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Salem Witch Trial
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Thirty people were found guilty, 19 of whom were executed by hanging (14 women and five men). One other man, Giles Corey, was Crushing (execution), pressed to death after refusing to enter a plea, and at least five people died in jail. Arrests were made in numerous towns beyond Salem, Massachusetts, Salem and Salem Village (known today as Danvers, Massachusetts, Danvers), notably Andover, Massachusetts, Andover and Topsfield, Massachusetts, Topsfield. The grand juries and trials for this capital crime were conducted by a Court of Oyer and terminer, Oyer and Terminer in 1692 and by a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Superior Court of Judicature in 1693, both held in Salem Town, where the hangings also took place. It was the deadliest witch hunt in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Witchcraft At Salem Village
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have used malevolent magic against their own community, and often to have communed with evil beings. It was thought witchcraft could be thwarted by protective magic or counter-magic, which could be provided by cunning folk or folk healers. Suspected witches were also intimidated, banished, attacked or killed. Often they would be formally prosecuted and punished, if found guilty or simply believed to be guilty. European witch-hunts and witch trials in the early modern period led to tens of thousands of executions. In some regions, many of those accused of witchcraft were folk healers or midwives. European belief in witchcraft gradually dwindled during and after the Age of Enlightenment. Contemporary cultures that believe in magic and the supern ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
