The Salem Witchcraft Trials

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.

King William's War was a war fought in England over religious differences between the English and French. In the colonies, however, it was fought over not only religious differences but also over jealousies concerning fisheries and the fur trade in the St. Lawrence area. Both the English and the French knew that the Indians of the area would play a large part in the war, whichever side they took...

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...in them but rather a slew of reasons that must be sorted and used in conjunction with one another. The best explanation to the outbreak of accusations is a psychological and/or medical epidemic due in part to King William's War. Because many of the accusers were survivors of the turmoil of the war who had resettled in or near Salem, it can be said that if King William's War had been resolved in Europe before fighting broke out in the New World, it is quite possible that the Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692 would not have happened to the multitude that they did. It is impractical to say that they would not have happened at all because witchcraft and witch-hunting was something known to colonial culture long before the Trials of 1692. One can only speculate on how things would have been different in the New World if only King William's War was resolved in Europe.