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Hot off the press, in this morning's New England Historical Society's eblast, Massachusetts, When Satan Came To Salem in 1692, (link). Excerpt:
Quote:
On May 27, Phips created the Court of Oyer and Terminer, which included nine judges led by Stoughton (the Lieutenant Governor). Then Phips (the Royal Governor) prepared to leave for Maine to fight the French and Indians. When Satan came to Salem, William Stoughton did battle with him.
Early on, Stoughton made the key decision to allow the admission of spectral evidence – acts by demons that only an accuser can see. With spectral evidence allowed, Stoughton’s court set about trying and executing witches with astonishing speed.
Stoughton also set another rule that moved things along, one that encouraged (or tortured) the accused into confessing they practiced witchcraft. The court spared those who confessed. Those who would not confess risked death.
**** The New Year
Though Phips had put an end to the Court of Oyer and Terminer, accused witches still awaited judgment. A half dozen still lingered on death row. The Superior Court of Judicature then met in December to try the remaining cases.
On Dec. 16, 1692, Phips issued an order: the court could not admit spectral evidence. The court proceedings rolled on, but the accusations stopped. No spectral evidence, no witches. The Devil came to Salem no more.
Then on Jan. 31, 1693, a little more than a year after Betty Parris and Abigail Williams first had fits, Phips reprieved all condemned witches and countermanded Stoughton’s execution warrant. Stoughton furiously claimed the governor had advanced the Kingdom of Satan.
I've heard a case made for the deaths of "witches" in Europe being instigated by the newly burgeoning male medical folks and aided by the churches. A great majority of the hapless witches had held the market on midwifery and natural medicine with a little hocus-pocus thrown in for effect.
In Salem I have read that the impetus for destroying many of the people who were murdered was a land grab disguised as an effort to drive out evil.
Can't produce sources off the top of my head but anyone interested can find supporting material on the web for this revision of history.
Elizabeth Jackson Howe, the daughter-in-law of my 12th great grandfather James Howe Sr. was one of the women accused of witchcraft in Salem and given a death sentence. When I read about this topic, it is one of those things that I relate to a bit more personally knowing that a distant relative was one of the victims of the trials.
Christian primitivism at its high point. Visions of evil, mass hysteria and witches doing Satans bidding. Oftentimes the victims were people who the accusers had a grudge with or were just the misfits of the community.
I'd be inclined to say greed hiding under the guise of Christianity was the true culprit. In fact much of what we criticize the power of the church about could be wicked people using the church to achieve their ends. They certainly weren't practicing New Testament Christian principles when this started and the reason was fear for their own lives.
But in Salem's time, as well as early America's spread across the prairies, the church was a social binding factor. People had to be in accord with each other in order to survive. The churches served as a place to socialize, feel safe with others of your kind. "If you didn't attend the trials or testify against your neighbors, you were considered suspect. These people were then accused of witchcraft."
One of the women was said to be a witch because she never attended church. Anyone who was socially savvy knew to go whether they believed or not so she was marking herself as untrustworthy in loyalty to the group.
More important many of the women accused were widows with no one to stand up for them. Many were also landowners and the law was about to be changed.
It had been only those who attended church could vote but that was changing. "Why would they steal the land? The new Governor had changed the voting rights law from only those who were members of the church could vote to only those who owned land were able to vote." The accusers waited until the Governor was out of town to start their trouble.
Even "good" people ran the risk of being accused eventually the panic got so bad. So there was reason to lie to support made up testimony. I believe even the judge claimed to have witnessed a manifestation. Mass hysteria.
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Originally Posted by Lodestar
Mad with greed, perhaps?
I've heard a case made for the deaths of "witches" in Europe being instigated by the newly burgeoning male medical folks and aided by the churches. A great majority of the hapless witches had held the market on midwifery and natural medicine with a little hocus-pocus thrown in for effect.
In Salem I have read that the impetus for destroying many of the people who were murdered was a land grab disguised as an effort to drive out evil.
Can't produce sources off the top of my head but anyone interested can find supporting material on the web for this revision of history.
There were quite a few witch trials in England, the most famous being the Pendle Witch trials in 1612, which were held at Lancaster Castle, which you can still visit today, as well as York Assizes, which was replaced by a new crown court in the seventeen hundreds.
The most famous witch finder, was Matthew Hopkins (( c. 1620 – 1647), the so called Witchfinder General, who in his relatively short life, was responsible for the execution of over 100 witches.
Lancaster Castle, which was known as the Assizes, is still a Crown Court, and cases are still heard there to this day, some 410 years after the Pendle Witch trials.
There is also a Pendle Witch Walk around the castle, and the Castle has had some refurbishment in recent years.
