The Salem Witch Hunt

Question 1

When did accusations begin in Salem?
+
How many were accused?
+
How many were executed during the trials?

Answer 1

1692
+
200 accused of witchcraft
+
20 we’re executed

Question 2

What % accused were women and how many were men?

Answer 2

80% we’re women
+
5 we’re Men

Question 3

How’d did the hunt come about?

Answer 3

It came about due to fear and isolation within the community which manifested in hysteria and panic over the threat of witches

Question 4

What happened in Salem 1630?

Answer 4

It was a difficult time for England’s puritans, Charles I + the archbishop Pursue high church policies and punish radicals
+
First settles arrive in Salem, including governor John Winthrop and 800 colonists
+
10,000 Puritans migrate to Massachusetts from 1630-1642

Question 5

What happened in Salem (1640-50)

Answer 5

The colony economic conditions improved due to successful trade in fur and lumber, as well as the growth of the fishing industry
+
A merchant class begins to emerge

Question 6

What happens in Salem 1660

Answer 6

Charles II becomes King
+
Colony grows resistant to Charles II attempts to establish a Church of England there due to Puritanism being the dominant faith
+
Taxes must be paid to the church, only church members + non-puritans could be banished

Question 7

What happens in Salem 1680?

Answer 7

Attempts are made by Charles II in 1678 and 1681 to revoke the royal charter and consolidate all New England colonies into one to centralise control
+
Met with fierce resistance by puritan authorities and Massachusetts colonies
+
Charter not revoked until 1684

Question 8

Who is Charles II replaced by?

Answer 8

James II, a catholic

Question 9

What we’re the causes of the Salem girl’s behaviours?

Answer 9

Asthma attacks
Psychological hysteria
Possession neurosis

Question 10

Who was tituba?

Answer 10

A slave in the Parris household who was asked to bake a “witch cake” by an aunt of one of the effected girls

Question 11

Who filed a witchcraft charge against tituba?

Answer 11

Samuel parris, due to him become suspicious of tituba

Question 12

Why was tituba asked to make a witch cake?

Answer 12

Tituba was most likely of mixed Caribbean/African heritage meaning she had knowledge of magical West Indian practices

Question 13

Why was Tituba under suspicion?

Answer 13

She was an ethnic minority and had knowledge of spiritual practices

Question 14

What did tituba do when she was questioned?

Answer 14

Confessed to the Devils pact
Named other witches
Later claimed she was beaten by Paris and forced to confess

Question 15

19-25th Feb 1692 Betty, Abigail, and mercy accused who of afflicting them?

Answer 15

Tituba: A slave who was visually, socially, and legally an outsider

Sarah Good: A beggar already suspected of witchcraft

Sarah Osborne: An old woman who rarely attended church

Question 16

What had the Salem girls become?

Answer 16

Witch finders
May 1692 they only had to name someone to secure and arrest. They knew false accusations were punishable by death

Question 17

How did the Salem girls get their information?

Answer 17

Inadvertently from adults around them as to who was considered suspicious or who were social outcasts

Question 18

Who was Increase Mather?

Answer 18

A we’ll respected Puritan, father of Cotton Mather, and president of Harvard University

Question 19

What was “Cases of Conscience Concerning Evil spirits?

Answer 19

A pamphlet published on the 3rd Oct by Increase that criticised spectral evidence + it declared that evidence of witchcraft must be as clear as any other crime

Question 20

Who was Cotton Mather?
+ what age did he graduate Harvard?

Answer 20

One of the most influential Puritan religious leaders
+
15

Question 21

What was Salem’s Economy based on?

Answer 21

farming, with people being charged with witchcraft there were less farmers to tend to their crops

Question 22

What impact did the witch trials have on the community of Salem?

Answer 22

Hatred and resentment arose among the people who’d accused each other

Question 23

Why did Samuel Parris fear for his family in 1697?

Answer 23

Wrote privately in his diary that god would punish his family for not stopping the trials

Question 24

How did Salem deal with the accused relatives and those accused in 1697?

Answer 24

General court declared a day of fasting and Soul-searching

Question 25

What year was all those accused pronounced innocent?

Answer 25

1957

Question 26

What Happened in relation to the trials in 1702

Answer 26

Trials were declared unlawful

Question 27

What Happened in relation to the trials in 1703

Answer 27

Another petition was put forward that requested a more equitable settlement, not much was done

Question 28

What Happened in relation to the trials in 1709

Answer 28

22 People who’d been convicted or relatives of them demanded their land back

Question 29

What Happened in relation to the trials in 1711

Answer 29

General Court passed a bill reversing judgement against the 22 people from 1709. 2 moths later they received £578.60 was authorised to be divided among the 22

Question 30

How many people occupied Salem in 1692?

Answer 30

Salem had 600 residents and was known for many internal disputes about property, church privileges, etc

Question 31

What we’re the 2 major settlements in Salem?

Answer 31

Salem Village and Salem Town, Salem village attempted to break away from Salem Town this was heavily resisted by Salem town

Question 32

Who were the 2 most prosperous families in Salem

Answer 32

The Putnams and the Porters

Question 33

What Did the Putnams want that the Porters didn’t

Answer 33

The Putnams wanted to sever the village from Salem Town to establish a a local government, however the porters favoured closer ties