Conspiracies In The Salem Witch Trials

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Conspiracies of The Salem Witch Trials. Centuries ago, a supernatural craze rippled through Europe lasting for three hundred years starting in the thirteen hundreds. Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 was a feeding ground for witch conspiracy. Puritans of that time believed that the Devil could grant people permission to harm others, and those chosen became known as witches. Multiple hypotheses are made up until this day consisting of numerous conspiracies for the abrupt behavior in Salem; a main hypothesis being that the poisoning of ergot had given the symptoms of those previously thought to be caused by witchcraft. Other hypotheses show that it was indeed witches and not that of ergot poisoning. In spite of what is believed about ergot,…show more content…
Some people seem to believe it was the cause and others think it’s just a random excuse to cover up the peoples actions. There are many facts concluding the reasoning for hypotheses on the connection between the Salem Witch Trials and ergot poisoning. One being that rye was a major cash crop in Salem at the time of the trials. Witch hunts hardly occurred in places rye wasn’t generally eaten. Another vas fact for the times was that ergot spreads most easily in damp, warm, and rainy weather. Ironically these were the exact weather conditions in Salem, Massachusetts prior to the nineteen sixty-two winter. Almost all of the accusers lived in the western section of Salem, which happened to be the swampy meadows region. The summer of ninety-two, the reported summer of the ending of the Salem Witch Trials, was ludicrously a dry summer, which could explain the end of the…show more content…
“Were the American Colonists Drugged during the Salem Witchcraft Trials?” Ergot Poisoning Theory. HowStuffWorks. 18 Oct 2010. . “Ergot.” Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th edition. 1 Dec. 2009. History Reference Center. Spencerport High School Library, Spencerport, NY. 12 Oct. 2010 . “Ergot Poisonin; The Cause of the Salem Witch Trials.” Hawiathia Broadband Communications. 2010. HBCI. 13 Oct. 2010. . Eshleman, Alan. Poison Plants. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1977. “Hofmann Synthesizes the Psychedelic Drug LSD-25.” Great Scientific Achievements: Volume 4. 1994. History Reference Center. Spencerport High School Library, Spencerport, NY. 13 Oct. 2010 . Lienhard, John H. “Rye ergot and Witches.” Engines of Our Ingenuity. 1997. 18 Oct

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