This Day in History: 10 June 2020
10 June 1692
328 years ago, today, Bridget Bishop was hanged, marking her as the first woman in Salem to be killed after being accused of practising witchcraft. Trouble in the Puritan community had begun in February, when Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams, the daughter and niece of the Reverend Samuel Parris, started to experience fits and exhibited other strange behaviours. This was concluded by a doctor to be the effects of witchcraft, prompting the girls to name those who allegedly were responsible for their suffering. Sarah Good, Sarah Osbourne and Tituba, a slave from Barbados, became the first from Salem to be charged with witchcraft, and soon even more people were accused, most of them being middle-aged women.
In June 1693, those who were accused were to be judged by the special Court of Oyer and Terminer, with the first tried being Bridget Bishop, who had more accusations than any other defendant. She was infamous for her dubious moral character, her flamboyant clothing, and her three marriages. Despite proclaiming her innocence, she was found guilty and was executed by hanging. 13 more women and 5 men would follow her to the gallows. Executions were finally ceased in October, with the Court of Oyer and Terminer being dissolved. The Superior Court eventually released all those who were awaiting trial, and pardoned those sentenced to death, effectively ending the Salem witch trials.
Want to find out more about the Salem witch trials of 1692? Click here for more information, or here for a cartoon of the events.
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