What was the Salem witchcraft hunt?

Answer 1

Salem had been thrown off-kilter in 1692. Puritan control of Massachusetts Bay was waning so the social structure based on strict religious homogeneity could no longer be trusted to maintain order as more and more people prioritizing economic success over religious devotion. The Puritan religious and social elite could not be certain of their continued social dominance, leading them to be incredibly reactionary and paranoid in order to preserve whatever control they had over the community. Salem's status as a port had declined as other cities like Boston grew in prominence. Massachusetts Bay lacked a secure government in early 1692 following the Glorious Revolution in England and the short-lived Dominion of New England. Colonial envoys had not yet returned from England with a new charter when the trials began, meaning Massachusetts's essentially did not have a basis for government. The divide between the two halves of Salem, Salem Town and Salem Village, was still contentious. Despite having its own meetinghouse, the Village church was still connected to and superseded by the Town church. The two halves were demographic opposite with the Village being agricultural and poor and the Town industrial and more affluent. The persistent fear of attacks by and war with the Native Americans on the colonial border had Essex County on edge. A number of participants in the trials had been directly affected by the Indian Wars of preceding years, something that can be seen in the descriptions of Salem witchcraft, and those direction connection to violence convinced the townsfolk that the same divine disfavor that had lead to the wars on the border had come to Salem. With social anxieties and without a functioning code of law, Salem was susceptible to internal conflict, especially of a religious nature, and had no firm colonial law to keep their legal process in check.

Answer 2

There were actually about 3 or 4 young women actually practicing African witchcraft taught to them by a slave (her name escapes me at the moment). This caused a panic in which people complained of ailments that they blamed on others in the colonies, such as business competitors, those who had wronged them, and those they didn't like. Remember, this event is often hyped as a horribly violent affair, when, in fact, only 19 people were executed, and at least 3 or 4 were actually guilty.

The slave's name was Tituba.

Answer 3

A time when people were hunted in salem