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The Witch Craze > Salem > Flashcards

Salem Flashcards

1
Q

When did the Salem witch hunt take place?

A

1692-93

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2
Q

How many people were accused and how many were killed?

A

200 were accused, 20 were killed.

- 80% were women and the 20% who were men had connections to them

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3
Q

What is unusual about the aftermath of the hunt?

A

The accusers apologies in the years after for causing the deaths of innocent people

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4
Q
  1. When did England begin to colonise?

2. Which were the first two English colonies in N. America?

A
  1. Early 1600s, same time as witch hunting was flourishing
    • Virginia (1607): mainly Catholic refugees escaping persecution in England
      - Massachusetts Bay (1620): mainly Puritans mindful of the Devil and witches, or facing persecution under Catholic James II
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5
Q

What was life for colonists living in New England like?

A
  • Small, isolated communities w/no awareness of wrld around them
  • New England population- around 100k; Salem = 1400 people
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6
Q

How did colonial puritanism compare to English puritanism?

A

More militant in colonies like Massachusetts, refused to tolerate other religious denominations

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7
Q

How were people in Salem ruled?

A

Theocracy- believed God was supreme ruler and involved in day to day running of society; every aspect of life followed strict religious principles and the clergy were highly respected, and were often local leaders.

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8
Q

History of witch trials in the colonies before Salem

A
  • Only around 100 cases heard in previous 50 years, and only about 25% of these were executed
  • Accused tended to be those who were already resented by neighbours, unlike in Salem where anyone could be accused
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9
Q

What was the Glorious Revolution?

A
  • 1688, King James II peacefully usurped by William and Mary
  • King James II had been a strict Catholic, and parliament were worried about the changes
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10
Q

What happened in Massachusetts after the Glorious Revolution?

A

The Boston Revolt 1689: James II appointed Governor Andros but ppl resented him, rebels led by Increase and Cotton Mather captured him, sent him to England to face trial

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11
Q

How did King William react to the Boston rebellion?

A
  • Fearful it’d fall into religious rule and so enforced rules- eg all officials appointed by Crown, not elected; governor could block any laws passed by council; voting eligibility based on property ownership rather than religion
  • 1691- Massachusetts given a new charter which forced it to follow English law and religious toleration
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12
Q

What impact did the new charter of Massachusetts have on the people of Salem?

A
  • Felt their way of life was under external threat.
  • Lack of legal authority due to less representation from local Puritan leaders.
  • When things went wrong, they saw the Devil at work.
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13
Q

What was the history of colonial and Indian relations?

A
  • Indian attacks from the early days of European settlement

- 1675-1678: First Indian War destroyed towns across New England 1/10 military age men killed)

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14
Q

What happened to Massachusetts after Andros was overthrown?

A
  • Salem’s defences were weakened- attacks were common and colonists were regularly killed
  • Outsiders who survived attacks moved into the community
  • Second Indian War (King William’s War)(1688-1697)
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15
Q

What was the Puritan perception of Indians?

A
  • Devil-worshippers
  • Indian attacks fostered deep-seated paranoia about God’s willingness to allow Devil’s agents (Indians) to punish Puritan settlers
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16
Q

What economic impact did the First Indian War have on New England?

A
  • Destroyed 1/2 of New England towns eg Springfield, a significant trading and agriculture center- fertile soil, location on 2 trade routes
  • Economy didn’t recover for another 100 years
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17
Q

How did society in New England change as a result after the war?

A
  • Population growth of 3%
  • New towns established
  • People adapted so their livelihoods weren’t entirely destroyed
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18
Q

How did government actions affect the economy of Massachusetts?

A
  • Colonists asked for military assistance–> tax increase in the 1680s
  • 4 Navigation Acts (between 1651 and 1673)- placed limits on trading ships to prevent Dutch monopoly on trade
  • Reduced amount of $ + resources coming into Massachussetts as it was instead directed to Englad
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19
Q

How was the Scientific Revolution received by the Puritans?

A

Completely ignored- everything bad was the Devil’s work- e.g. crop failures, illness, hallucinations, bad weather. Outsiders were viewed with suspicion, and women were seen as inferior.

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20
Q

What was Salem Town like?

A
  • More contact with the outside world
  • Less driven by religious belief
  • Merchant Class
  • Relied on the village for agriculture
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21
Q

What was Salem Village like?

A
  • More isolated from the world
  • More driven by religious belief
  • Agriculture and farming background
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22
Q

Why was there high tension between Salem Town and Salem Village?

A

Some in the village wanted their own church and to be fully separate from the town- valued community differently:

  • Village was more concerned with public goodwill
  • Town was more concerned w/private interests, looking after yourself and family
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23
Q

What was the social environment of Salem Village like?

A
  • 600 ppl in Salem Village and Town in total
  • Internal Disputes (property,grazing,Church privileges)
  • Family rivalry- Putnams (village) v Porters (town)
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24
Q

What were the differences between the Putnam and Porter families?

