Impact Of Tituba On The Salem Witch Trials

Register to read the introduction… Salem lacking a governor gave them no authority figure, leading to chaos. Since Massachusetts was still under the rule of Great Britain, they had to send over any government officials over to America from Britain. While the colony was waiting for their new governor to arrive, the witch trials took place and “By the time the new governor, William Phips, arrived in Massachusetts, the jails were already filed with alleged witches” (Life in Salem 1692, par. 2). This proves that the fact that Salem was without a governor for a majority of the witch trials was a contributing factor to the social climate because, without an official authority figure, the trials had no real justice to them. If a governor was present during the time of the witch trials, it’s possible that things would have been different in regards to the outcome of deaths due to false accusations. A second contributing factor to the social climate was the split between Salem Town and Salem Village. This led to social disorder due to tension between the two sides. Salem Town was a more elite and wealthy area whereas Salem Village was a lower class farming area. The Village wanted to break away from the Town because “Many of Salem Village farming families believed that Salem Town’s thriving economy made it too individualistic. This individualism was opposition to the communal nature practiced …show more content…
The social climate caused by a lack of government, political tensions, and puritan lifestyle all lead up to the tension and hysteria of the witch trials. The black slave, Tituba, whose role in Salem was to care for the family of Rev. Parris, was accused of a witch because of her knowledge of foreign magic tricks and social status. She then falsely confesses to being a witch and confesses to knowing of other witches in the village, among them, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne. Overall, the main cause of the witch hysteria was the puritan lifestyle because, not only did the puritan lifestyle set very strict boundaries for its followers, but it set a mentality in them that brainwashed them from seeing the reality of why the “fits” and “outburst” of the alleged witches were