Farms what was being grown during salem witch trials

Post a Comment. Searching for Scapegoats in Salem. The Salem trials witch began in Salem Village, Massachusetts during the winter of They girls complained of odd things, like being choked and not to long after three more girls began to have the same symptoms.

As time went on more and more people were being accused, even some well respected people of the town. Sources: Roach, Marilynne K. Taylor Trade Publishing, Hill, Frances. The Salem Witch Trials Reader. De Capo Press, Burns, William E. Witch Hunts in Europe and America: an Encyclopedia.

Salem Village was extremely claustrophobic, isolated and filled with emotional instability, resentment and gluttony. These affected girls fell ill after playing a fortune- telling game and later began to act strangely Brooks.

The symptoms of the affected girls included hiding under furniture, contorting in pain and experiencing a fever Brooks. The first two affected girls were Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams, they began to name the three women whom they believed were bewitching them.

All three of these women were considered social outcasts and were easy targets for this suspected crime. Fear and hysteria in Salem MA, created a culture that led to the mistreatment of women. The Salem witch trials, a cover up for other deeper issues or simply a religion matter?

These individuals also feared their religion was under attack again and worried they were losing control of their colony. The Puritans strongly believed and felt that the Devil was as real as the all holy God whom himself, they loved and worshipped.

The puritans felt that if members of society were weak or considered the weakest at upholding the correct values and morals, specifically women and children, they would then be selected to carry out the Devils dirty work. Witches were considered to be followers of Satan or the Devil and felt as if the accused individuals traded their souls for his assistance.

It was believed that they employed demons to accomplish deeds, the act of doing this changed the souls from human to animal form. Many individuals of this religion believed that this is where witches were to come into play or action and therefore were deemed punishable under Puritan Law.

Puritans believed that in order for sins to be forgiven one had to with hold a solemn vow or relationship with God, if one was not to maintain the practice of preaching they then they were considered sinful.

Predestination, the idea that God had chose you and granted you a certain role. On December 17th, William Stoughton, whom was in charge of the trials conducted or issued a proclamation in the hopes of establishing amends with God himself. So, what was the reasoning behind the Salem Witch Trials?

Was it the work of the Devil, influencing women and children to act on behalf of him or was it a serious illness caused by their environment? With the number of accusations of witchcraft increasing, the town decided to search for the witches of Salem and execute them all. By the time the Salem witch trials ended, 19 people had been executed.

All of them were accused of being witches. Not all the accused were hanged, and some received cruel and unusual punishment. One was crushed with stones, and four of the accused were left to die in prison. Or was there an entirely different devil at work? Linnda Caporael first came up with evidence that ergot might be the real culprit and not witchcraft. According to the theory proposed by Caporael, the intense and brief illnesses among the residents of Salem were due to ergotism.

Ergot is a kind of fungus that forms hallucinogenic drugs in bread. The fungus usually thrives in climates where cold winter conditions are followed by wet springs. The victims of this fungus may suffer from hallucination and paranoia, spasms and cramps, and cardiovascular issues. It may even seriously impact the immune system of people. Ergot is believed to have grown on the staple crop of the townsfolk: rye. In this way, the residents of Salem may have consumed the fungus.

According to Caporael, as ergot was hallucinogenic, it could explain the strange symptoms exhibited by the girls, as well as the general feeling among the townsfolk that they were being attacked by witches. The fungus was quite common in Europe and America at the time. It was so common that people even thought it was a part of the plant and were not aware of its dangerous properties.

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