How Did Claims Of Witchcraft Stem From Land Ownership?

In seventeenth-century New England, male property owners held authority over women, children, and other dependents of their families. Women who spoke up or stood out were suspected, and many were accused, prosecuted, and occasionally executed for the crime of witchcraft. Historians and scholars have proposed various theories and explanations for the Salem Witch Trials, focusing on the political and economic causes.

The strain from King William’s War brought refugees and competition, while early modern European migrants and New England Puritans feared anything paranormal and witches that could harm their families. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, prosecutions and executions for the crime of witchcraft declined in number and eventually came to an end. Property ownership was sometimes the underlying cause for witchcraft accusations between neighbors, as seen in Topsfield. Property ownership influenced the greed of others who desired certain property, and all the property of the accused witches was appropriated by the Church.

As the accusations extended to include Uganda, tensions became even more intense. The Putnams, a strong and influential force behind the witchcraft accusations, were one of the main families to denounce the economic changes. Tensions became so high that witchcraft was illegal and if one did not fess up, they would be hanged.

Roughly 100,000 people were tried for witchcraft and 50,000 were executed. It was believed that witches threatened Christian society by drawing upon Satan’s influence. Many suspects of witchcraft were widows without a clear male heir to their land. Once accused of witchcraft, the state took ownership of all physical property.

What was the criteria for being accused of witchcraft?

The Salem Witch Trials were a series of trials in the colony that focused on the accused’s guilt or innocence. The court used three types of evidence: confession, testimony of two eyewitnesses, or spectral evidence. The law presumed guilt if the accused made it to trial, and if imprisoned, the accused had to pay for their stay. Courts relied on “causal relationship” evidence, prior conflicts, bad acts, possession of materials used in spells, greater than average strength, and witch’s marks.

If the accused was female, a jury of women examined her body for “witch’s marks” that supposedly showed a familiar had bitten or fed on the accused. Other evidence included the “touching test” where afflicted girls became calm after touching the accused. Courts could not base convictions on confessions obtained through torture unless the accused reaffirmed the confession afterward. The colony did not burn witches, but hanged them. The Salem Witch Trials divided the community, with neighbors testifying against neighbors, children against parents, husbands against wives, and families destroyed.

After the Court of Oyer and Terminer was dissolved, the Superior Court of Judicature took over the witchcraft cases and disallowed spectral evidence. Most accusations of witchcraft resulted in acquittals. An essay by prominent minister Increase Mather may have helped stop the witch trials craze in Salem.

What caused someone to be accused of witchcraft?

Witchcraft in early modern England was a complex phenomenon that caused fear and became a normal part of life. Newcomers to a community might be accused of witchcraft due to suspicion from their neighbors, or it could be a way to make money. The harvest failed, leading to increased suspicion. Witchcraft trials became a platform for grievances and disputes to be discussed, and people could testify for or against their neighbors.

Understanding the history of witchcraft provides insights into the realities of everyday life for ordinary people in early modern England, rather than the supernatural. Dr. Jessica Nelson, Head of Collections at The National Archives, delivered a 30-minute talk on the topic.

What is the history of the witchcraft accusations?

From 1400 to 1775, around 100, 000 people were prosecuted for witchcraft in Europe and British America, with between 40, 000 and 60, 000 executed. The witch-hunts were particularly severe in parts of the Holy Roman Empire. Prosecutions reached a high point from 1560 to 1630, during the Counter-Reformation and European wars of religion. Lower classes usually made accusations of witchcraft by neighbors, and women made formal accusations as much as men did.

Magical healers or “cunning folk” were sometimes prosecuted for witchcraft, but seem to make up a minority of the accused. Around 80 of those convicted were women, most over the age of 40. In some regions, convicted witches were burnt at the stake, the traditional punishment for religious heresy.

Throughout the medieval era, mainstream Christian doctrine denied the belief in witches and witchcraft, condemning it as a pagan superstition. Some argue that the work of Dominican Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century helped lay the groundwork for a shift in Christian doctrine, where certain theologians began to accept the possibility of collaboration with devils, resulting in real supernatural powers. Christians were not of the belief that magic in its entirety is demonic, but witchcraft was still assumed as inherently demonic, leading to backlash against witches.

Who was responsible for the accusations of witchcraft?

The Salem Witch Trials involved several accusers, including Samuel Parris, a pastor who preached about the Devil’s work. Parris was driven out of the village and replaced a few years later. Elizabeth “Betty” Parris and Abigail Williams, the first “afflicted” girls, began having unexplained fits in January 1692 after experimenting with fortune-telling. They were diagnosed as possessed and remained the main accusers throughout the trials. Tituba, a female slave likely of Native South American ancestry owned by Parris, was the first to be accused of witchcraft by Betty and Abigail.

