The Salem Witch Trials were a monumental moment in American history. It began in Salem in 1692 when two girls and a village slave named Tituba tried to look into their futures (“Salem witchcraft trials” - American History). Shortly after, the village girls began to behave strangely by crawling under things and making abnormal noises. It came to a point where they ended up screaming that they were being tortured (“Salem witchcraft trials”- World Book Advanced). Since two of the three affected village girls were the daughter and niece (respectively) of a reverend in the town, their pious relative urged them to name the witch responsible for their outbursts. They named three people responsible but the only one who ended up fully confessing was
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A large reason why Tituba’s confession in the trial made the most impact was because she was beaten into it. In the days leading up to the trial, Reverend Parris repeatedly and consistently beat her and told her exactly what to say on the stand as to “deflect the roots of this strange behavior out of his own household and onto others” even though she originally stated that she didn’t practice witchcraft (Saari and Shaw 231). In return for the confession he wanted, Reverend Parris promised Tituba her freedom (Salem Witch Trials - The People - Tituba). When Tituba took the stand, she not only accused addition people of witchcraft, but exaggerated the details of meetings between her and the other “witches”. She went into detail with “fantastic descriptions of ridding to Sabbath (mass meeting of witches) with both Sarah’s on a broomstick…” (Saari and Shaw 46). During her confession, Tituba went into a fit and ended up temporarily “blind” which was tied to the superstition that when a witch gave up her power, she would also lose her sight (Saari and Shaw 46). Since Tituba confessed to practicing witchcraft, she wasn’t put on trial. Instead, after her confession Tituba was held in jail (despite Parris saying he would free her) and was a witness for the court. She was released in May 1693 after being sold and moved to Virginia with her new master
A large reason why Tituba’s confession in the trial made the most impact was because she was beaten into it. In the days leading up to the trial, Reverend Parris repeatedly and consistently beat her and told her exactly what to say on the stand as to “deflect the roots of this strange behavior out of his own household and onto others” even though she originally stated that she didn’t practice witchcraft (Saari and Shaw 231). In return for the confession he wanted, Reverend Parris promised Tituba her freedom (Salem Witch Trials - The People - Tituba). When Tituba took the stand, she not only accused addition people of witchcraft, but exaggerated the details of meetings between her and the other “witches”. She went into detail with “fantastic descriptions of ridding to Sabbath (mass meeting of witches) with both Sarah’s on a broomstick…” (Saari and Shaw 46). During her confession, Tituba went into a fit and ended up temporarily “blind” which was tied to the superstition that when a witch gave up her power, she would also lose her sight (Saari and Shaw 46). Since Tituba confessed to practicing witchcraft, she wasn’t put on trial. Instead, after her confession Tituba was held in jail (despite Parris saying he would free her) and was a witness for the court. She was released in May 1693 after being sold and moved to Virginia with her new master