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The Forgotten Woman Who Unwittingly Ignited The Salem Witch Trials
The confession that set Massachusetts ablaze
The Salem Witch Trials were a series of sensationalist trials that were bred from rampant rumors that swirled through the Town of Salem and Salem Village during 1692 and 1693. Over 200 people were accused of witchcraft during this period. Thirty people were found guilty of the crime of witchcraft. Nineteen were executed, including five men. It is one of the oddest chapters of New World history. People have tried to grapple with the hysteria, the rumors, and the willingness of people to sell out their neighbors, knowing that doing so could lead to their ultimate deaths.
The Salem Witch Trials might never have gotten off the ground if it were not for the testimony of one single woman — a woman whose name has largely been lost to history. The woman was a slave who had been brought to Massachusetts from Barbados and was thought to be of native origin, either Caribbean or South American. The woman’s name was Tituba.
Igniting An Occult Fervor
