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Race Context
Tituba Indian, an enslaved Native American woman, was the first person to be accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials in February 1692. She was accused of practising witchcraft on Betty Parris and Abigail Williams, daughter and younger relative of her owner Samuel Parris. She admitted to the allegations, claiming that she made a ‘witch cake’ and took part in occult practices known as ‘voodoo’. There was strong evidence indicating that Tituba’s cooperation in court was coerced by her master, Samuel Parris. Boston merchant Robert Calef had published an exposé of the Salem Witch Trials, reporting that Tituba had said that Parris abused her prior to her examination in order to force her to confess. There was no solid confirmation of Tituba’s participation in witchcraft activities except for her confession. Yet, the judge declared her guilty for taking part in witchcraft. She was identified as Native American, but there are also suspects of her having African descent. The results of her accusations reflected the possible prejudice and assumptions Puritans had on Indigenous Americans. In addition to Tituba, Mary Black and Candy were the two other enslaved women accused of witchcraft. Mary Back was a slave of African descent who served the household of Nanthaniel Putnam, uncle of Thomas Putnam, one of the most infamous accusers of the Salem Witch Trials. She was accused by Thomas Putnam and John Buxton along with six women and three men for hurting Ann Putnam Jr. and Mercy Lewis. Surprisingly, she was not cooperative at court and was later cleared of charges in January 1693. Whereas Candy was the slave of Margaret Hawkes. Both Candy and her owner, Margaret, were accused on July 1, 1692, also by Thomas Putnam and his nephew. Candy claimed that her Mistress was the one who made her a witch. In January 1693, she was found ‘not guilty’ by the Superior Court of Judicature. The court documents showed the emphasis of their identities. Their race and social status were often mentioned during examinations. For instance, Tituba was mentioned as ‘The Indian women’, Mary was introduced as a ‘Negro ’ and the examination of Candy specify that she was ‘a Negro women and a servant ’. They were constantly linked with their race and their roles as slaves during the trials, showing the significance of ethnic backgrounds during the time. Many of the attitudes towards race, specifically the native American race, can be owed to the dominating Puritanism that encouraged and enforced racist assumptions of Native Americans. The religious beliefs and rituals of the Native Americans corresponded to English fantasies about the devil and witches. Puritanism was the dominating religious doctrine in 17th century Salem, and so the witch trials functioned as an example and reinforcement of its values, specifically on the issues of the occult, apparent satanism and race. Race played a crucial part in the vulnerability of those accused, as native Americans, who had already been predetermined devil-worshippers by the puritans, were especially vulnerable and targeted during the craze. An example of the Puritan view on Native Americans during the early colonial period can be seen in the Puritan Missionaries, where Native American children were held and encouraged to adapt to a Christian-Puritan lifestyle. This was the goal of the Puritan, to convert the heathen, and the bias that drove this mentality had its impact on the Salem Witch Trials, with Tituba, the first to be accused, being of Native American Ancestor. They believed that Indigenous Americans took part in devil worshipping. Tituba’s confession fueled their fantasies and perceptions of Indigenous Americans and they later reshaped Tituba’s confession to fit their Satanic vision. Not only did Puritans believe that Native Americans participated in devil worshipping activities, they associate Native Americans with negative stereotypical activities like lying and stealing. These stereotypes encouraged Puritans’ views of Tituba taking part in ‘devil’ like activities. Hence, displaying the possibility of the influence of race regarding Tituba’s charges. However, almost in complete contrast, African American slaves were not often accused of witchcraft in Salem, and out of the 3 who were, all were released and/or proven innocent. It is not abundantly clear as to what views the majority of Puritans in Massachusetts had towards slavery, with scholars such as Von Frank J Albert, claiming that slavery was the fault of a decline of Puritan influence, rather than a result of the influence. This may have been a result of pre-conceived puritan ideologies, specifically surrounding the treatment of slaves, and the justness of the practice. Puritan views on slavery during the seventeenth to early eighteenth century in America can be credited to the sudden increase of the slave population, especially in Massachusetts, the state where the Salem witch trials took place. Contradictory to these views, however, was the stance of Samuel Sewell, a judge in the Salem Witch trials, and later abolitionist who wrote the abolitionist text The Selling of Joseph. This pamphlet was the first anti-slavery tract to be published in New England, where Sewell opposes common arguments in favour of slavery, many of which are inherently Puritist. For example, the second argument (or Plea) made is that slaves were taken as prisoners of War, and so are justly taken as bounty or prizes. To which Sewell responds by arguing the root of the unjustness, and questions who then takes the blame, when the slaves are nothing but commodities in an unlawful economy. Also, it is too mentioning in this pamphlet the justification for slavery being that the slaves were Heathen or Pagan, a common justification for the Salem Witch Trials, of which Sewell was heavily involved in, and later apologised for. So Samuel Sewell thus gained a dual reputation, one part due to his opposing of slavery, and the other due to his involvement and later remorsefulness in the Salem Witch Trials.