THE WITCHES OF SALEM

Introduction:

In the following piece of research I will be explaining about the trials of the witches , where they happened, how the trials came about and who they were.

The Witches of Salem.

Where the trials happened :

The trials happened in more than one town but Salem is the most widely known, and is located in the state of Massachusetts in America. Itwas already known as a town with problems as its 600 citizens were divided in their beliefs , between those who lived in the town and made a living from the sea and the other half who were farmers, who believed that they people of the town were not living according to the rules of Puritanism.

How the Trials Came About:

The Trials came about because of the extreme religious ideas of thePuritans. They were opposed to the Church of England and believed the following ideas, that; the loss of crops , children and livestock were all due to the wrath of God, that sinful behaviour was due to supernatural forces and that women were more likely to be devils.

The most important farming families of Salem had created their own church , in order to worship in their own way. They hadalso appointed a new Minister , Rev Samuel Parris, who believed in witchcraft.

In the Winter months there was not much for the people to do and so reading was a popular pastime. People were interested in books about prophecy and fortune telling and girls used to form small groups reading and practising these things . Betty Parris and Abigail Williams were part of a reading circle. They wouldalso practise the prophesies with the other girls , at one point the girls started to be scared of the results , so Betty Parris told her father the Rev Samuel Parris .

Having social and financial problems at home were causing her and her cousin Abigail Williams a lot of stress leading to unusual behaviour, which Samuel Parris decided could only have been caused by Witchcraft.

Who theywere :

The two girls named three women as witches, they were Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne and a slave woman called Tituba. People found it easy to believe that these 3 women were witches as Sarah Good was a homeless woman who used to beg, Sarah Osborne had not been to church in a year and Tituba was a slave woman who was from the Indies and looked different. During the trial Sarah Osborne andSarah Good maintained their innocence but Tituba confessed after three days of questioning.

After the trial the 3 witches wre taken to a Boston jail where Sarah Osborne died . Other people were accused including the former minister of Salem village and by the end of 1692 around 200 people had been jailed .

The first to be hanged was Bridget Bishop but more and more people were accused + thejails were full because people kept showing signs of being afflicted .However by October 1692 the population had begun to have enough plus it was felt that the innocent people had been put to death . The last trial was held in January 1693 , by which time 20 people had been put to death .

Crop failures and epidemics continued in Salem for years afterwords and the Puritans believed that Godwas punishing them for the hanging of innocent people .

Conclusion :

People were put to death jailed and lost their families due to ignorance, superstition that had been fed by epidemics , difficult living conditions and village politics . Even today these problems occur in other countries where there is poverty and bad education.

Therefore we can learn from history that illiteracy andpoor living standards in a large population . Even today this can result in witchhunts and innocent people ar still dying because of this .This shows us how important education is .

THE WITCHES OF SALEM

Introduction:

In the following piece of research I will be explaining about the trials of the witches , where they happened, how the trials came about and who they were.

The Witches…