The Witch Hunts of Connecticut

Connecticut Witch Trials: The First Panic in the New World by Cynthia Wolfe Boynton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Little known about and over shadowed by the Salem Witch trials, were the witch trials of Connecticut. In way they were more severe. Of the 34 accused 11 were executed. Cotton Mathers,the witch finder General had a part to play. Like other books that document what is called the burning times the people who were most likely to be accused were old women that no one got along with. Or maybe these old women had property that people coveted. They also had no one to stand up for them. During those times women were not considered equal to me . They were seen as weak, sinful and easily tempted.

During the burning times a simple accusation was enough to get someone arrested, tortured, tried and then sentenced to death for witchcraft. If accused the witch finders would torture the prisoner until they confessed and they usually were coerced into giving names, alas more victims. The prisoners were stripped naked and examined for a witches teat. The witches familiar could be a toad , or a cat or any such animal. It did the witches bidding.

Like the story of Jonah and the whale, if an old lady was traveling on a ship and the seas became rough they could find themselves being accused of witchcraft. Once the accusation was muttered vigilante action took over. The ships captain did nothing to protect the old women. They merely went back to their cabin.

Groups like the Quakers were marginalized. While still being Christian their belief and practice was different from the standard practice and so hence it was easy for a woman of that faith to be accused of witchcraft.

A governor of the state, who was also an alchemist is the person who put a stop to all this. He demanded more proof and scoffed at superstition. Descendants of the witches have sought pardon and the clearing of the name of their relatives.

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