A

Putnams wanted to sever Village from Town

  • Engaged in subsistence farming
  • Heavily involved in accusations during the trials

Porters wanted to keep closer ties to the town

  • More entrepreneurial and commercial in outlook
  • Richest family in Salem
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25
Q

Who was Cotton Mather?

A

New England Puritan minister/pamphleteer. Went on to be involved in promoting the use of inoculation.

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26
Q

What did Cotton Mather publish in 1689?

A

‘Memorable Providences relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions’

  • Extensive account of the Goodwin Possessions which influenced Salem
  • Sermon warning about the presence of witches and gave advice on how to detect them
27
Q

What was the significance of Cotton Mather on the hunt in 1692?

A

His publication was definitely an influence and guide- similarities between the cases are clear eg the fits suffered by the girls and the Goodwin children, the accusations etc

BUT… he wasn’t directly involved in the hunt, his diary was written after the event, he wrote himself into it

28
Q

Who was Samuel Parris?

A
  • Puritan minister of Salem
  • Had been a plantation owner and studied at Harvard
  • When he moved to Salem he was seen as an outsider
29
Q

What was Samuel Parris’ relationship with his community like?

A
  • Tense- had support of Putnam family
  • Town refused to pay his wages as he purchases ‘luxury’ items like gold candlesticks
  • Delivered sermon just b4 hunt- Devil was being assisted by wicked men
  • Became worried when pro-Porter side became more powerful
30
Q

What are historian’s perceptions of Samuel Parris?

A
  • Self centered, deceptive

- Role + motivation for instigating hunt has never been understood

31
Q

What happened in the winter of 1691?

A
  • Elizabeth Parris (9yo), Abigail Williams (cousin, 11yo) began experimenting w/fortune telling (egg white in a ‘venus glass’)
  • Share this w/other girls, claim the supernatural events begin after a coffin is seen
32
Q

What happens in January 1692?

A
  • Elizabeth begins to lose concentration + scream loudly during certain prayers. Has fits + her limbs become affected
  • Abigail displays same symptoms, Dr declares witchcraft as the source
33
Q

What do historians think caused the fits and accusations?

A
  • Psychological disorders
  • Hallucinations from ergotism
  • Naivety, boredom
  • Trauma from Indian attacks- 1 of the girls had lost both her parents due to this
34
Q

Who was Tituba?

A
  • Servant (possibly slave) for the Parris family

- Came from Barbados, she told stories of voodoo and demonic possession

35
Q

What was Tituba asked to do?

A
  • Make a witch cake for a dog to eat and sniff out any witches- made of urine + flour, likely reason
  • Doesn’t work, Samuel Parris becomes suspicious
36
Q

What happens after Parris suspects Tituba as a witch?

A
  • She confesses to pact w/Devil + other witches, accuses other women
  • Most victims were women, 20% were men connected to the accused
37
Q

What was the first stage of the trial?

A
  • Tituba, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne called to a meeting after being arrested
  • The girls asked to give evidence- claimed they had been forced to sign the Devil’s book and suckle familiars
38
Q

What are the trials known for?

A

Use of spectral evidence:
- Girls claimed the witches forced them to sign the Devil’s Book, suckled familiars, and caused their fits

  • Claimed they saw accused’s spirit or spectral shape in a dream at the time the witch was elsewhere
39
Q

How many were accused or faced charges?

A
  • Many confessed, over 50 were freed

- 165 accused in total, 30 faced serious charges

40
Q

What did Governor William Phips establish?

A
  • Court of Oyer and Terminer

- Half-hearted attempts at finding the Devil’s marks carried out, 1 judge resigned- doubted legitimacy of the trials

41
Q

Who was Increase Mather?

A
  • Dad of Cotton Mather

- Puritan minister, president of Harvard and author

42
Q

What did Increase Mather publish in 1692?

A
  • Sceptical work ‘Cases of Conscience Concerning Evil Spirits and Prosecuting Men’
  • Doesn’t reject notion of witchcraft, argues a lot of evidence is dubious (critical of spectral evidence)
  • Also begins giving sermons on the same topic
43
Q

What impact did Increase Mather have on ending the hunts?

A

Godly Puritans began to heed his warnings and no. of accusations declined

44
Q

What did Phips do in 1693?

A
  • Issues General Pardon- excuses 8 people whom the Chief Justice of the courts, William Stoughton, had condemned to die
  • Stoughton had been appointed by Phips as chief judge in the trials- he was ordered to discount spectral evidence, which Stoughton had been keen on accepting
45
Q

What was the impact of Phips’ General Pardon?

A

Sudden rush to find people innocent- charges were dismissed, most prisoners found not guilty but 3 who were found guilty pardoned by Phips

46
Q

How does Phips try to protect himself from blame?

