Salem
Salem Witchcraft Trials
(May-October 1692), trials that resulted from witchcraft hysteria in Salem Village, Massachusetts Bay Colony. When a group of teenaged girls began to behave oddly, officials concluded that they were bewitched. Under pressure, they identified local residents as witches and wizards, resulting in dozens of arrests. Of the twenty-seven people who went to trial, nineteen were hanged and one man was pressed to death. The community was torn apart by accusations and fear. Boston clergyman Cotton Mather supported the persecutions, but his brother Increase Mather argued against the convictions and attempted to play a moderating role during the crisis. Governor William Phips forbade further trials, and a new court acquitted or discharged the remaining prisoners.
