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Witchcraft in 17th century New england

Witchcraft in the seventeenth century was by no means just a New England, or puritan phenomena. Such outbursts of hysteria could be found across Europe, as well as other American colonies. Nevertheless ninety-five percent of all formal witchcraft accusations in North America in the seventeenth century occurred in New England. Their puritan beliefs obviously strengthened their conviction, in what can now be termed a superstition. It is impossible to explain some of the events and this has led to a great historical debate over the force behind the accusations. A pattern does emerge, however, that suggests that those who failed to fit in, or even seemed a threat to the existing social order, were the most likely to be accused. It therefore appears that in many cases witchcraft scares were used to buttress the existing social order.
The historian G.Kittredge plays down the role of puritanism in explaining the hysteria, pointing out in his work that it could be found in both the Anglican a...

Posted by: Anthony Pacella

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