Why were witches killed?
I had just recently done something on the witch trials. Well, witches were accused of working with the devil, causing harm, and bringing evil to Salem. That caused the towns people to erupt with fear and anger. So from there, they brought these people to the court and were in trials that lasted for days, deciding whether they should be killed or forgiven for their lies of them being or not being witches. Lots of people had also denied the fact that they were and due to their answer, they were killed. Those that did announce that they had been witches were not killed but given a bit of a punishment. Some of the innocent were killed. This was because of what the witches would say about them. This is most of what i know right now….If i find more info, i’ll update it later. Hope this helps!
First of all, no real witches were killed (or at least, not many, if any). It was just people trying to get their enemies killed. Secondly, they were killed because witches were depicted as evil and harmful, so people didn’t want them around. It caused people to accuse each other out of hate or fear and so they were put to death.
If you are researching Only the Salem Witch Trials, then you must understand that the people accused of being witches were no such things. They were, however, people who did not believe in the strictly enforced religious rules of the elders of Salem, who were all Puritans. One of the accused was a a slave from Haiti, who brought her religious beliefs and practices with her (Voodoo). Another was the town midwife. Midwives were often accused of witchcraft because they had knowledge of herbs, etc. and often could cure people that the male doctors could not. Others accused of the crime of witchcraft were people who had spoken out against the harshness of the town’s laws, were widows with property that some of the accusers coveted, etc. There are websites that discuss the Salem Witch Trials and reasons behind it in detail, you just need to keep looking. You might also check out your local library for some books on the subject.
