as Puritanism was central to gov and society. Non-puritans could be banished for spreading dissent
4
Q
Who was Sir Edmund Andros?
A
- Governor of New England from 1686
- Experienced solider but his high church tendencies (traditions in COE that emphasised ritual, authority of bishops and sacraments) and refusal to include well-established local Puritans on his council made him unpopular
5
Q
What did Sir Edmund Andros attempt to do in New England?
A
- Attempted to get COE services to be delivered in Puritan churches; many Puritans thought of him as a catholic sympathiser
- introduced new taxes on import and export duties; no previous tax laws meant this came with severe resentment
- landownership titles issues under the Massachusetts Bay Colony were declared void and Puritan landowners were required to pay fees to challenge and take back ownership. Money used to defend Salem
- restricted number of town meeting that could be held as these were source of discontent
6
Q
What was the Glorious Revolution?
A
- April 1687 James II suspended existing laws against Catholics by issuing a Declaration of Indulgence in England and he also dissolved Parliament in the summer
- 7 leading political figures, scared of a Catholic heir after James, sent an invitation to William of orange to bring a force against James
- 1688 William arrived and James fled the country to Ireland where to attempted to raise a force to retake the throne. He was defeated in 1690
- 1689 William was married to the protestant daughter of James
- They were presented with a declaration of rights that affirmed many constitutional principles such as the need for regular parliaments, banning Catholics from inheriting the throne and preventing an absolute Monarchy from forming
7
Q
What was the impact of the Glorious Revolution on Massachusetts?
A
- the colonists of Boston who already felt immense resentment against James revolted against Governor Andros.
- Rebels led by Increase and Cotton Mather (dad&son) who were both well known ministers. Both well respected Puritans
- 18th April 1689 rebellious militia companies began arresting officials in and around Boston and surrounded Andros’ residence at Fort Mary
- Rebels declared they were supporters of William of Orange
- eventually in 1691 Massachusetts was given a new charter and was known as “the Province of Massachusetts Bay”
8
Q
What did William of Orange do to stop Massachusetts falling into religious rule? Impact?
A
-voting eligibility was based on property ownership rather than religious denomination
-all officials were appointed by the crown instead of being elected
-governor could block any laws passed by the council
Showed locals that removing their oppressive governor had resulted in few changes. Less representation from local Puritan leaders meant problems in the local community could be solved as easily and as things went wrong many began to see the devil at work.
9
Q
What were the Indian threats Salem faced?
A
- been a reality since the earliest days of European settlement in North America but intensified towards the end of the century, especially in Massachusetts
- 1st Indian war took place between 1675-78 where 1/10 of all military aged men were killed in Salem
- after overthrow of Andros defences were weak and fewer troops were available. Colonists were regularly killed in attacks
- 2nd Indian war led to William of orange forming alliances with some tribes
- in Puritan eyes the Indians were devil worshippers who wanted to stop a godly society from forming and were allies of the hated French and Spanish. They were treated as sub human
10
Q
What economic state was Salem in before the trials?
A
- 1st indian war left the economy of Massachusetts ruined with half of New England towards attacked the vital settlement of Springfield entirely burnt to the ground but pop growth still at 3% a year
- 1680’s the colonist asked for military assistance from England which contributed to increase in taxes
- Navigation acts passed by English Parliament from 1651 meant that, among other things, goods being transported from the colonies to any destination had to travel to England first
- strong Massachusetts navy ignored these demands and faced punishments
- the acts reduced the amount of money and resources that flowed into the area because instead they were directed towards England
- fisherman used cheaper Dutch ships to transport goods but with this now illegal they had to pay more money to use English ships
11
Q
What was the religious situation in Salem before the trials?
A
- theocracy where the scientific revolution had been ignored
- instead crop failures, fires, illness and hallucinations were the work of the devil
- anyone who did not conform with Puritan ideal was viewed with suspicion
- women were inferior to men and hence made up the majority of the accused in the hunts
12
Q
What is the importance of the tensions between Salem village and Salem Town?
