What influenced the Salem witch trials?
According to Pestana, there are five major factors which contributed to the Salem Witch Trials: government instability, religious insecurity, a “desire to combat atheism,” fear of Native American attack, and the increasingly oppressive overseas authority of the English government.
How did fear cause the Salem witch trials?
The Salem witch trials occurred in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. Fear of being labeled a witch sends shock waves through the community. The girls are able to make accusations on people because they seek their weaknesses and prey on their fears.
How old was the youngest person accused of witchcraft in Salem?
This sent panic throughout the Village of Salem and led to accusations of more than 200 local citizens over the next several months, including Dorothy “Dorcas” Good who was by far the youngest accused at age 4 (she spent eight months in the prison’s dungeon before being released) along with her mother, Sarah Good (who …
How many people died during the Salem witch trials?
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than two hundred people were accused. Thirty were found guilty, nineteen of whom were executed by hanging (fourteen women and five men).
What was the main cause of witch hunts?
The causes of witch-hunts include poverty, epidemics, social crises and lack of education. The leader of the witch-hunt, often a prominent figure in the community or a “witch doctor”, may also gain economic benefit by charging for an exorcism or by selling body parts of the murdered.
What ultimately ended the Salem witch trials?
Trials resumed in January and February, but of the 56 persons indicted, only 3 were convicted, and they, along with everyone held in custody, had been pardoned by Phips by May 1693 as the trials came to an end.
What crimes did witches commit?
Witch trials in the early modern period
- Bride burning.
- Dowry death.
- Honor killing.
- Femicide.
- Infanticide.
- Matricide.
- Pregnant women.
- Sati.