Those found guilty of witchcraft during the Pendle trials were take from the Castle to nearby Gallows Hill where they were executed, the spot is close to what is the Ashton Memorial at Willamson Park, whilst the executions in York took place on the Knavesmire, the present site of York Racecourse.
York Assizes were originally in the Castle and among the most famous trial held at the Assizes was that of Highwayman Dick Turpin, who was sentenced to death and executed at the Gallows at nearby Knavesmire.
The witch craze was from King James of Scotland who wanted the English throne. Queen Elizabeth was old and childless. He made his case by killing women/witches to prove his worthiness. The witch trails jumped from England/Scotland to the New World - Salem.
In the end, it had nothing to do with Christianity but raw political power.
I've heard a case made for the deaths of "witches" in Europe being instigated by the newly burgeoning male medical folks and aided by the churches. A great majority of the hapless witches had held the market on midwifery and natural medicine with a little hocus-pocus thrown in for effect.
In Salem I have read that the impetus for destroying many of the people who were murdered was a land grab disguised as an effort to drive out evil.
Can't produce sources off the top of my head but anyone interested can find supporting material on the web for this revision of history.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lodestar
I took time to find an article about the land the "witches" owned which was then confiscated.
You often come across it when doing New England genealogy. One ancestor piled his wife and kids onto a boat, his furniture onto a huge raft and floated over to the newly opened lands of Rhode Island when, after a trial, the husband chastized him for not speaking up in defense of his wife. (The wife was found not guilty, thank goodness.)
I recently learned that another ancestor was responsible for the death of Rebecca Nurse, a well known "witch." It was about some land that she had. He failed again and again but this monster kept trying until finally she was found guilty and was killed. He got his land.
These incidents occurred in the Mass Bay Colony after it had spread out from Boston to include areas in northern MA such as Salisbury, Amesbury, Ipswich, and Newbury. The Puritans lived in fear of the devil and had to adhere strictly to everything the New Testament said. Some of the results can be said to be positives, such as how they all stuck together to survive or how they emphasized knowledge and founded Harvard University in 1636. They were well educated people who encouraged learning and to establish a university that soon is quite an accomplishment.
Unfortunately, back in those days the religious leaders were also the political leaders and that combination led to people who used the religion to achieve their own means. They could threaten the believers so that they could get their way and the people believed their ministers 100%. There was nothing to temper that amount of power, no balance, and no one dared to challenge it.
When any new settlement was founded, one person would quickly set up a church in their home and everyone was required to attend. They built churches as fast as they could, each one being about five miles from the next so that there was no excuse for anyone to not attend. The religious fanaticism was out of control and people were warned in church that the devil could get them, they were warned to be watchful and to conform and to keep an eye on their neighbors. The ministers brainwashed them with threats of "fire" and "brimstone" if they strayed off the path--the devil would get them.
This environment led to the witchcraft scandals. Fear of the devil, strict rules for behavior, political gain mixed in with religious power, and no freedom to be even a little bit different must have put a lot of pressure on the people and the only thing they were allowed to turn to was the Bible. It's not that hard to take the written word and twist it, misinterpret it, and apply it any way you wish. So they used the New Testament as a tool for circumventing some of the rules. Can't steal your neighbor's land? Well, accuse them of witchcraft then. Neighbor lady too loud and bossy? Well, you can probably find something in the New Testament that will cure that!
A town historian in that area told me that often the reason for the accusation was simply that the woman was outspoken and the men wanted women to be "in their place." As you walk among the old gravestones in the burying grounds today, sometimes the only bright moments are when you see a stone of a woman buried there who was accused of witchcraft but the case was overturned. This was more likely to have happened towards the end of the witchcraft era and it only ended for good when someone accused the governor's wife of being a witch.
That was about 1693.
I think, like the article said, the reasons were multiple and we are coming up with a few of them.
I've thought of another. A single women was especially vulnerable in those days. (I'm in mind of street people talking about pretending to be crazy to keep people from approaching them.) It's possible that some of those accused women had developed the habit of pretending to have powers to frighten people from hurting them.
Another - it still is common today to label a woman as crazy/dangerous when she has been threatened or molested by someone with power. Perhaps some of them needed to be silenced.
And also, in historical accounts, I've read quite a bit about women settlers losing their rationality even when they had families and spouses. The New World was a frightening place. Everything hung in such a fine balance. One misstep or act of fate and a person's whole world could be jeopardized. There is a chance that many of those involved, accused and accusers, could have been suffering from PTSD or other mental trauma.
Have we really changed that much since then? I see witch hunts whenever I turn on the computer. And many of us
enjoy watching the trainwrecks even if we don't participate.
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When Satan came to Salem, William Stoughton did battle with him.
