Essay --

Witch-hunts occurred passim England for centuries, so it was no surprise that the witchery hysteria eventually eliminate colonial rude(a) England in the late seventeenth century, but this sway of fear was different from any other. Beginning with two newfangled girls, witchcraft affected every person living in the New universe and by the end, over twenty men and women were convicted of witchcraft, as well as entire communities living in constant fear of being stirred by the hellion. Puritans, a group of English settlers, held strong beliefs about the Devil which sparked ideas of witchcraft among the Salem community. The austere Puritan lifestyle left pocket-sized room for creativity, resulting in accusations against innocent mess. Women, in addition to children, were inferior and considered worn down it was believed that Satan used them to carry out his wishes, and as a result, these mess became witches. The severity of Puritan religious beliefs indirectly caused the wit chcraft hysteria to touch on its peak during the Salem Witch Trials. Prominent and influential among the colonies, mainly Massachusetts, Puritanism was not only a religion, but a lifestyle. Puritans left England in 1630, with the flavor to reform the Church of England. These English Protestants were discontent on how the Church of England was brave out and they made it their mission to purify and eliminate the church of Catholic influences, as well as invigorate daily practices of religion. Overall, Puritans desired England to be meliorate as John Calvin (1509-1564) had reformed Geneva (Hall, 21). By moving to New England, Puritans had the freedom to establish their own religious authority. Puritanism controlled every activity in order to maintain a constant unity between people and Go... ...ities. Young women at that time had nothing at all to dedicate their imaginations. There were no fairy tales or stories, no art, theater, or continent music (Kallen 23). In addition to re strictions of childhood, extreme pressure was placed on children to remain pure or suffer the potential punishments from the Devil. At young ages, fear was planted in childrens minds causing hyperawareness of Satans wrath to frighten a childs consciousness (Hall 23). The combining of fear, lack of imaginative outlets, and pressures on children were catalysts to the uproar of witches and witchcraft. With little ability and luck to express any behavior other than obedience, it was understandable that young Abigail Williams and Betty capital of France claimed that they were possessed by witches, and in turn, these accusations engulfed the entire settlement of Salem into the hysteria.