salem witch trials

Question 1

what did Puritans want to establish within Massachusetts

Answer 1

> theocratic institutions
creation of a godly state

Question 2

what year was the first Witchcraft Act and what did this entail in New England hunts

Answer 2

> introduced in 1641
individuals who were suspected witches were put to death

Question 3

how many individuals were executed for witchcraft before the Salem Witch Trials

Answer 3

> 15 women
2 men

Question 4

why were JP’s reluctant to persecute individuals of witchcraft in New England

Answer 4

there was judicial scepticism in England which meant the JP’s demanded proof rather than suspicion

Question 5

when was the Boston Case

Answer 5

1688-1689

Question 6

what was occurring with the Goodwin children that became strange

Answer 6

> sudden pains
flapping their arms

Question 7

who was in charge of the Boston case

Answer 7

Cotton Mather who was a Boston minister and concluded they had been bewitched

Question 8

who was charged and persecuted in the Boston Case

Answer 8

Mary Glover a washerwoman

Question 9

what was the 1684 Massachusetts charter and what did it give the Puritans in New England

Answer 9

> had given the Puritans religious freedom and almost a total theocracy
this charter was old and needed to be changed

Question 10

who was in charge of the Dominion of New England and was ousted in 1689

Answer 10

Sir Edward Andros

Question 11

what was the Glorious Revolution

Answer 11

Catholic James II was replaced by the Protestant William of Orange and Mary

Question 12

when was a new charter created for Massachusetts and what did it state

Answer 12

> created in 1691
stated that Massachusetts was under English law and had to allow religious toleration within the colony

Question 13

when were the King Williams Wars

Answer 13

1689

Question 14

who was the war fought between

Answer 14

English colonists and the French backed Wabanaki Natives

Question 15

why did the King William’s Wars affect Salem

Answer 15

> many men, women and children died over the winter of 1691-92 and there were massacres of savagery
By 1691 the Wabanaki tribe were only 50 miles away from Salem
children became more aware and worried by what they heard from their parents

Question 16

how many residents did the Salem village have and what kinds of disputes occurred

Answer 16

> 600 residents
disputes occurred over property and church privileges
dispute between two families: Porters vs Putnams

Question 17

what did the Putnams want for the Salem Village and who were they supported by

Answer 17

> wanted to sever village from Salem Town and establish their own government and worship
there main supporters were farmers in the town

Question 18

what influence did the Putnams have within the villages church

Answer 18

> they appointed George Burroughs as minister in 1681
1689 Samuel Parris became the village minister

Question 19

what did the Porters want for Salem village and who were there supporters

Answer 19

> supported by the more entrepreneurial and commercial individuals
wanted to keep ties to Salem Town

Question 20

who controlled the anti-Parris faction and how did this risk the power of Samuel Parris

Answer 20

> 1691 the Putnam faction were ousted
by 1692 Parris was worried the Porter committee affected his salary

Question 21

who were the individuals and accusers involved in the Salem Witch Trials

Answer 21

> Betty Parris aged 9- daughter of Samuel Parris
- she was behaving oddly such as lashing out and diving under furniture
Abigail Williams- Betty’s cousin
- both girls stated they were pricked and pinched by invisible agents
- girls who visited Abigail and Betty started to act strangely similar
Ann Putnam Jr- Putnams daughter
Mercy Lewis- maid in the Putnam household

Question 22

what do individuals believed caused these symptoms in the girls afflicted

Answer 22

> possession neuroses
psychological hysteria due to Native American fear
convulsive ergotism
attention

Question 23

what was the Witch Cake and did this involve Tituba

Answer 23

> Parris’ neighbour instructed a Native slave, John to use English counter magic to make a cake
rye meal and urine from the afflicted was fed to a dog which caused the witch to cry in pain and be identified
Tituba an African or Native slave made this cake
Parris criticised the use of counter-magic

Question 24

who were the three women who were originally accused and why

Answer 24

. the girls afflicted claimed they had seen apparitions of the people responsible
> Tituba- she was a slave and was visibly, socially and legally an outsider
> Sarah Good- was a beggar and been accused of being a witch years prior
> Sarah Osborne- she was old and rarely attended church

