Witch in Salem.Salem Massachusetts the town of the witchhunt trials in the 1690s. : 無料・フリー素材/写真
Witch in Salem.Salem Massachusetts the town of the witchhunt trials in the 1690s. / denisbin
| ライセンス | クリエイティブ・コモンズ 表示-改変禁止 2.1 |
|---|---|
| 説明 | Salem. The city has 50,000 inhabitants and was once a major port. As part of Puritan Massachusetts it was founded early - 1626 as an independent settlement but became part of Massachusetts when it was formed in 1630. The Puritans were originally Anglicans who wanted a ‘pure’ and simple Church. They fled England to Holland and then to the Boston area of Massachusetts in 1630. (Another group of Puritans had settled at Plymouth in 1620.) Traditionally Puritans were seen as intolerant, restrictive and controlling. Since the 1960s historians have seen the Puritans as the founders of democracy. Communities were self governing with all men able to vote on matters at the town meeting house, which was usually adjacent to the Congregational (Puritan) church. Although the colony leaders were Puritans and kept tight control, it was not as intolerant as we used to believe and for the times it was a fairly open and democratic society. Puritans wanted a just society and they strongly promoted education for all (Harvard established 1636). But the ‘democratic’ town meetings also investigated and castigated those who failed to attend church or broke rules about alcohol use or sexual relations outside of marriage etc. Governor Winthrop in 1630 did voluntarily share his political and religious powers with an assembly of church members, the freemen of the General Court. The power of the Puritans over Massachusetts really ended in 1684 when their royal charter was altered. The new charter of 1691 abolished church membership as a voting qualification. But what happened in Salem? It is famous for the mass hysteria of 1691-92 when these great changes above were taking place and some residents were identified as witches, persecuted, tried, and executed. The Salem Witch Trials saw 150 arrested on charges of practising witchcraft and 26 sent to court and convicted. Of the 19 convicted, 14 women and 5 men were executed by public hanging. Five of the accused died in prison. Belief in Satan and the supernatural was a part of Puritanism in the 1690s. The public hysteria was enflamed by the political and social changes occurring as well as town conflicts over property boundaries and church rights. By 1696 the General Court in Boston was condemning the trials and looking at compensation for aggrieved families. Did the Salem magistrates follow court procedure properly? In 1693 a newly formed court tried another 5 for witchcraft but with new magistrates all were acquitted. By 1703 a few convicted but not executed witches had their convictions of witchcraft reversed. Newspapers by then were viewing it as an aberration and tragedy. Prior to the Salem trials others had been convicted of witchcraft elsewhere in Massachusetts over the previous 50 years but always as isolated events. Charming Salem today capitalises on the witch trials with a Witch Museum. It is meant to have unusual stock in the shop! In 1952 Arthur Miller wrote his novel, The Crucible dramatising the witch trials and bringing a largely forgotten episode back into the attention of the public. It has twice been made into a film, the latest being in 1996. Miller used actual names from the Salem trials but did not try to be completely historically accurate. Salem is also known for the House of Seven Gables (1668) now a museum, the Peabody Essex Museum and the town’s old burial ground. |
| 撮影日 | 2012-10-12 08:05:26 |
| 撮影者 | denisbin |
| タグ | |
| 撮影地 | |
| カメラ | DSC-S950 , SONY |
| 露出 | 0.006 sec (1/160) |
| 開放F値 | f/3.1 |