Content Flashcards
1
Q
How many were executed during the salem trial?
A
20
2
Q
Year - Salem witch-trials
A
1692-93
3
Q
What was the context of witch hunts prior to the salem trials?
A
- 100 cases in past 50 years
- 28 hung
- 25% conviction rate
4
Q
How many were accused and killed during the Salem trial?
A
- 200 accused
- 20 killed
5
Q
Who was Sarah Good?
A
- One of first accused
- Social outcast and 40
- Destitute after poor investments and didn’t marry for money
- Whole family homeless beggars
- Accused of hurting children
- Husband and daughter testified against her
- Accused Sarah Osborne
6
Q
Who was Sarah Osborne?
A
- Accused by Sarah Good
- A widow with relatively high social standings
- Lived openly with unmarried Irish indentured servant Alexander Osborne
- Attempted to remove children from inheritance
7
Q
Who were the first three accused?
A
- Tituba
- Sarah Good
- Sarah Osborne
8
Q
Give some examples of the nature of the accused
A
- Bridget Bishop & Martha Carrier - women with independent mind
- Reverend George Burroughs - only minister - borrowed money from Putnam family and was unable to pay back
- Rebecca Nurse - Well-respected - petition claiming her innocence and pardon from Governor Philps - Men of Salem convinced and executed
- Susannah Martin - widow - history of witchcraft - threat orderly transmission of property - dispute over fathers will
9
Q
What happened directly after the first three women were arrested?
A
- Village meeting
- Possessed girls gave evidence against the women
- Using spectral evidence
- Claimed the girls forced to sign the devils book, suckle familiars and inflicted with fits.
10
Q
What type of evidence was used during the trial?
A
- Spectral evidence
- BASED ON TESTIMONY THAT CLAIMED THE ACCUSED OR THEIR SPIRIT APPEARED IN DREAMS AND VISIONS
11
Q
What did Abigail and Deliverance Hobbs confess to?
A
- Attending a meeting
- Number of accused witches plotted to bewitch all Salem Village
12
Q
How did confessions affect the conviction rate?
A
- Improved the chances of suspects
- 50 confessed were freed
13
Q
What did Governor William Phips establish in May 1692?
A
- Court of Oyer and Terminer
- Officially hear the cases
- At trials - girls shrieked, wailed and shouted when the accused testified
- Half-hearted Devil Mark search also taken as evidence
- 1 judge resigned within a month due to suspicion of the legitimacy of proceedings
14
Q
How were convictions made more easily?
A
- Spectral evidence accepted in courts
- Accused allowed few resources to mount a defence
- Petitions from neighbours ignored
- Long-standing gossip was accepted as evidence
15
Q
Who was the first to be hung?
A
Briget Bishop - 10 June 1692
