Isolation and Wild Imaginations
In the year 1692, Salem was a part of the Bay State colonies, so it was under the control of Britain. As the historical Salem witch trials unfolded, they were awaiting a new governor sent over from England. Originally, the citizens of Salem were Puritans who had escaped to the new world for religious freedom. Their strict way of life didn’t allow for much outside interaction. Anyone who was not a member of the church was considered a minion of Satan, and therefore an enemy of the church. The church was so essential to their everyday life that an enemy of the church was considered an enemy of the community. The church was the central influence in the way they carried out their day-to-day lives. The church officials dictated what people would wear, how they would think, and sins would be punished. They believed that those who sinned were minions of the devil and in most cases practiced witchcraft. This belief was never discredited by others because the Puritans lived an internal and isolated life. They had never had the growth of new ideas and had been in the circuit of passing concepts because the community was so internalized. This allowed the belief of Satan to run ramped through the town because this was what the church told the people the Bible said and they followed it just like they always had. Since Salem was so isolated from other towns, both physically and religiously, towns were not able to spread new ideas to them. The harsh punishments of the church continued because there was no outside interactions with Salem; Salem couldn't keep up with their neighbors.
By: Meg
By: Meg