witchcraft

Examples of witchcraft in the following topics:

• Witchcraft in New England

  • New England in the 17th century saw a number of accusations and trials of witchcraft.
  • The first accusations of witchcraft in America came in 1645, in Springfield, Massachusetts.
  • Husband and wife Hugh and Mary Parsons accused each other of witchcraft.
  • The two courts convicted 29 people of the capital felony of witchcraft.
  • In the mid 17th century, approximately 80 New England colonists were accused of witchcraft.

• The Salem Witch Trials

  • The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693.
  • Twelve other women had previously been executed for witchcraft in Massachusetts and Connecticut during the 17th century.
  • Prior to 1692, there had been rumors of witchcraft in villages neighboring Salem Village and other towns.
  • Colonists suspected witchcraft and accusations began to spread.
  • Each of these women was a kind of outcast and exhibited many of the character traits typical of the "usual suspects" for witchcraft accusations.

• The Witch Trials

  • Between the 15th and 18th centuries in Europe, many people were accused of and put on trial for practicing witchcraft.
  • Those accused of witchcraft were portrayed as being worshippers of the Devil, who engaged in sorcery at meetings known as Witches' Sabbaths.
  • European pagan belief in witchcraft was associated with the goddess Diana and dismissed as "diabolical fantasies" by medieval Christian authors.
  • Christian IV of Denmark, in particular, encouraged this practice, and hundreds of people were convicted of witchcraft and burnt.
  • In England, the Witchcraft Act of 1542 regulated the penalties for witchcraft.

• Religion in Early New England

  • Some theorize that accusations of witchcraft were a way of addressing pagan practices that were used for agriculture and domestic success, which Christianity had long associated with demons and evil spirits.
  • The first accusations of witchcraft came in 1645, in Springfield, Massachusetts.
  • From 1645 to 1663, about 80 people throughout the Massachusetts Bay Colony were accused of practicing witchcraft, and 13 women and two men were executed.
  • Those women were brought before the magistrate and interrogated; those who refused to confess to witchcraft were sentenced to death.
  • The two courts convicted 29 people of the capital felony of witchcraft; 19 of the accused, 14 women and five men, were hanged.

• Ile-Ife

  • However, this power may also be destructive and take the form of witchcraft; therefore, Gelede serves the function of appeasing this power, as well.

• Living in Europe

  • Additionally, the period was characterized by increased fear and blame, including a rise in anti-Semitism and hysteria over witchcraft.

• The Experience of Illness

  • Throughout the world, illness has often been attributed to witchcraft, demons, or the will of the gods—ideas that retain some power within certain cultures and communities.

• Settling New England

  • Witchcraft was persecuted, but chiefly after Winthrop's death.

• Rhode Island

  • The separate plantation colonies in the Narragansett Bay region were very progressive for their time, passing laws abolishing witchcraft trials, imprisonment for debt, most capital punishment, and on May 18, 1652, chattel slavery of both blacks and whites.

• The Massachusetts Bay Colony

  • Hundreds were accused of witchcraft in Puritan New England, including townspeople whose habits or appearance bothered their neighbors or who appeared threatening for any reason.