A
- majority of accusers came from poorer Salem Village which relied on agriculture for its main source of income. Village also contained well established puritans
- Those in Salem town made money as Merchants and were less driven by religious beliefs. They had more contact with the outside world
- possible that jealousy led to the accusations from those in the village
- village wanted independence from the town but the town refused as they relied on the agricultural produce from the village
- Putnam were leaders for the separation movement and Porters were the richest family and Salem and therefore opposed them. Porters also opposed the hunts so found themselves under suspicion
13
Q
Who was Cotton Mather?
A
- son of Increase Mather and together they were two of the most senior Puritan Clergymen in Massachusetts
- Cotton preached about danger of witches and relayed examples of his own contact with possessed
- graduated Harvard at 15 and joined ranks of clergyman almost immediately where he then wrote over 400 books
14
Q
What was Mather’s most notable publication in terms of WC?
A
- Memorable Providences relation to WC and possessions
- acted as an inspiration for Salem hunters and contained two sections
1) extensive account of the Goodwin Possessions (influenced the possessions at Salem)
2) Sermon delivered by Mather and reprinted, warning against the presence of witches and offering advice on how to detect them
15
Q
What were the Goodwin possessions?
A
- John Goodwin was a mason from Boston who had 6 children with his wife. The entire family was Puritan
- 1688 13 year old Martha accused the family laundress of the theft of some bed linen. Mather states that the linen must have been used for WC. She was the daughter of a suspected witch Mary Glover
- Mary was a catholic and when confronted about her daughters crimes she “bewitched” Martha and siblings with fits
- Mary was arrested and a search of her house revealed she made dolls out of rags. She admitted to using dolls in WC and confessed in court of being in league with the devil
- Mather interviewed Mary before she was executed and she named other witches who assisted her. He didn’t believe these names
- HE BELIEVED THAT EVIDENCE OF A WITCH SHOULD NEVER BE USED TO CHARGE ANOTHER SUSPECT AS THE DEVIL MAY HAVE BEEN ATTEMPTING TO HURT INNOCENT PEOPLE
16
Q
Who was Samuel Paris and what role did he play in Salem?
A
- Puritan Minister of Salem; born in London but migrated to Boston
- followed 3 previous failed ministers and it took him a year to decide on the role after being invited by the congregation
- attempted to increase his salary and benefits such as free firewood
- found it difficult to settle disputes as an outsider. Town refused to pay his wages for sometime as he purchased unnecessary items for the meeting house
- his preaching divided the community as he blamed “wicked” men in the community for helping the devil
17
Q
What events occurred in the winter of 1691?
A
- Paris’s 9 year old daughter, Elizabeth, and her 11 year old cousin, Abigail Williams began experimenting with fortune telling to found out the social status of their future husbands
- they used a Venus glass which consisted of an egg whit placed in water where shapes would then appear
- They shared their findings with other young girls in Salem
18
Q
What was the initial witchcraft encounter in Salem?
A
- Jan 1692 Elizabeth Paris started to lose concentration, bark like a dog and forget her prayers
- certain prayers would make her scream loudly. She then began to have fits
- Abigail Willian’s also had strange behaviour. A local doctor was called and said that WC was to blame. The girls were ordered to fast and prayer
- more girls began to become afflicted; Ann putnam, Mary Walcott, Mercy Lewis and Elizabeth Hubbard
- these children were called as witness at trials and evidence was central to the cases; they performed well in court by having fits when they saw the accused
19
Q
What was the role of Ann Putnam?
A
- The Putnam family were one of the most influential in Salem
- her name is mentioned over 400 times in the court documents
20
Q
What were the motivations of the children in Salem?
A
Possible motives include:
- girls may have been experiencing psychological disorders
- hallucinations, naivety and excitement (?)
- response to the girls insecurities; Mercy Lewis had experienced a traumatic childhood and lived in poor economic circumstances
- Indian attacks in which many of the girls were directly or indirectly effected
21
Q
Who was Tituba?
A
- Household Servant of the Parrises along with Husbands John Indian
- Mary Sibley, aunt of Mary Walcott, asked them to make a witches cake to counter possessions. It was made with urine of the afflicted and fed to the family dog. The dog was meant to sniff out the witches
- didn’t work and the girls became worse which led Parris to file charges against Tituba, triggering the hunt
- she MAY have taught the girls about voodoo that she learnt about from her childhood in Barbados
- she confessed to a pact with the devil and named other witches
- she said that she was beaten by Parris and forced to confess
22
Q
Who were some of the accused?
