Witchcraft Hystreia in Massachusetts

One of the most important factors concerning the causes of the witchcraft trials in Salem is that they were part of an historical and social tradition that encompassed not only Massachusetts in the colonial period but humankind throughout much of recorded history. The trials, contrary to popular belief, were really not an aberration, but, in part, were a segment of a continuum begun in ancient times. In fact, the first known prosecution for witchcraft occurred in ancient Egypt in about 1300 BC (Fox 11). Kittredge goes so far as to state that "the belief in witchcraft is the common heritage of humanity. It is not chargeable to any particular times or race, or form of religion" (372).

Given this historical perspective, it is then not surprising that the trials of 1692 were but a continuation of trials that had been going on in Massachusetts for at least the last four decades prior to the Salem trials. There was a witch hung in Boston in 1648 and a total of about 15 were hung from that year to 1692. Given that 19 were hung in Salem in the year 1692, it is obvious that there was at

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s. Parris arrived in Salem in 1688. Not long after, there developed sides between the more established families of the town and the not so well established. Parris has been accused of being a major factor in the severity of the witch trails and this seems, to some extent, borne out by some of the statistics. There are 47 villagers whose position can be determined in 1692 at the time of the witch trials, and 1695 when Parris was asked, and then it was demanded, that he resign. According to Boyer and Nissenbaum, of these 45, 27 supported the trials by there testimony and of these 27, 21 signed a petition in support of Parris in 1695. Only six pro-trial villagers signed the anti-Parris petition. Of the twenty who registered their opposition to the trials, only one supported Parris in 1695 and 19 opposed him. What we see here is that while the trials were held under the guise of clearing the town of witches, there was an underlying political current that pervaded the proceedings. That the trials took place and to the extent that they did, is testimony to the vociferousness that accompanied the feelings towards Parris which was eventually to culminate in Parris' having to resign in 1696 and leave the Village in 1697 (185). A
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2694
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)