The Salem Witchcraft Trials

Wissenschaftlicher Aufsatz aus dem Jahr 2004 im Fachbereich Geschichte Europas - Neuzeit, Absolutismus, Industrialisierung, , Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: The outbreak of religious bigotry in 17th century New England bothers historians, sociologists and theologians to find out where the motivation lay to accuse neighbours and finally put them to execution. This work will sum up the most important attempts to explain the causes as well as it will attempt a kind of focussing on the picture of the world as recognized by members of puritan faith. After a short summary of the events in winter 1692 I will first focus on social and economical circumstances during the second half of the seventeenth century. Chapter 3 will focus the puritan world-view and matters of discussion of theologians and philosophers. Chapter 4 sums up the accusations that were stated during the trials of Martha Carrier in 1692 as a showcase.