Causes of Salem Witch Trials
What caused the Salem witch trials of 1692? This question has been asked for over 300 years. Although it is a simple question, it does not have an easy answer. The answer is difficult because there are many factors and events that helped create and influence the trials. The most obvious causes were the girls need for attention, and the fears and imaginations of the people. It all seems to begin when Reverend Samuel Parris's daughter and niece get caught up in seemingly harmless voodoo and fortune telling with their African slave Tituba. For reasons that no one is sure the girls began to have strange and violent fits. Maybe the girls actually believed they were possessed but I think it was just a stunt they pulled for attention that got out of
They were afraid if they didn't accuse that person who they had an argument with last week , then that person might turn around and accuse them. It probably all started with a few petty fights between neighbors over land or some financial issue. They believed that witches gained their power from the Devil so they decided to find the witches responsible for the girls ailment and kill them. They were under the control of the church and they had a great fear of the unknown. It began with a couple of girls looking for some fun and it escalated when people let their fears and imaginations get the best of them. control when it was fueled by fanatical adults. Also, fear of the devil and black magic was very real in those days, and many people probably thought back to different unexplained incidences and thought of it as the devil's work. Perhaps the real cause of the witch trials will never be fully discovered but as people continue to study and research it they will be reminded how simple fun and petty fears can result in tragic consequences. More factors that play out in the causes of these witch hunts are the fears of the people. It became every man or woman for their self. Rather than admit to what probably started out as a game, the girls became frightened and a little excited as they became caught up in the frenzy of the witch hunts. Once the witch hunt was on, people began accusing anyone they had any kind of grudge against. Their fears continued to escalate and their new motto became accuse or be accused. The 17th century puritans believed in witchcraft as a cause for sicknesses such as the "fits" the girls were having.
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