Salem Witch Trials: Bridget Bishop, Tituba, And Sarah Good

What had been just a suspicion turned into a craze, the conflict these people had created would kill many innocent people until a compromise was found. Most women accused as witches were older, ugly, and unkempt (Wilson; 26; Roach 84). If someone was different in any way they could be accused as a witch; age, physical disability, mental disability, looked down on, powerless, outcasts, or criminals (Smith; how). The witch trials would then continue, so special courts were needed. A special court was set up by Sir William Phips to decide the fate of the witches. The two courts were Oyer; to hear, and terminer; to decide the fate of witches (Cellania; Roach 3). People were accused as a witches if they denied their existence (Latson). All the witches had

1692. The year of ill children, women fits of convulsion, and hallucinations. The year also consisted of swimming tests and prayer tests for women with English Puritan backgrounds. The Salem witch trials occurred in Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. More than 300 people were accused of practicing witchcraft (the Devil 's magic). 20 woman were executed. Before all of this happened, life in Salem was like any normal day. Women and children had expectations as well as men did, you did not disobey God nor go against him, or act out of character. Life in the 1690’s was more of a man’s world and which always gave them the upper hand. Women were always looked down upon which gave men greater power. Unlike God’s followers (men), women were considered evil worshipers of the devil. During the trials, men proved that they really did have the upper hand.

Before being sold into slavery, Tituba was a native of New Spain. She was purchased by Samuel Parris in Barbados and brought to Boston in 1680. She, along with two others, was a slave to the Paris family. One was a Spanish Indian named John and the other was an African American boy who died at the age of fifteen due to unknown causes. Tituba did house work and cooked while John did the more labor-intensive work. Tituba also looked after Samuel’s daughter, Betty. Tituba and John got married in 1689, the same year the Parris family picked up and relocated to Salem Village. When the family moved to Salem, it was calm for a few years. However as rumors of witchcraft floated around the village, things became less than ordinary. (Roach, M. K. p. 819, 871,)

Bridget Bishop was the first victim in Salem. Bishop was a widow and had previously been accused of bewitching young girls and had a history of petty crimes such as theft. Bishop was executed at age 50. Alike Bishop, Susannah Martin and Elizabeth Howe had prior been accused of witchcraft and bewitching young girls. Prior charges had been dropped on Martin and Howe until they were brought back at the incline of accusations spreading through

Salem 1692, were witches real, were the people of salem in any danger, or was this all just a simple misunderstanding. There had never been an event so miscalculated in history question still is why had it happened? Back then the word that was feared the most was that one word that should almost dever be said, devil and it had its own name for a reason.

The year was 1692, when terror of witchcraft and the devil swept through the little Salem village. When the trials came about people turned on their enemies and even family turned on other family members with accusations of witchcraft. Throughout this process many people were hung or stoned to death because they were found guilty of having relations with the devil or for not admitting to witchcraft. Many books and articles have been published about the Salem witch trials but most of them were written in different ways by the approach the authors takes, how they interpret the information from that time period and the content they use. They also differ by the accounts they make towards certain individuals, along with the approach they take to tell what happened during the Salem witch trials. In the nonfiction book, The Devil In Massachusetts by Marion L. Starkey, she tells a dramatic story about what had happened before, during, and after the Salem witch trials, to make what she is saying more interesting. While compared to a nonfiction book, The Salem Wichcraft Trials: A Legal History written by a historian named Peter Charles Hoffer, where he is very straight forward because he uses factual evidence from primary and secondary source puritain writers and he gives those writers credit in his bibliographic essay.

