Slave Tituba Summary

Breslaw analyzes the 5-day trial confessions of the slave Tituba to explore the cultural influences behind the Salem Witch-hunt. She argues that Tituba was not of African American descent but rather Native America nor was she involved in occult activities prior to 1692; it was the popularized fiction that was released afterwards that influenced the incorrect idea of Tituba’s origins (535). Breslaw’s analysis is important for a couple of reasons. She demonstrates how the various cultures: the colonists, the African Americans, and the Native American, intertwined in early America through Tituba’s confession. Although Tituba is of Native origins, her confession of her involvement with the occult is a blend of Native American, African, and English …show more content…
According to Breslaw, there is analyzed evidence that proves that Tituba was ‘coached’ with her confession, and her confession is filled with contradictions that the Massachusetts magistrate happily ignored (540,541, and 549). Breslaw also demonstrates the kinds of power that a slave could hold through the witness stand; although Tituba was herself accused of witchcraft she molded her testimony to make herself appear as a victim of witchcraft herself and set new precedents for witchcraft hunting. She was the first witness to implicate witches from outside of the local area, which was supported by the colonial idea of outsiders being different/evil, and also the first to implicate people in elite positions (536). These new precedents helped to fuel the fires because when you are prosecuting the elite, the elite have more to lose. Breslaw’s text is supported mostly by secondary sources, with her only primary sources being the transcripts and collections of Essex County. Because hers is only a journal article rather than a lengthy monograph, this can be somewhat overlooked, but if Breslaw were to ever expand on this topic, her arguments could be strengthened by more primary