Why Is Tituba Important In The Salem Witch Trial

595 Words2 Pages

The Haunting of The Salem Witch Trials
American history is filled with exciting events such as traveling, finding new territory and building up a country. However, in 1692, America was frightened when people started getting accused for witchcraft. At the time they believed that people could send their spirits off to harm other people. In order to understand the magnitude of the Salem Witch Trials, it is important to understand the symptoms and theories about ergot poisoning, Tituba the black slave from Barbados, and the history and facts about Salem.
It is important to understand the facts about Ergot poisoning. Ergot, the fungus that grows on the rye flower, replacing the grain with a hard, purplish bundle of Mycelia that may contain as much as one percent Ergot Alkaloids. Ergot poisoning “may have been associated with the Salem Witch Trials of 1692” (Ahlstrom). At least one million people die within five years of Ergot poisoning (Ahlstrom). Ergot is a …show more content…

Tituba belonged to Samuel Parris, the minister in whose household the witchcraft erupted. Tituba came from Barbados in 1680, with Parris. Tituba was caught by Parris singing her west indian songs over a fire, in the forest, as naked girls danced around. She was actively engaged in devil worship. Tituba admitted that she had pinched victims in several households (Schiff). Tituba later said “that Parris beat her into confession, claiming that her accusations of Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne, as well as two other women, were the result of his abuse” (Qtd. In Billings). Tituba had seen something of which every villager had heard and which all believed. Hours after her testimony, they trembled of “Strange Unusual Beast,” diaphanous creators that mutated before their eyes and melted into the night (Schiff). Tituba was later blamed for being the start of the

Show More
Related

  • Social Issues In The Salem Witch Trials

    1403 Words  | 3 Pages

    In a recent study, Nicholas P. Spanos and Jack Gottlieb were able to study biological occurrences that could account for the mysterious behavior of the young girls. The two studied ergot, which is a fungus that can infest rye and other cereal grains under specific conditions. The two discovered that when ingested, the ergotized grain may produce a remarkable amount of symptoms including, but not limited

    Read More

  • Tituba's Monologue In The Crucible '

    453 Words  | 1 Pages

    Tituba was convicted for practicing black magic; it was characteristically biased during that time. When Tituba was arrested in Salem, Massachusetts, she said to her jailer, “Devil, him be pleasure-man in Barbados, him be singing and dancing, It's you folks, you riles him up 'round here; He freeze his soul in Massachusetts, but in Barbados he just as sweet.” (IV.15). Tituba never saw that her singing, dancing, and spell casting as an evil practice.

    Read More

  • How Did Tituba The Cause Of The Salem Witch Trial

    826 Words  | 2 Pages

    In conclusion a very important lesson could be learned through Tituba’s character. Things happen for a reason and one could honestly think that Tituba is only human, she lied to protect herself. Later after the Salem Witch Trials the enlightenment period came a long, which was caused by questioning authority and religion. The puritan faith then fades away because of the cruelty of the religion. It could be said that because of Tituba’s actions and all of the deaths that occurred afterwards due to her, could simply be the start of a revolt that got rid of the Puritan

    Read More

  • Taking a Closer Look at The Salem Witch Trials

    900 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Salem Witch trials were when hundreds of citizens of Salem, Massachusetts were put on trial for devil-worship or witchcraft and more than 20 were executed in 1692. This is an example of mass religion paranoia. The whole ordeal began in the home of Reverend Samuel Parris. People soon began to notice strange behavior from Parris’s slave, Tituba, and his daughters. Many claimed to have seen Parris’s daughters doing back magic dances in the woods, and fall to the floor screaming hysterically. Not so long after, this strange behavior began to spread across Salem.

    Read More

  • I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem by Maryse Condé

    1143 Words  | 3 Pages

    As the story of Tituba unfolds, it reveals a strong and kind hearted young woman, very different from the Tituba we meet in The Crucible. I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem unveils for the reader, Tituba's life, loves, and losses. Her long and arduous journey through life is inspired by her many female counterparts, yet also hindered by her insatiable weakness for men, who also press upon her the realities of life.

