Cotton Mather Faced Accusations Of Witchcraft?

Cotton Mather, a prominent author and preacher, wrote an account of the Salem witch trials in 1693. He believed that God directly intervened in the establishment of the trials, and despite his belief in the existence of witchcraft, he was one of the leading accusers of Ann Glover, who was accused of bewitching the Goodwin children. Despite her proclaimed innocence, she became the last person in Boston to be hanged.

Mathews, the minister of Boston’s Old North church, was a true believer in witchcraft and investigated the strange behavior of four children of a Boston mason named John Goodwin. In “Wonders”, he set out to countermine the whole plot of the devil against New England. Between 1692 and 1693, over 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts. Scholars suggest that Mather’s dramatic descriptions of the devil’s activity upon the young Goodwin children may have led to the first cry of witchcraft among the community.

When accusations of witchcraft arose in Salem Village in 1692, Mather was incapacitated by a serious illness, which he attributed to overwork. It is likely that Mather, like many others, truly believed witchcraft was at work in Salem and demanded intervention. However, both credible Christians and those executed for witchcraft trials were friends of Mather and members of his church.

Cotton Mather had a great deal of experience with witches, and his writings about witchcraft, misconceptions about his role in the Salem witch trials, and his legacy today are discussed.

What happened to Cotton Mather in Salem?

In Salem, Cotton becomes romantically involved with Gloriana, a local “fallen woman”, and tries to lead citizens to safety but becomes doubtful about his father’s extremist methods. After Gloriana is banished, Cotton is enticed by Anne Hale’s spell, leading him to infernal turmoil. Cotton dreams of wandering around a dark and deserted Salem, chased by a menacing presence. He is attacked by Anne Hale, who pulls out Brown Jenkins, who is actually Brown Jenkins.

The Reverend, exhausted from the process, begs Anne to kill him, but Anne refuses. Sebastian magically appears in the room and offers to end Cotton’s miserable life. Cotton manages to slap Anne, but is magically halted by her puppetry. John Alden, who came to interrogate Anne about Cotton’s disappearance, is unable to help. The story highlights the deep-seated evil within us all, with some lying deeper than others.

Which sisters were accused of witchcraft?

In 1692, Sarah Cloyce, along with her sisters Rebecca Nurse and Mary Easty, were accused of witchcraft by Joanna Towne of Topsfield. Witches were often members of the same family, especially women. Rebecca Nurse was accused of witchcraft in March, when she left the meetinghouse after Reverend Parris planned to discuss the devil’s existence within the church. Cloyce slammed the door behind her, and the accusers turned their attention to her.

Abigail Williams claimed that 40 witches mocked the Lord’s Supper by holding their own ceremony at the village parsonage, with Sarah Cloyce and Sarah Good being the deacons who served the sacrament of blood and red flesh.

Was Cotton Mather against slavery?

Cotton Mather, a prominent Puritan, was not against slavery but enslaved several people in his household. He defended the practice as biblically rooted and claimed that black-skinned slaves were washed white with baptism, becoming “the Free-men of the Lord” while still enslaved. In his pamphlet, The Negro Christianized, Mather urged slave-owners to teach their “servants” Christianity, treating them as spiritual brethren and treating them justly and kindly.

Mather wrote over 400 works, including Magnalia Christi Americana, an ecclesiastical history of America from the founding of New England to his time, and Manuductio ad Ministerium, a handbook of advice for young graduates to the ministry. His ambitious 20-year work on biblical learning was interrupted by his death, only five years after his father’s death. He was widowed twice and had 15 children by his three wives, but only two survived him.

Who was accused for witchcraft?

In 1692, Sarah Cole (II) Lynn, Elizabeth Colson, Glens Corey, and Martha Corey were accused of witchcraft in their respective towns. Each woman was accused of witchcraft in her own town and reading.

What was Cotton Mather best known for?

Cotton Mather, born on February 12th 1663 into a family of prominent Puritan ministers, was known for his involvement in the witch trials in Salem during the 1690s. Born into a family of renowned New England Puritan ministers, including Rev. John Cotton and Rev. Richard Mather, Mather was destined to achieve fame. His father, Rev. Increase Mather, held a prominent position as a political leader, minister of the South Church in Boston, and the president of Harvard College.

Despite his success as a political leader or president of Harvard, Mather made his mark through his efforts as a master of the pen. By the end of his life, he had published over400 works, ranging from the subject of witchcraft to smallpox inoculation. His publication, CuriosaAmericana (1712-24), demonstrated his abilities as an accomplished scientist and earned him election to the Royal Society of London, England.

Mathew’s interest in the craft and actions of Satan won him an audience with the most powerful figures involved in the trial proceedings, such as judges and local ministers in Salem. Mather’s account, Remarkable Providences, detailed the possession of the children of the Goodwin family of Boston and provided the behavioral model for the circle of “afflicted” girls during the trials in Salem.

Mathew used his experience with the Goodwins to further his notion that New England was in fact a battleground with Satan. Similar themes appear in his sermons and the Preface to one of his children’s books, warning young readers that they must lie forever and go to hell and burn with the devil and his angels.

Secularly, Mather’s dramatic descriptions of the devil’s activity upon the young Goodwin children may have led to the first cry of witchcraft among the young girls in Salem Village.

Which queen was accused of being a witch?

Between 1419 and 1536, five English noble women, including three queen consorts, were accused of witchcraft in England. These cases are surprising due to the prevalence of malevolent sorcery among these elite women, which typically came from lower classes. Additionally, these instances occurred nearly a century before witch-hunting reached its peak in England.

