In 1692, tragedy occurred in America, the "Salem Witch Trials" had begun (Lebeau). During the 17th century, people in the Massachusetts Bay Colony would be arrested and accused of having beliefs in the devil. From the first arrest warrants issued on February 29, 1692 to the last executions on September 22, 1962 over 150 people were accused and jailed on suspicion of witchcraft. Four people plus 1 infant died in prison, 18 people were executed by hanging, 1 person was pressed to death and 2 dogs were also hanged.

"The incidents began when two girls, nine year old Elizabeth Parris and eleven year old Abigail Williams had begun to exhibit unusual behavior, they crawled under tables, uttered weird sounds, and screamed that they were being tortured" (Starkey). Within a short time, several other girls began to exhibit similar behavior. After the fasting and prayer that had been recommended by Cotton Mather, a leading Puritan minister of the time, (Mather who had treated bewitched children in this way before) Samuel Parris one of the girls father, along with other ministers of the time, had failed to exorcise the demons. The suspicion of witchcraft soon led to the arrest of three women,

On October 17, 1711, an Act of the colonial legislature returned all property taken from the victims and paid their families compensation for their losses. This ended all official acts relating to the trials of 1692. However, in Salem Village, resentment would be felt for generations to come (Starkey).

Over the next several weeks, other townspeople had come forward and testified that they too, had been harmed by or had seen strange traits of some of the community members. As the witch-hunt continued, accusations were levied against many people, frequently denounced were women whose behavior or economic circumstances were somehow disturbing to the social order and conventions of the time. "Some historians believed that a dispute with a local minister, Samuel Parris, led to the witch hunt. Parris received much of his support from the poorer farmers of Salem Village. To them, Parris and the village church represented stability and traditional values. The poorer farmers saw Salem, with its increasingly important merchants, as a threat to their way of life. Parris and his supporters helped lead the witch-hunt. Many villagers who opposed Parris or had links with Salem were arrested as witches"(Starkey).

The first of the women suspected and accused of witchcraft were: Tituba, a West Indian woman and conjurer who had been giving palmistry lessons to the girls, who also happened to be Parris's slave. Rebecca Nurse, a deaf old woman whose family had been disputing with the Puritans in a fight for land for many years prior. Sarah Good was a destitute, shriveled, pipe smoking hag who had professed her innocence. Sarah Osborne was suspected of immorality and had never attended church that much. At one point, Tituba had confessed of once having had seen the devil who had appeared to her "...sometimes like a hog, and sometimes like a great dog"(Lebeau). Tituba had also testified that there was a c

Some common words found in the essay are:
Starkey Soon, Oyer Terminer, Bay Colony, Sarah Osborne, Court Massachusetts, Samuel Parris, Village Parris, Governor Phipps, Governor Phips, Abigail Williams, samuel parris, salem witch, witch trials, spectral evidence, bay colony, salem witch trials, massachusetts bay, massachusetts bay colony, poorer farmers salem, court oyer, oyer terminer, suspicion witchcraft, court oyer terminer, intangible evidence,
Approximate Word count = 1284
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)