1692 Ergot Poisoning Theory

The Salem Witch Trials was an uncanny and eerie event of hearings and prosecutions of people being accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts. Although it lasted from 1691 to 1692, it lead to more than 200 people, including men and women, being accused and arrested of witchcraft and 20 of those people executed. The hysteria began with two young girls: Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams claiming to be possessed by the devil, causing the “witch-fever” among the Salem village. In this essay the circumstances behind poor harvest, sickness and the conjecture of witches and witchcraft being highly considered as a cause in this era will be described. The Salem Witch Trials were caused by environmental factors because the Salem community had limited understanding of natural causes such as poor harvest, sickness and diseases.

S/he gives many factors that may have caused the madness of 1692. Along with the events mentioned previously, historian G vocalizes the colony in 1691-1692 was diversified by threats, weather, economy, opinions, and diseases. The village was divided due to countless arguments and regional disagreements relative to land claims. These influential incidents were the prime root of the panic in Salem.

What really happened during Salem 1692? Many questions still haunt many Americans in the beginning of the twenty-first century. During 1692 the people of Massachusetts were living in fear about satanic afflictions, like the same way everyone else feels about terrorism around the world today. Everything about witchcraft outbreak during that year was strange. Many responses to the information were never answered during the late seventeenth-century when the witchcraft crisis occurred. During this time there were horrifyingly Indian attacks that mainly scared northern frontier of settlers, refugees, and also the main accusers of witches these groups all fled to communities like Salem. But on the other side colony’s leaders were very defensive about

In 1692, the subjects of Salem Massachusetts turned on each other, and blamed hundreds for their own neighbors with Witchcraft. Amid the era of June to September 1692, nineteen individuals were unjustifiably killed after ridiculous trials discovered them liable of demonstrations of Witchcraft. The explanations for the trials themselves are perplexing and multifaceted. Financial matters, religious imperatives, financial class issues, corrupted nourishment supply, property question, congregational quarrels and juvenile young ladies ailing in consideration all remain at the center of the Salem Witch

Salem, Massachusetts became famously known for the witch trials that took place in the late 1600’s. For the men and women residing in Salem, Massachusetts it was a time in which they lived in fear of allegations and deceit. Twenty men and women lost their lives during what is known as the Salem Witchcraft Hysteria. Socioeconomic tensions within the community are to blame for the witchcraft hysteria in Salem, Massachusetts during the late 1600’s. Factors such as politics, religion, and social status all played a role in the deadly and devastating era.

As the late 17th century approached, a very dark time fell on Salem, Massachusetts, and it lasted two seasons, from February 1692 to September 1692. The Salem Witch Trials happened in a time when people in the community would let their fears of Satan and the supernatural accompany their human faults. No one in the community would be safe from it and the accusations were not limited to any social class, as neighbors would accuse each other of witchcraft. The town soon began to pick off anyone in the community that would disagree with one another. The once faithful, Puritan Christian community of Salem began hangings at Gallows Hill and by the time they realized the extent of their damage, a complete count of nineteen

American history is filled with many exhilarations of settling and explore new places while creating a new nation that would be hardy when challenged. In the year 1692, America witnessed a tragedy when the new resident of Salem were faced with multiple accusations of being involved in witchcraft.The matter of the Salem witchcraft trials has been depicted in concurrent fictional works such as dramas and novel and even paramount motion pictures. This period of American history has certainly stood the test of time and continues to gather attentiveness fascinate American history buffs. In order to understand the magnitude of the Salem witchcraft trials, it is important to recognize the symptoms and behaviors, who was affected, and the ergot poisoning theory.

Ergot, the toxic fungus found on rye, is mostly found during the spring and summer months with humid climates (Clues and Evidence). When reproducing, the contaminated grain releases a yellow thick, sticky substance which contains the fungus that spreads the poison throughout the crop. Once the grain is infected, it’s seeds contain lysergic acid which is what the hallucinogen LSD is created from (Clues and Evidence). Some side effects of ingesting Ergot are: “... strange mental aberrations, hallucinations, a feeling of burning skin or insects crawling under the skin. Women frequently miscarried, and fertility was generally reduced during outbreaks… many victims lost hands and feet” (Schumann). Victims of the lethal infection also experienced convulsions, paralysis, tremors and acting disturbed or insane(Schumann).

Ergot grows on cereal grains, especially rye. Though it typically emerges after rainy springs or humid summers, it may appear in one field but not another, or infest a crop one year and never appear again (Caporael 9). When an animal consumes grain that contains ergot, it will probably develop ergotism. The symptoms include hallucination, vertigo, tinnitus, painful tingling sensations, delirium, vomiting, and convulsions (Caporael 9). If convulsive ergotism did afflict the girls, it would explain all the unsolved mysteries surrounding the witch

Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were a horrific time in the colony of Salem, present day Massachusetts. It was a low point in the American history where many people were accused and some people were even killed, at that time. It was a time when many women and some men were put on trial and tortured for being accused of being a witch and doing witch craft.

During the time period of 1691 to 1692 the town of Salem, a small thriving community within the Puritan Massachusetts Bay colony, was struck by widespread hysteria in the form of witch trials. The way these trials and accusations played out are historically unlike any other witch trials found in European and American history. Historians have pointed to a number of economic, political, and social changes of the then existing institutions throughout the Massachusetts Bay area to be the cause of the Salem witch trials, along with the direction they took. If studied closely however, it becomes apparent that the main cause for the Salem witch trials can be found in the way the people of Salem viewed and

No single factor sparked the hysteria of the witchcraft trials of 1692. Instead, Multiple factors such as, politics, religion, gender roles, and illness, combined to create a perfect environment for paranoia and panic. In 1692 New Englanders were deeply religious, and living in fear. Salem village was a, “Puritan Society based solely on religion” (Griffin 2010).

In 1692, in the small village of Salem, Massachusetts, 20 people were hanged for offenses they did not commit. But what was the charge against the 20? The answer would be witchcraft. The charges deeply affected the small community. Neighbor turned on neighbor. Every act that a person made would be carefully scrutinized, dissected, and repeated to others. This would lead to the question. What caused the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria of 1692? The 3 main factors that would cause widespread panic in the town of Salem were gender, marital status, and age, actors and attention seekers, and neighbor conflicts within the village of Salem.

During the ¨Dark Times¨ of the 1600s people began turning on their neighbors, brothers, and sisters. Many people were blaming the unknown illnesses or mysterious deaths on such a thing called witchcraft. Neighbors were blaming neighbors for the mysterious acts. A documented death toll of 19 ¨Witches¨ were hung to their death. The Salem Witch Trials lasted from 1692 to 1693. Why did the Salem Witch Trials happen? What happened during the Salem Witch Trials? How did the Salem Witch Trials affect the town today?

Manifest Destiny was a mindset that played a crucial role in the expansion of the United States, and if it had not been thought of, America would not be the way we know it today in regards to how big it is. In this essay, I will discuss how it helped shape America, how it began, how it would affect events that happened later on in American history as a result, and how it led to making America what it is today.