A
  • Critical of Stoughton, expressed this in a letter to King William (1693)- in particular, he criticised Stoughton for allowing it to spread so extensively while he was away
  • Claimed he faced pressure from religious figures in Boston
47
Q

Who was Phips?

A

Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay appointed by King William

48
Q

How did Phips change the nature of the courts?

A

Late Oct/1692: Court of Oyer and Terminer dissolved

Late Nov replaced by Superior Court of Judicature

49
Q

What was the impact of Phips changing the nature of the courts?

A
  • ‘Spectral evidence’ no longer allowed
  • Influenced by Increase- believed court was making mistakes
  • Banned books which influenced nature of accusations+ trial proceedings
50
Q

What was Phips’ personal/social motive in bringing the hunts to an end?

A

Status of accused increased from Tituba (a servant) to Phips’ own wife being accused

51
Q

Evidence that Phips’ influence was limtied: What other reasons were there for a decline in the hunts and accusations?

A
  • Many ppl stopped hunting due to extent of trials, +impact on friends/family
  • Doubts grew over quality of evidence, esp. ‘spectral evidence’- considered not ‘practical’ enough
  • Public confidence in legality/legitimacy of trials declined as no.s of accused increased
52
Q

Evidence that Phips’ influence was limited:

  1. Who could be considered more influential?
  2. Why was the size of the hunt the cause of its downfall?
A
  1. Increase Mather = more significant through his sermons demanding caution in making accusations
  2. External pressures due to size of hunt- v. unusual for witch hunting generally in New England
53
Q

How did London try to ensure a hunt like Salem never happened again?

A

1695- London repealed law passed by Massachusetts (MA) officials in ‘92 that enabled swift prosecutions for witchcraft.

54
Q

What happened in the years after Salem?

A
  • 1697- Samuel Sewell (judge) officially apologised to MA officials, asked 4 forgiveness
  • Many of the girls slowly began to apologise as they grew older.
  • 1711 – compensation was paid to families of the victims
55
Q

Who was Edmund Andros?

A

Governor of the Dominion of New England appointed by James II

56
Q

What was the Dominion of New England?

A

James II had been apprehensive about the independence the New England colonies had received and the threats posed by the French and Natives.

Combined all the New England colonies in 1686 under control of a single governor.

57
Q

Why did people in Salem resent Edmund Andros?

A
  • Attempted to fulfill late Charles II’s wish for CofE services in Puritan churches- suspected of high church Anglicanism and Catholic sympathies
  • Necessary new taxes- previously there’d been none
  • All landownership titles declared void, Puritan landowners had to pay to get them back
  • Restricted town meetings- oft sources of discontent
58
Q

Examples of what the Navigation Acts did?

A
  • All products coming in and out had to be on English ships
  • Later Acts introduced the caveat that all ships travelling from the colonies to any destination had to go to England first
59
Q

How did the Navigation Acts impact Salem specifically?

A

The Dutch traditionally offered the best shipping rates for fish caught out of Salem but now that the use of Dutch ships were illegal, fisherman were forced to pay higher fees to transport their produce to England

60
Q

Who were Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne?

A
  • Sarah Good: social outcast, accused of hurting children- rich ancestry but married poor, whole family was homeless and they were begging on the streets
  • Sarah Osborne: widow w/high status but lived openly w/an Irish indentured servant + tried to remove her kids from her 1st marriage from will
61
Q

Nature of some of the accused

A
  • Bridget Bishop: Independent woman, innkeeper of place w/alcohol+gambling. Wore clothes they disapproved of. 1st to be tried and executed
  • Reverend George Burroughs: the only Puritan minister executed at the trials. 1 of 3 ministers who served in quick succession b4 Parris arrived- involved in local conflicts, borrowed £ he was unable to repay from Putnams

SHOWS HOW SOCIAL OUTCASTS WERE AT FIRST ACCUSED AND HOW IT THEN EXTENDED TO THOSE WITH HIGHER SOCIAL STANDING

62
Q

Why were convictions so easily made in the Salem courts?

A
  • Long-standing gossip from Salem Village taken as evidence
  • Accused allowed few resources to mount a defence
  • Neigbours’ petitions testifying to the good character of accused generally ignored
  • Spectral evidence was accepted by the court
63
Q

Overall, why did the hunt become so widespread?

A
  • Deeply Puritan society of Salem/Massachusetts
  • Dangers associated w/Indian attacks heightened fear
  • Role of the girls meant the court had many witnesses prepared to testify against the accused
  • Social divisions in Salem- resentment+envy part of daily life
  • Role of individuals like Cotton Mather
  • Stoughton’s acceptance of spectral evidence
64
Q

What was the Province of Massachusetts Bay?

A

Formed by William and Mary after the Boston Rebellion led to the dissolution of the Dominion of New England. Combined Plymouth and Massachusetts.

Example of the unstable political conditions of colonial life

The Witch Craze (14 decks)

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