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17th Century Salem Massachusetts The Interweaving of the Economy and the Witch Trials of 1692 |
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The Economic Division of Salem Village
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INTRODUCTION Nearly every American knows a little bit about witches. Every year, Americans cannot help but be bombarded by images of green witches with their witches’ brew, black cats, broomsticks, and pointy hats during the Halloween season. As commercialized as these images of witches have become, hopefully we have not forgotten that the real “witches” of Salem are, in fact, normal people, just like you and me. By normal, I mean that these people are not green-skinned, but white and black skinned men and women. Indeed, some of the accused witches in 17th century Salem are men, although most of them are women. These normal men and women live relatively normal lives and have somewhat normal jobs for their time. These “witches” do not read spells in the moonlight and hunt for frog’s warts. They are everyday people just trying to get by in life. If these people live relatively normal lives and look just like everybody else, how are they singled out and accused of being witches? What brings about the witch accusations in the first place? If the accusations are truly based upon which people in town are into dabbling with spells, incantations, and magic, then surely, the mystery of Salem Massachusetts would have been easily solved if the people, courts, and magistrates of the time would have investigated the original accusers, the daughter and the niece of the priest Samuel Parris. However, the testimonies of these girls, as well as others, lead to the arrest of over one hundred accused witches and the deaths by hanging of 19 people, not including the people who die in prison. This website is a study of the economy of 17th century Salem, before, during, and after the witch trials of 1692. In the pages that follow, some theories, facts, and evidence, aim to prove that the diverse and changing economy had a large role in many aspects of the witch trials, including determining the accusers, the accused, the consequences, and the rewards, to name a few. As you read on, I hope that you will see the trials in a completely new perspective, as you discover one of the many aspects that make up such a controversial topic in American history.
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Author: Steven Parker, University of Mary Washington E-mail: spark5rb@gmail.com | Last Updated: November 22, 2004 |
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