Salem Witch Trials
by Line and Sara
Puritans
They came from England, and sailed to America in 1608 because they where religious persecuted, and they where afraid of losing their cultural identity.
They established several colonies in North America, and one of them were Salem.
Puritan believes
In the bible there were written "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live", and that was the background for the Witch Trials.
Witch hunts
Therefore the girls wanted to gain respect and the power they wouldn't have been able to achieve otherwise.
The people in Salem feared witches, and therefore they blindly followed the others when witchcraft occurred. They didn't question the norms of the society.
Salem Witchcraft
The girls started acting strange and accused also Sarah Good and Sarah Osbourne of witchcraft.
It got out of control and several other women were accused and sent to trial.
24 innocent people were hanged, mainly because of the girls use of spectral evidence, which were almost impossible to contradict.
When one of the convicted said a prayer perfectly, people began doubting the girls. They had been taking it to far, and a lot of innocent people died because of their "game".
And in 1693 the hysteria began to lose steam and the Witch Trials was ended.