- Description
- xi, 252 pages : illustrations, map; 24 cm
- Summary
- The result of a perfect storm of factors that culminated in a great moral catastrophe, the Salem witch trials of 1692 took a breathtaking toll on the young English colony of Massachusetts. Over 150 people were imprisoned, and nineteen men and women, including a minister, were executed by hanging. The colonial government, which was responsible for initiating the trials, eventually repudiated the entire affair as a great "delusion of the Devil." This book looks beyond single-factor interpretations to offer a far more nuanced view of why the Salem witch-hunt spiraled out of control. Rather than assigning blame to a single perpetrator, Ray assembles portraits of several major characters, each of whom had complex motives for accusing his or her neighbors. In this way, he reveals how religious, social, political, and legal factors all played a role in the drama. Ray's historical database of court records, documents, and maps yields a unique analysis of the geographic spread of accusations and trials, ultimately showing how the witch-hunt resulted in the execution of so many people--far more than any comparable episode on this side of the Atlantic. -- Publisher description
- Subject
- Genre/Form
- History.
- Bibliography (note)
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 235-242) and index.
- Contents
- The stains upon our land -- Samuel Parris and the new covenant -- Tituba's confession -- The village girls who cried "witch!" -- The magistrates -- Reports of witches' meetings -- Thomas Putnam -- Andover -- Confessions -- The apparition and trial of George Burroughs -- Samuel Parris, "the beginner and procurer" -- Blame and shame -- Mapping the Salem witch trials -- Indians, Africans, gender, and the "black man" -- A note on court records, dates, and names.
- Call Number
- JFE 15-4348
- ISBN
- 9780813937076 (cloth : alk. paper)
- 0813937078 (cloth : alk. paper)
- 9780813937083 (e-book) (canceled/invalid)
- LCCN
- 2014036306
- OCLC
- 898087523
- Author
Ray, Benjamin C., 1940-
- Title
Satan and Salem : the witch-hunt crisis of 1692 / Benjamin C. Ray.
- Publisher
Charlottesville : University of Virginia Press, 2015.
- Type of Content
text
- Type of Medium
unmediated
- Type of Carrier
volume
- Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 235-242) and index.
- Chronological Term
1600 - 1699
- Research Call Number
JFE 15-4348