Justifiable or unnecessary punishment? .
It all began in a little reserved colony of Salem Village, Massachusetts. Here, in 1692, mass hysteria about witches went on for little under a year. Salem Village was established by a group of families from an over crowded city five miles away. The colonists of Salem Village remained under control of nearby Salem Town until they began to appeal and were given independence in 1672. This legally gave the colonists the right to build their own meeting house as well as a church. By 1689 everything needed was built and a new minister was hired. .
Salem Village developed your typical Puritan society. Each individual placed God above everything. They believed God was all-powerful and superior above all and human beings were considered harmful and helpless. They lived plain and simple lives. There was a long list of evils: no bright colors were allowed to make clothes, no dancing, no singing, no drunkenness, no lace, no murder, no kneeling and no reason was good enough to miss church. With these strict guidelines, Salem Village was a well-rounded community. .
The hysteria began when Reverend Samuel Parris "the town's new minister "moved to Salem in 1689. He brought his whole family along: wife Elizabeth, daughter Betty, niece Abigail, and his slaves, John and Tituba. John and Tituba are thought to originate from Barbados. Many believe Tituba was African American, but records from Barbados prove she was a Native American captured by white males. Tituba's job mainly consisted of entertaining Betty, Abagail, and the rest of the girl children. Tituba practiced voodoo and often used that as entertainment. At first, Betty and Abigail would listen to scary stories and .
Posey 2.
learn the ways of voodoo. As time progressed a lot more girls started participating in the fun. Mary Warren, 20, Mercy Lewis, 19, Elizabeth Hubbard, 19, Mary Walcott, 16, and Ann Putnam Jr.