The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, in Salem and nearby towns. The hysteria began when several girls, including the daughter and niece of the Salem Village minister Samuel Parris, began to behave strangely and accused local women of bewitching them. Accusations multiplied, and more than two hundred people were accused. A special court tried them, accepting spectral evidence, and nineteen people were hanged, while another man, Giles Corey, was pressed to death for refusing to plead, and several others died in prison. Public doubts grew, the court was dissolved, and the colony later apologised and compensated families. The trials are now a standard example of mass hysteria and injustice.
Before and after
- from 28 December 1688 to 1 January 1689Glorious Revolution
- 1689Bill of Rights 1689
- from 12 March 1689 to 3 October 1691Williamite War in Ireland
- 6 September 1689Treaty of Nerchinsk
- from February 1692 to May 1693Salem Witch Trials
- 13 February 1692Massacre of Glencoe
- 28 January 1693Birth of Anna I of Russia
- 29 March 1693Founding of Curitiba
- 27 July 1694Founding of Bank of England
More in Wars, politics & history
- 1534Henry VIII becomes head of the Church of England
- from 17 January 1558 to 26 May 1583Livonian War
- from 2 April 1562 to 30 April 1598French Wars of Religion
- from September 1688 to September 1697Nine Years' War
- 1713Peace of Utrecht
- from 28 May 1754 to 7 October 1763French and Indian War
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 17th century.