Jeane Gardiner (died 26 May 1651 in

Saint George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

) was an alleged witch. She is one of the few people to have been executed for

witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...

in Bermuda. Gardiner was the wife of Ralph Gardiner, and was put on trial by the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

, Captain Josias Forster. She was accused of affecting a woman with magic. She had threatened that she would cramp Tomasin, a

mulatto ( , ) is a Race (human categorization), racial classification that refers to people of mixed Sub-Saharan African, African and Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry only. When speaking or writing about a singular woman in English, the ...

woman, who was later struck blind and dumb for two hours. Another woman, Anne Bowen, was tried with her. Gardiner pleaded not guilty. A jury of women was appointed to search her body: Mrs. Ellen Burrowes, Mrs. Flora Wood, Mrs. Eliz. Stowe, Allice Sparkes, Eliz. Brangman. She was subjected to the

ordeal of water Trial by ordeal was an ancient judicial practice by which the guilt or innocence of the accused (called a "proband") was determined by subjecting them to a painful, or at least an unpleasant, usually dangerous experience. In medieval Europe, like ...

, and after being thrown twice in the sea, she floated and could not sink. As a result, she was judged guilty of witchcraft and was sentenced to death. She was executed on May 26, 1651. The fate of Anne Bowen is unknown. In the period of 1651-1696, twenty-two

witch trials A witch hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. Practicing evil spells or incantations was proscribed and punishable in early human civilizations in the Middle East. ...

were held in Bermuda, eighteen women and four men, of which five women and one man was executed. The trial against

Sarah Basset Sarah "Sally" Bassett, also known as Sary, was an enslaved African woman from Bermuda. She was declared guilty and burned at the stake in June 1730 for the poisoning of three individuals.Sources vary on the precise date, some claiming 6 June, oth ...

(or Sally Basset) in 1730 is sometimes counted among them. Most of them were held in the 1650s when witch trials were common in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The most common accusation was sickness afflicted upon

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

by use of magic.

References

Literature

* Lefroy, Sir John Henry (1877)
Memorials of the Discovery and Early Settlement of the Bermudas Or Somers Islands, 1515-1687 [i.e. 1511-1687
">.e. 1511-1687">Memorials of the Discovery and Early Settlement of the Bermudas Or Somers Islands, 1515-1687 [i.e. 1511-1687
Longmans, Green, and Company. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gardiner, Jean Year of birth missing 1651 deaths English people executed for witchcraft Executed Bermudian people 17th-century women