Question 25

what did Tituba claim within the accusations taking place in court

Answer 25

she claimed to be approached by a tall man in Boston who stated he was God. She also confirmed that Good and Osborne were both witches and involved in a sabbat in Massachusetts. These claims were based of maleficium and diabolism

Question 26

what other women were accused by the girls and why do people consider this to do with the the feud between the Putnams and Porters

Answer 26

> Rebecca Nurse was accused, she was a member of a family that was in a feud with the Putnams > Sarah Cloyse (Rebecca's sister) was also accused

Question 27

what was the touching test

Answer 27

suspects had to touch the girls during their fits and if the girls stopped the suspect was guilty

Question 28

who was also accused within the trial (men) and religions

Answer 28

> George Burroughs who was a Baptist > among the accused were Quakers

Question 29

what happened to Tituba during the accusations

Answer 29

she became an informer to other accused and was later cleared by a grand jury

Question 30

who was the new governor of New England

Answer 30

William Phips

Question 31

what court did he create to deal with the Salem situation

Answer 31

The Court of Oyer and Terminer

Question 32

who was William Staughton

Answer 32

became the chief judge of the court

Question 33

what was the judicial system like in Salem

Answer 33

> judges questioned witnesses and pressured jurors > defendants had to speak for themselves > defendants could bring witnesses of good character > spectral evidence was used to indict and a confession was used to convict

Question 34

when did the first trial take place in Salem

Answer 34

2nd June 1692 and Staughton as chief magistrate

Question 35

who was Bridget Bishop and what happened with her trial

Answer 35

> her case was brought to the grand jury which endorsed all indictments against her. Her trial was on the same day. > she was disliked in the community and many were ready to give evidence against her > Bishop was executed on the 10th June

Question 36

what did the grand jury do against the accusations of Rebecca Nurse and John Willard

Answer 36

they endorsed all indictments

Question 37

who did the court seek advice from

Answer 37

Massachusetts ministers

Question 38

what did Cotton Mather suggest to judges

Answer 38

> cautioned not to rely on spectral evidence alone > Cotton Mather encouraged the judges to finish the work which they started

Question 39

when did the second and sessions/ trials take place

Answer 39

30th June to early July

Question 40

what happened to Sarah Good and Rebecca Nurse

Answer 40

> jury endorsed all indictments against Sarah Good > Good and Nurse went on trial > All 5 women were executed > Sarah's child, 5 year old Dorothy Good remained in prison

Question 41

who was executed in the third trials and why did this cause some scepticism in Salem

Answer 41

> George Burroughs and John Willard were convicted and executed > Burroughs had 30 people testify against him of being a witch > he was able to give a sermon at the gallows including the Lords Prayer without falter, which witches were not able to do

Question 42

what happened in Andover

Answer 42

> 50 out of 156 admitted complicity > 43 out of 50 confessions came from Andover which was a village of 600 people

Question 43

what happened at the fourth and fifth sessions/ trials

Answer 43

> 18 more people were indicted > Giles Corey was a 71 year old farmer who was pressed by rocks to illicit a confession. Took him two days to die > 8 more people were executed

Question 44

what happened to the court

Answer 44

Governor Phips delayed October sitting and then disbanded the court

Question 45

who was Samuel Willard

Answer 45

he was a Boston Minister who objected the trials in his book Miscellany Observations

Question 46

who was Increase Mathers

Answer 46

he was the head of the Ministerial Association, a body of Puritan church leaders in Massachusetts. He was critical of spectral evidence and believed witchcraft should have evidence just like a normal crime. Believed it would be better ten witches escape than kill and innocent individual

Question 47

what did Phips do in Oct 1692

Answer 47

-> disbanded the court -> let 7 suspects go home -> reprieved 5 in gaol awaiting execution -> tried to stop further arrests

Question 48

when was the Superior Court of Judicature established and what did this include

Answer 48

> established in 1693 > the court of assize and general gaol delivery in Salem was headed by Staughton > Phips stopped Staughton from admitting spectral evidence > 31 people indicted and tried and only 3 found guilty > Staughton wrote a warrant for the execution of 3 women which Phips had pardoned > Staughton resigned

Question 49

when did Reverend Parris lose his church post

Answer 49

1696