    Read More

  • The History of the Salem Witchcraft Trials

    2587 Words  | 6 Pages

    During the time of the Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692, more than twenty people died an innocent death. All of those innocent people were accused of one thing, witchcraft. During 1692, in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts many terrible events happened. A group of Puritans lived in Salem during this time. They had come from England, where they were prosecuted because of their religious beliefs. They chose to come live in America and choose their own way to live. They were very strict people, who did not like to act different from others. They were also very simple people who devoted most of their lives to God. Men hunted for food and were ministers. Women worked at home doing chores like sewing, cooking, cleaning, and making clothes. The Puritans were also very superstitious. They believed that the devil would cause people to do bad things on earth by using the people who worshiped him. Witches sent out their specters and harmed others. Puritans believed by putting heavy chains on a witch, that it would hold down their specter. Puritans also believed that by hanging a witch, all the people the witch cast a spell on would be healed. Hysteria took over the town and caused them to believe that their neighbors were practicing witchcraft. If there was a wind storm and a fence was knocked down, people believed that their neighbors used witchcraft to do it. Everyone from ordinary people to the governor’s wife was accused of witchcraft. Even a pregnant woman and the most perfect puritan woman were accused. No one in the small town was safe. As one can see, the chaotic Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692 were caused by superstition, the strict puritan lifestyle, religious beliefs, and hysteria.

    Read More

  • Causes Of The Salem Witch Trials

    1230 Words  | 3 Pages

    More than three centuries ago, an entire community in Salem, Massachusetts, just 5 miles from Salem Town fell victim to what would become the most notorious instance of witch hysteria in United States history. The infamous witch trials of Salem, Massachusetts remain one of the most unscrupulous and inexplicable phenomena in the United States, having resulted in a total of 20 deaths and 165 accusations related to Witchcraft within the span of four months. [3] The brief, but tumultuous period has long been a source of debate amongst historians. For nearly a century, it was widely accepted that social tensions and Puritan religious beliefs were the primary cause of the trials, but in the 1970’s, a college undergraduate suggested ergot poisoning might be to blame. Ergotism – ergot poisoning – is born from the fungus Claviceps purpurea, which is known to infect rye and other cereal grains, it produces a chemical known as ergotamine which is the base for toxic hallucinogenic chemicals such as LSD. [2] Studies have shown that the consumption of ergot-contaminated food results in symptoms much like those associated with the afflicted girls in Salem, 1692. [2] Collectively, Ergot poisoning, and the implication Puritanism and Puritan values had on the genuine fear of witches, and socioeconomic tension caused the events that would become the Salem witch hysteria of 1692.

    Read More

  • The Salem Witchcraft Trials

    821 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692 were the largest outbreak of witch hunting in colonial New England up to that time. Although it was the largest outbreak, it was not something that was new. Witch-hunting had been a part of colonial New England since the formation of the colonies. Between the years 1648 to 1663, approximately 15 witches were executed. During the winter of 1692 to February of 1693, approximately 150 citizens were accused of being witches and about 25 of those died, either by hanging or while in custody. There is no one clear-cut answer to explain why this plague of accusations happened but rather several that must be examined and tied together. First, at the same time the trials took place, King William's War was raging in present day Maine between the colonists and the Wabanaki Indians with the help of the French. Within this war, many brutal massacres took place on both sides, leaving orphaned children due to the war that had endured very traumatic experiences. Second, many of the witch accusations were based on spectral evidence, most of which were encounters of the accused appearing before the victim and "hurting" them. There were rampant "visions" among the colonies' citizens, which can only be explained as hallucinations due to psychological or medical conditions by virtue of disease, or poisoning.

