“Witch No. 1. Joseph Baker. 1892. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.
The Salem witch trials were the most notorious examples of Puritan hysteria in North America. They were a series of hearings and trials that took place in colonial Massachusetts. Over 200 people were accused of witchcraft and held in jail. Many of them gave coerced confessions and accused other people to secure their release. Some were released after family or neighbors petitioned for them. Several died while imprisoned. Ultimately, 14 women, and 5 men were convicted and hanged.
The debacle began when the daughter and niece of a local Reverend, Samuel Parris, accused their enslaved cook, a Central American woman named Tituba, and 2 other local women, of afflicting them with seizures through witchcraft.
On March 1, 1692, Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne were arrested and interrogated by the colony’s magistrates while their accusers and neighbors looked on and harangued them. Good and Osborne refused to confess and were hanged. Tituba made a confession that she later claimed Reverend Parris beat out of her. Even though she was cleared of the charges, Parris refused to pay her bail and she remained in prison until another Englishman paid the bail and purchased her.
The trials went on for a little over a year before the governor put an end to them. In the following years many of the survivors received restitution and some of the magistrates made formal apologies for the hysteria.
Sources:
Witchcraft in Salem- Library of Congress
The Salem Witch Trials- Salem Witch Museum
Life Story: Tituba- Women and the American Story
Sarah Good- Famous Trials