Causes Of The Salem Witchcraft Trials

The year 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts was a time of fear and allegation provoked by religious fanatics and young girls who shared stories of witchcraft. It was the time of the Salem Witch Trials. The famous witch-hunt is much more than just a part of America’s history, it is also a major addition to the history of women. Witchcraft is defined as the practice of magic, and it is believed to be possible through associations with the devil. The concept of witchcraft induces ideas about women, bringing

Witchcraft is the use of magical powers. Witchcraft is often regarded as “black” magic. The article called “The Salem Witch Trials: 1692-1693” states that “[s]ince the early fifteenth century, so-called witch panics had periodically swept across Europe, causing witch hunts, accusations, trials and executions” (“Salem” 1). Although some children and males were accused, the greater part of the arraigned individuals were female (“Salem” 1). A debatable amount of around forty thousand individuals were

to understand.” The witchcraft trials of 1692 are still certainly shrouded by boundless amounts of mystery. For decades, the exact reasons for which the many citizens of Salem Massachusetts were accused of witchcraft remain unclear. Furthermore, the strange events and symptoms that the people documented in salem during the time of the witchcraft trials also remain somewhat inexplicable. During this relatively brief span of time, more than 200 people were accused of witchcraft, and 20 were executed

Beginning in 1692 in the small farming community of Salem Village, Massachusetts Bay Colony, young girls fell ill and initiated odd behavior. Physicians determining the cause of the outbursts deemed impossible, leaving one option remaining: witchcraft. Now, with the supernatural rumors spreading throughout the minuscule Puritan community, commenced a mass hysteria. Neighbors accused neighbors, daughters accused mothers, even a dog was tried and killed. A year later, the paranoia and fear settled

In 1692, the British colony of Massachusetts endured abnormal accusations of witchcraft against more than 150 people (Prentice Hall Literature, p. 1087). Many factors caused the witchcraft hysteria to come alive during the 1600’s. Two important factors were: Daemonologie, written by England’s King James I, and the bewildering behavior of the accusing teenage girls. While Arthur Miller explains that the accusations could have been made over the lust for land, there are also reasons not explained:

In 1692 the area of Salem town and Salem village became very vulnerable to conflict. Severe weather such as hurricanes had damaged land and crops, the effects of King Phillips War began to impact New England society, and colonists were being forced off of the frontiers by Native peoples. The Church and the government were in heavy conflict. And those residing in Salem began to grow suspicious of one another when some prospered and others hadn’t (Marcus, p13). Suddenly people seemed very paranoid

The Salem trials have been analyzed psychologically, anthropologically, theologically, and demographically (Goss preface). Many theories of the causes of the events in Salem have surfaced such as religion, behavior, and illness. The Puritan belief system of witchcraft originates back to ancient times from early Mesopotamian civilization. The Mesopotamian religion was polytheistic and they believed that gods created demons, and they could be good or evil. The Puritans also followed Hammurabi’s Code

Before 1692, the supernatural was a part of people’s everyday normal life. This is so as people strongly believed that Satan was present and active on earth. Men and women in Salem Village believed that all the misfortunes that befell them were the work of the devil. For example, when things like infant death, crop failures or friction among the congregation occurred, people were quick to blame the supernatural. This concept first emerged in Europe around the fifteenth century and then spread to

What cause the Salem Witch Trials? In Massachusetts there was an uproar about people practicing witchcraft. People were accused of practicing witchcraft and were hung. When people are wrongfully accused of something is generally means that they did not do something that others think they did. The witch trials it lasted for about a year and a half until Massachusetts finally apologized for the uproar. The Salem Witch Trials happened a long time ago and there are still stories of the witch trials

Causes of the Salem Witch Trials. In 1692 Salem, Massachusetts, experienced death, dying crops, young girls doing strange dancing and barking like wild dogs. By most religious views witchcraft had ivated Salem. Witchcraft was the worst crime a person could commit. If caught experimenting witchcraft that person would be put on trial and given a sentence of life in prison, or death. This was the beginning of the Salem witch trials. The witch trials were caused by extreme religious views, economic