    Read More

  • The Salem Witch Trials

    1555 Words  | 4 Pages

    In 1692, everyone was sure that the Devil had come to Salem when young girls started screaming, barking like dogs and doing strange dances in the woods. The Salem Witch Trials originated in the home of Salem's reverend Samuel Parris, who had a slave from the Caribbean named Tibuta. Tibuta would tell stories about witchcraft back from her home. In early 1692 several of Salem's teenage girls began gathering in the kitchen with Tibuta. When winter turned to spring, many Salem residents were stunned at the acts and behaviors of Tibuta's young followers.

    Read More

  • The Trials Of The Salem Witch Trials

    1060 Words  | 3 Pages

    After Tituba admitted to being a witch and said that she and four other witches “had flown through the air on their poles” (Linder), panic swept through Salem, and the pursuit of witches expanded (Linder) (Brattle) (Brooks).

    Read More

  • The Salem Witch Trials

    2023 Words  | 5 Pages

    The notorious witch trials of Salem, Massachusetts occurred from June through September. It is a brief, but turbulent period in history and the causes of the trials have long been a source of discussion among historians. Many try to explain or rationalize the bizarre happenings of the witch hunts and the causes that contributed to them. To understand the trials and how they came to be, we must first examine the ideals and views of the people surrounding the events. Although religious beliefs were the most influential factor, socioeconomic tensions, and ergot poisoning are also strongly supported theories. A combination of motives seems the most rational explanation of the frenzy that followed the illness of the two girls. This paper looks closely at the some of the possible causes of one of the most notable occurrences in history.

    Read More

  • Salem Witches and Ergot of Rye

    680 Words  | 2 Pages

    To achieve this goal, I have organized my paper into four main sections. In the first section, I provide an account of what happened during the 17th century Salem Witch Trials. In the second section, I explain what happens during the existence of ergot of rye in a human and the effects it has on people. The third section includes an explanation of what community rye was during the Salem Witch era and what it did to each victim. The fourth section concludes the paper.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Salem Witch Trials

    1765 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Salem Witch Trials occurred because “three women were out in jail, because of witchcraft, and then paranoia spread throughout Salem” (Blumberg). In the Salem Village, “Betty Paris became sick, on February of 1692, and she contorted in pain and complained of fever” (Linder). The conspiracy of “witchcraft increased when play mates of Betty, Ann Putnam, Mercy, and Mary began to exhibit the same unusual behavior” (Linder). “The first to be accused were Tituba, a Barbados slave who was thought to have cursed the girls, Sarah Good, a beggar and social misfit, and Sarah Osborn, an old lady that hadn’t attended church in a year” (Linder). According to Linder, Tituba was the first to admit to being a witch, saying that she signed Satan’s book to work for him. The judges, Jonathan Corwin and John Hathorne, “executed Giles Corey because he refused to stand trial and afterwards eight more people were executed and that ended the Witch Trials in Salem”

    Read More

  • Primary Sources for the Salem Witch Trials

    1715 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Salem Trials took place between the 10th of June and the 22nd of 1692 and in this time nineteen people. In addition to this one man was pressed to death and over 150 people where sent to jail where four adult and one infant died. Although when compared to other witch-hunts in the Western world, it was ‘a small incident in the history of a great superstition,’ but has never lost its grip on our imagination’ . It’s because of this that over the last three centuries many historians have analysed the remaining records of the trials in order to work out what the causes and events were that led to them.

    Read More

  • Parallels Between The Crucible and McCarthy Era

    889 Words  | 2 Pages

    Miller touched on the subject of racism and related it to the present time with his characterization of the woman, Tituba. Historically, Tituba was a native woman; however, in the story she was portrayed as a black woman. Tituba was a servant of Reverend Parris and one of the first to be accused of witchcraft. She was an easy target because she was a minority and did not have a lot. Her different culture made her stick out, which caused people to surmise that she was a witch.

    Read More

More about Why Is Tituba Important In The Salem Witch Trial

Open Document