MYTH NO. 2: Puritans constantly persecuted and burned women as witches
Fact No. 2: Because of the infamous Salem witch trials of 1692, in which 20 people accused of witchcraft were executed, the New England Puritans are often singled out as an ignorant, hostile, and superstitious people prone to witchcraft “hysteria.”
It’s true that the Puritans believed in witchcraft, as did every society in Europe at the time (and as do many societies today). Rather than being hysterical about it, the Puritans took witchcraft seriously: accusations of witchcraft were thoroughly investigated, and usually dismissed. The number of witchcraft cases that made it to court in Puritan New England is very small. From the first witchcraft trial in New England in 1638 to the last in 1697 – excluding Salem’s 20 victims – 65 people were tried, out of a population of tens of thousands. More than half were acquitted; 16 were executed. They were not burned – no person was ever burned in New England.
Fact No. 2: Because of the infamous Salem witch trials of 1692, in which 20 people accused of witchcraft were executed, the New England Puritans are often singled out as an ignorant, hostile, and superstitious people prone to witchcraft “hysteria.”
It’s true that the Puritans believed in witchcraft, as did every society in Europe at the time (and as do many societies today). Rather than being hysterical about it, the Puritans took witchcraft seriously: accusations of witchcraft were thoroughly investigated, and usually dismissed. The number of witchcraft cases that made it to court in Puritan New England is very small. From the first witchcraft trial in New England in 1638 to the last in 1697 – excluding Salem’s 20 victims – 65 people were tried, out of a population of tens of thousands. More than half were acquitted; 16 were executed. They were not burned – no person was ever burned in New England.