She also confessed and accused others, first naming Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne. Tituba told 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 the costs for her. Her fate after being released is unknown.

What did people blame the witches for?

The post-plague witch hunt in Geneva was not unique, as authorities had a history of convicting people, particularly women, for witchcraft in the Middle Ages. The city gained a reputation after the Geneva plague in the early 1540s, and lawmen from other Swiss confederations sought their advice on identifying witches spreading the plague and other diseases. The plague had a global impact, with diseases like dysentery, malaria, and influenza spreading through contaminated food or drink.

Why did the girls start accusing people of witchcraft?

The reasons behind the witchcraft accusations among young girls in Puritan society are unclear, but Elizabeth Hubbard was one of the original girls to begin the accusations. She continued to be a leading accuser throughout the summer and fall of 1692. Elizabeth, like most of the other afflicted girls, was detached from her parents and family of birth and lived with her great-aunt Rachel Hubbard Griggs and her husband, town physician Dr. William Griggs.

In 1692, Elizabeth was around 17 years old, making her one of the oldest of the original set of afflicted girls. Along with Elizabeth Parris, Abby Williams, and Anne Putnam, Elizabeth started the accusations with claims of being tortured by specters of certain community members. Carol Karlsen’s research suggests that many of the accusing girls may have behaved as they did due to the uncertainty of their future as orphans. Most of the girls had no monetary or emotional support from direct family members, and the frontier wars had left their father’s estates considerably diminished.

Elizabeth Hubbard, like most of the other accusing girls, was a servant with very dismal prospects for the future. Karlsen suggests that the afflicted used their dramatic possession performances to focus the communities’ concern on their difficulties, which allowed them to gain the respect and attention of the community.

While the exact reasons behind the witchcraft accusations remain unknown, the documents we can read provide insights into the kind of girl Elizabeth Hubbard was.

Why did witchcraft accusations increase?

The trials of 1645 led by Matthew Hopkins in East Anglia had a higher conviction rate than other English witch trials. During the summer of 1645, Hopkins tried approximately 200 witches, accounting for one-quarter of the entire English total of executions. These trials resembled continental witch trials due to their time of political instability and the use of torture by a professional witch hunter. England was experiencing a Civil War, leading to an increase in belief that the Devil was at work, which led to an increase in witchcraft accusations.

The borough courts hired Matthew Hopkins to try witches instead of relying on assize courts, making it difficult to dismiss his conclusions. Hopkins used sleep deprivation as a form of torture to gain confessions about associations with the Devil, leading to more than half of the witches confessing to having met the Devil and many confessing to having sexual intercourse with him. This method, which worked especially well during a time of political conflict, led to an increase in witch convictions.

However, the Matthew Hopkins trials may have helped bring an end to the English witch trials by bringing attention to the flawed evidence and inhumane methods used in witch trials. John Gaule criticized Hopkins for using inhumane methods, such as sleep deprivation, which often led to delusions. The emphasis on reliable evidence in witch trials and the relatively lenient common law court system in England influenced the low conviction rate of witches. Comparing the Matthew Hopkins trials with typical English trials reveals how a country’s political climate, court systems, and beliefs about witches influenced the outcome of their witch trials.

Who was most likely to be accused of witchcraft?

The Salem witch trials were a period of intense scrutiny and accusations against women, often based on factors such as gender, religion, economic status, age, and societal influence. Teenage girls were the most common target, but 4-year-old Dorothy Good was also accused of witchcraft. Not all witchcraft accusations occurred during trials, as Anne Hutchinson, who started Bible study groups with women in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, was accused of engaging in the devil’s work for helping deliver a stillborn child. Other girls, like Tituba, an enslaved woman, were accused without clear reasons, with race being considered a factor in her accusations.

What were the options for those accused of witchcraft?

Those accused of witchcraft in Salem had two potential outcomes: confession and execution by hanging, or denial and trial, which often resulted in the accused’s death. One individual refuted the allegation and was subsequently sentenced to death.

Who else was accused of witchcraft?

In 1692, Mary Warren, Sarah Wilds, Ruth Wilford, Haverhill, and John Willard were accused of witchcraft in Salem Village.

Can you still be accused of witchcraft?

During the Salem witch trials, individuals were accused of being Communists and traitors, despite the lack of substantial evidence. Two centuries later, McCarthy spearheaded a congressional “witch hunt,” a phenomenon that persists in the United States to this day.