Elite women who were exceptionally wealthy, influential, and attempted to control the English Crown were the most likely candidates to be associated with witchcraft. This association could come in the form of direct accusations or more subtle posthumous charges, as seen with Anne Boleyn. A woman’s enemies would use the accusation to vilify her and remove her from a position of authority. The context of these accusations also revealed that they took place during periods of political disunity.

The accusation of witchcraft was used by their enemies as scapegoats to explain the difficulties and anxieties their society was experiencing at the time, allowing them to restore power or establish their right to rule. The accusation of witchcraft was particularly concerning for women who were wealthy, influential, and sought to take control of the English Crown.

In conclusion, the accusations against these noble women highlight the vulnerability of these women to witch-hunting and the potential for societal repercussions.

Did Cotton Mather cause the Great Awakening?

Cotton Mather and Jonathan Edwards were prominent New England ministers who emphasized the tension between reason and inspiration, which led to the Great Awakening. Mather argued that reason is the innate and unique capacity of mankind to recognize universal truths, whether in science or morality. He argued that reason can provide basic religious insights and that all men have a duty to act in accordance with reason, both in civil and religious matters.

Edwards, on the other hand, put less confidence in human reason. He recognized and respected man’s natural capacity for reason as a divine gift and a means by which men can acquire knowledge of God’s nature and purposes for mankind. He argued that men cannot truly experience faith until they receive the “divine light” of inspiration, which is an entirely internal and individual experience.

In their sermons, Mather and Edwards emphasized the importance of reason in religion and the relationship of the church to broader society. While Mather asserted that there are things that must be taken on faith as “above reason”, Edwards only vaguely addressed the outward manifestations of faith.

Who was the first girl accused of witchcraft?

Tituba, a Native South American female slave owned by Parris, was the first to be accused of witchcraft by Betty and Abigail. She confessed and accused others, first naming Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne. The Parris Household, including the Putnams and other “afflicted” girls, was led by Pastor Samuel Parris, who preached about the Devil’s work. Elizabeth “Betty” Parris and Abigail Williams, the first of the “afflicted” girls, began experiencing unexplained fits in January 1692 after experimenting with fortune-telling.

They remained the main accusers throughout the trials. Tituba was the first to tell elaborate stories about rituals and animal familiars, leading to further accusations. Parris refused to pay her jailing costs, so she spent thirteen months in jail before someone else paid for her. Her fate after being released is unknown.

Who was the woman accused of being witches?

Three women were arrested on March 1 for witchcraft, including Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba, Parris’s Indian slave. Tituba confessed and identified more witches from Salem. The suspects were marked for class and race, and local magistrates John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin coerced a false confession from Tituba. The next two defendants were Rebecca Nurse and Martha Cory, both fully covenanted church members and of high social standing. They were accused of witchcraft based on “spectral evidence”, which meant disembodied spirits were sent through dreams or visions with the help of Satan to harm victims.

The accused were interrogated in public, and during questioning, the purported victims exhibited dramatic reactions while townspeople watched. The case highlights the difficulty in defending individuals accused of witchcraft and the potential consequences of such accusations.

Who was the youngest person jailed for witchcraft?

Dorothy Good, the youngest person to be arrested and jailed in 1692, was accused of practicing witchcraft at the age of four. She was confined to a dungeon-like prison for nearly eight months, initially with her mother and infant sister. However, her comforts were later removed when her sister perished in the prison conditions and her mother was convicted of practicing witchcraft and taken away for execution. Dorothy’s father described her as “chargeable having little or no reason to govern herself”.

Historical accounts of the Salem witch trials often reference Dorothy’s status as the youngest person to be imprisoned and her story with reference to the reparation payment awarded to her father in 1712. Recent research by the Director of Education has revealed more information about Dorothy’s adult life, including her straying and rambling life, and her birth of two children without a husband to claim them as his own.

What did Cotton Mather say about witches?

Cotton Mather, a well-read and intelligent man, believed that witchcraft was a real and frightening problem that could have caused the strange behavior in Salem. He believed that the judges were honest, earnest men of the law who were capable of making impartial rulings, as they had done in previous witchcraft cases. However, both Cotton and his father Reverend Increase Mather believed that innocent people had at least been accused in 1692.

There is much speculation as to why Cotton Mather consented to write The Wonders of the Invisible World. Historian Emerson Baker suggests that by 1692, the Providence of Massachusetts Bay was in a precarious political situation, with the Crown having revoked the colony’s charter in 1684 and the new charter being felt insufficient by many Puritan leaders. Worry spread that the Puritan core of the colony was weakening and the great Puritan experiment was in jeopardy.

In 1700, Robert Calef, a contemporary of Cotton Mather, wrote a scathing criticism of The Wonders of the Invisible World, primarily placing blame on the magistrates and ministers, arguing they failed to control the proceedings and instead were “governed by blindness and passion”. Calef’s book included five trial summaries from The Wonders of the Invisible World, a series of letters written between himself and Cotton Mather, and an account of a recent possession case observed by Mather in Boston.

Cotton Mather’s reputation never truly recovered after the publication of More Wonders of the Invisible World. The lasting shift in the public’s perception was particularly evident by 1721, when Reverend Mather found himself at the center of another major public controversy—the debate over the use of inoculation to prevent smallpox. Mather had become increasingly engrossed in Enlightenment science and was particularly interested in finding ways to prevent the spread of disease.

On April 22, 1721, a ship infected with smallpox arrived in Boston harbor, causing the first outbreak in two decades. Mather was determined to find a physician to test this technique at the onset of this latest epidemic. The only physician who would consent to test the theory was Zabdeil Boylston, a local surgeon and apothecary owner.