A
- majority of accused were women with 20% being men
- Sarah good: social outcast, accused of hurting children, 40 years old, came from wealthy family but was now poor+homeless
- Sarah Osborne: well-established widow, high social standing, behaviour fell short of what was expected in Salem as she lived openly with an unmarried Irish man named Alexander Osborne, attempted to remove children from previous marriage out of her inheritance
- the two above were outcasts from the lowest areas of society. Shared qualities disliked by puritans and made themselves easy targets
23
Q
What occurred at the actual trials?
A
- a day after the arrests of the first 3 (Sarah good+Osborne and Tituba) a meeting was called where the possessed girls gave evidence against the women
- girls used spectral evidence and claimed that the witches forced them to sign the Devils book, suckled familiars and caused the fits that afflicted them
- they accused more and more people, including the respectable Rebecca nurse. Number of accused went up to 165 with 39 getting serious charges
- Gov William Phipps established court of Oyer and Terminer to hear the cases. Girls continued to fall into fits at the trials.
- one judge resigned after a month due to scepticism
24
Q
What was spectral evidence?
A
-evidence based on testimony that claimed the accused or their spirit appeared in dreams and visions
25
Why were convictions in Salem so easily made?
- spectral evidence was accepted by the court
- accused were allowed few resources to defend themselves
- petitions by neighbours testifying to the good character of the accused were ignored
- long-standing and existing gossip in Salem village was accepted as evidence
26
What happened at the executions?
- Bridget Bishop first to be hanged on 10 June 1692 and then followed by Rebecca Nurse and Sarah good on June 19th
- Giles Corey executed on 16 September and his wife and daughter executed on 22 September
- By 22 September 19 had been hanged and one tortured to death
27
How did the Salem trials evolve?
- The list of accused was not slowing down and Govenor Phipp's wife was now accused
- Cotton Mather's father, Increase was a well respected puritan minister and president of Harvard. He did not deny the existence of WC but stated how rare actual cases were and the evidence used in Salem was dubious
- He made many sermons supporting the trials but rejecting spectral evidence
- he was well respected so people listened and number of accusations started to dramatically slow down
28
Who was Governor phipps?
- born into a moderately wealthy family of fur and weapons traders in Maine 1651
- became sea captain and treasure hunter, travelling to London in 1683 to seek funding to investigate the wrecks of sunken ships in the Caribbean. He was successful and was knighted in 1687 before returning to Boston where he met the Mather's
- worked with Increase in London to renew the Bay Colony Charter
29
What was Phipps role in the trials?
- initially backed the trials and appointed his lieutenant governor, William Stoughton as chief judge of trials
- Stoughton was unrelenting in his pursuit of witches and took the lead in demanding that spectral evidence be heard
- after weeks of consideration Phipps closed the court of Oyer and Terminer on 26th October 1692 and released those still under investigation.
- those who spent time in jail still had to pay their fees and one women had to wait in Prison until another citizen paid them
30
What was the general pardon?
- Phipps issued it in 1693, officially excusing 8 people whom Stoughton had condemned to die
- In Jan a new Superior Court of Judicature had been established in Salem, led by Stoughton again
- He had not changed his views on WC or spectral evidence but political pressure on him to avoid convictions was immense and Phipps ordered him to discount it
- 1st 5 to face trial had been held since original convictions and were found not guilty. He then convicted 3 others to die but Phipps pardoned them
- more and more were found not guilty which was most likely Phipps' influence
- Phipps criticised Stoughton for allowing the craze to develop so much and stated that he only set up the courts due to pressure from religious figures in Boston
31
What was the final outcomes of he Salem trials?
- 1695 London government repealed a law passed by the Massachusetts legislature in 1692 that enabled swift prosecutions for WC.
- Jan 1697 one of the judges involved in the trials, Samuel sewall apologised to Massachusetts officials and asked for forgiveness
- many of the girls who acted as accusers slowly began to apologise as they grew older
- in 1711 compensation was paid to the families of the victims
32
Why did the Salem craze become so widespread?
- over 200 people accused
- deeply Puritan society were fear of the Devil was part of life
- Indian threat heightened fears
- role of children
- social divisions between the village and town
- Stoughton and spectral evidence
Witches
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