In January of 1692, a pair of girls named Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams, who lived in Salem Village, Massachusetts claimed to everyone that they had become possessed by the devil. They started to engage in odd behavior, such as screaming, contorting their bodies, and throwing objects. They also claimed that some invisible being was also biting and pinching them. After this, other children started to exhibit the same types of behaviors. These girls accused a local group of 3 women, Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba to be guilty of witchcraft. Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne both claimed to be innocent. However, Tituba confessed and said “The devil came to be and bid me serve him.” Tituba was a slave to Samuel Parris, who was a minister. He was also and the father of Elizabeth Parris and uncle of Abigail Williams. Tituba also claimed in her testimony that there were other witches that were trying to harm the Puritans. As a result, the town went hysterical and panicked over the thought of witches living among them in Massachusetts. As these claims further developed, a court in Salem was set to listen to these cases and decide what to do about the claimed “witches”. The first was a woman by the name of Bridget Bishop. She was convicted of witchcraft and as a result, she was the first to be hanged in June of that same year. After Bridget’s trail, there were 18 more immediately following her. In the span of 1692-1693, 141 people were arrested, 19 were hanged, and one was pressed, or crushed, to death. These people included everyone from men and women, and even children.

The Salem Witch Trials started when a group of girls suddenly began to act odd, or somewhat strangely. According to History.com, when the doctor diagnosed the girls as bewitched, the girls accused a slave, by name of Tituba, and two other women of bewitching them. The entirety of Salem began to worry and that is when the accusations of many women being “witches” started. Although many women have been accused, there were also a few men and even two dogs that were accused of being witches! Many accused witches were outspoken women. The community mostly attacked women who were vulnerable or even considered morally weaker. Realistically, they feared women’s independence and even women themselves, so the colony and its leaders felt the need to attack

Have you ever been accused before? Ever been someone you shouldn't be? Well there is this crazy thunderstorm at the Salem, Massachusetts about witches. There are witches that been accused and executed in 1692. Some witches were hanged but also one of them got piled up with rocks .

Bridget Bishop was one of the 20 women killed and declared a witch by the Salem court. These were a direct consequence of the Puritan lifestyle occurring in the seventeenth century, and this influence in their justice system. In Chapter 4, Puritans strict interpretation of a godly society is underlined by the Salem witch trials. Puritan life was heavily shaped by the church and its Christian beliefs. There laws were also.

The court consisted of eight judges but in June judge Nathanial Saltonstall resigned because he did not agree with the trials. He was replaced by Jonathon Corwin. Bridget Bishops was the first person to be sentenced to death. She had been accused witchcraft years before but was cleared of crime. She was accused by five of the afflicted girls: Abigail W., Ann Putman Jr., Mercy L., Mary Walcott, and Elizabeth Hubbard. They stated that Bishop had physically hurt them and tried to make them sign a pact with the devil. Bridget repeatedly defended herself stating, “I am innocent as the unborn child.” She was quickly convicted and hanged on June tenth at Gallows

In Salem, witchcraft was not common until one day when a bunch of girls did not want to get caught for dancing. These girls lied about what they were doing and made it a bigger seen than it really was. They would have only gotten whipped for dancing, but instead the got many people killed. They were hung for witchcraft. This is why those girls are the dark forces in Salem. I also think that another dark force is jealousy and vengeance. These are not the main dark forces because many people did these things, but the girls are the main dark forces.

Tituba is Reverend Samuel Parris’s slave and is seen early with the girls practicing her traditional ceremonial acts, when soon she becomes the scapegoat for Salem’s witchcraft. Tituba is from Barbados, an island

Salem, MA- Bridget Bishop was hanged just moments ago on Gallows Hill after being found guilty of witchcraft. She has been the only person, so far, to be executed during this ‘Witch Hysteria’ of 1692. Besides Bridget, many more citizens have been accused, and are currently in jail waiting to be arraigned. According to officials, the upcoming days of this June will be busy for the Massachusetts General Court as all of the accused will have a chance to plead their innocence.

The Salem courthouse is where the witch trials were held. The court handed down its first conviction on June 2, 1622, against Bridget Bishop. She had been accused of witchcraft years before, but had been cleared of the crime. She was accused by five of the oppressed girls, including Mary Walcott, Ann Putnam Jr., Elizabeth Hubbard, Abigail Williams, and Mercy Lewis. These girls declared that Bridget had hurt them physically and tried to get them to