This acclaimed history illuminates the horrifying episode of Salem with visceral clarity, from those who fanned the crisis to satisfy personal vendettas to the four-year-old witch who was chained to a dank prison wall in darkness till she went mad.
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This acclaimed history illuminates the horrifying episode of Salem with visceral clarity, from those who fanned the crisis to satisfy personal vendettas to the four-year-old witch who was chained to a dank prison wall in darkness till she went mad.
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Fair. Shows some light wear from age and use. Interior is good with sound binding and no marks, damage or labels. Thanks for your business! Your satisfaction is guaranteed!
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Good. Wear on edges and corners stains on edges of pages and coverYour purchase benefits those with developmental disabilities to live a better quality of life.
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Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Factual information about the Salem Witch Trials. Documentary similar to the History Channel's reenactment.
sabina
Jul 3, 2007
A microhistorical essay of the salem witch trials
Witch-hunting is a phenomenon that starts in Fifteen Century Europe as a crusade of the Roman Catholic Church against the still partially pagan traditions that survived among the country folk. Women were those that most kept alive ancient superstitions, practiced traditional medicine and maintained the knowledge on how to conjure spirits and make filters. The Inquisition had about finished persecuting the heretics, even because after Martin Luther they were so many that religious wars had to be fought, when it turned its attention to "witchcraft". Accusations of witchcraft were mostly made by priests and preachers belonging to the religious hierarchy. Witch hunting however did not cease with the Reformation and Counter Reformation but spread also to England and Northern Europe. However, since these societies did not have a religious hierarchy, accusation and judgement were carried out by neighbors and local religious authorities. America's witch-hunts of the 1600's followed clearly English patterns and the Salem episode ranks first among others.
Frances Hill's microhistorical reconstruction of the Salem Village witch craze accurately describes this horrible episode of Colonial American history. The plethora of documents available from the Mathers' books, to the relations of the trials, to the speeches pronounced before hanging or many years after by the victims and their accusers allows a faithful reconstruction of those far away village disputes. The Author's precise psychological, medical and sociological analysis of the available facts consents to formulate the hypothesis of the hysterical nature of the Salem girls' "attacks", manipulated in a second time by a part of the Salem Village's traditionalist and retrograde society. The Putnam family is made responsible for most of the accusations, the imprisonments and the hangings. The main pushing force that ignited the whole episode was the fear and the envy towards a part of the society that moved faster and reached economical success with greater ease. Salem's witch-hunt suddenly ceased when Boston's higher and more educated classes were called upon and when Salem's inhabitants visually realized what they were doing.
This book, I repeat, is a good microhistorical essay and gives a credible and rational explanation of the Salem witch-hunt, however the persecution of witchcraft started long before Salem and in each successive wave manifested different characteristics. To actually interpret McCarthyism, child sexual abuse persecution and anti-Islam mentality after 9/11 as episodes of witch-hunting is to my opinion a little reductive.
I live in Italy and my child's professor (9th grade) gave this book as an assignment on religious discrimination, linking it to the crusades against the Cathars. So, as you can see, history may be interpreted in many ways!
