1 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:17,720 Speaker 1: It was hard to nail down one specific reason why 2 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:20,880 Speaker 1: no one could get along. But looking back, it seems 3 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:24,639 Speaker 1: like they were divided along lines that sound eerily familiar 4 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:29,280 Speaker 1: to us today. Conservative and liberal views on religion had 5 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:34,400 Speaker 1: fractured the people, but so had socio economic differences. The wealthier, 6 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:38,560 Speaker 1: more liberal coastal elites of Salem Town, with its busy 7 00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:42,839 Speaker 1: ports and growing businesses, sat in direct opposition to the 8 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:46,840 Speaker 1: inland conservatives, who wanted independence and a much more strict 9 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:52,040 Speaker 1: church life. That's an oversimplification of the climate, I know, 10 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:55,200 Speaker 1: but it's still a fair summary of the key differences 11 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:59,520 Speaker 1: according to most historians. And yet, well, if we were 12 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:04,000 Speaker 1: standing in Salem village in we would have been able 13 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:06,440 Speaker 1: to see the true breadth of the differences with our 14 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:11,040 Speaker 1: own eyes. In fact, those differences literally rode into the 15 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:15,600 Speaker 1: village on March one. You see, there was a law 16 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:18,520 Speaker 1: on the books in the Massachusetts Bay Colony that was 17 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:22,240 Speaker 1: known as the Sumptuary Laws. Think of the word sumptuous, 18 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:26,240 Speaker 1: which means splendid or expensive looking, and you'll get the idea. 19 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:30,240 Speaker 1: These were laws that dictated what you could wear depending 20 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:33,160 Speaker 1: on your social status. They acted as a sort of 21 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:36,520 Speaker 1: outward sign of a person's place in a larger society. 22 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:41,560 Speaker 1: Most people were farmers working the land as either indentured 23 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:45,199 Speaker 1: servants or low income settlers. They were allowed to wear 24 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:48,200 Speaker 1: some of the basic colors, such as muted reds and 25 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:51,760 Speaker 1: greens and blues. They wiped their noses on their sleeves 26 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:54,840 Speaker 1: rather than on the handkerchiefs that the wealthy used, and 27 00:01:54,880 --> 00:02:00,320 Speaker 1: their clothing was much more functional than formal. So when 28 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:03,960 Speaker 1: John Hawthorne rode into Salem Village that day, even from 29 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:06,920 Speaker 1: a distance, it was clear that he was someone important. 30 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:10,920 Speaker 1: The black clothing, the silver lace and gold buttons on 31 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:15,080 Speaker 1: his coat, the fancy jewelry and beautiful boots, all of 32 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:18,160 Speaker 1: it spoke of a person of privilege and power, to 33 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:24,960 Speaker 1: words that accurately described John Hawthorne. With him was another 34 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:28,960 Speaker 1: well dressed man, Jonathan Corwin. They were making their way 35 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:32,640 Speaker 1: through the village toward a very special destination, the home 36 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:36,600 Speaker 1: of Nathaniel Ingersol. It was a building that served double 37 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:39,960 Speaker 1: duty as the local tavern, what they called an ordinary 38 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:43,800 Speaker 1: back then, and Ingersoll's Ordinary was about to play host 39 00:02:43,919 --> 00:02:47,360 Speaker 1: the opening pitch of a very long, very deadly game. 40 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 1: Because Hawthorne and Corwin weren't just two rich visitors out 41 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:54,280 Speaker 1: on a jaunt through the countryside. They were the law 42 00:02:54,400 --> 00:03:00,679 Speaker 1: keepers of Salem. The magistrates had arrived. The trials we're 43 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:39,680 Speaker 1: about to begin. This is unobscured. I'm Aaron Manky. Let's 44 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:43,560 Speaker 1: begin with systems. We talk a lot today about systems 45 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:46,360 Speaker 1: that are breaking down, or how we've stepped outside of 46 00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:49,600 Speaker 1: the norm and are experiencing a very unusual kind of life. 47 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:53,360 Speaker 1: It's a common way of seeing the world. When things 48 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:56,400 Speaker 1: feel like they've veered off the typical, well worn path, 49 00:03:56,600 --> 00:04:00,440 Speaker 1: we notice it, and as we continue to explore sale them, 50 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 1: we're going to talk more and more about that sort 51 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:07,320 Speaker 1: of thing. But to understand what those deviations meant for 52 00:04:07,360 --> 00:04:10,240 Speaker 1: the people of Salem over three d years ago, we 53 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:13,960 Speaker 1: have to understand what was expected and normal. You can't 54 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:17,120 Speaker 1: talk about how the system was breaking down without talking 55 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:20,839 Speaker 1: about the system. It's a lot less sexy than descriptions 56 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:24,960 Speaker 1: of witchcraft or even general criminal activity. But you can't 57 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:29,120 Speaker 1: build a fancy house without a foundation. So here we go. 58 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 1: The Massachusetts Bay Colony had been set up in the 59 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:36,840 Speaker 1: New World by a royal charter by England's King James, 60 00:04:36,839 --> 00:04:40,080 Speaker 1: the first a charter was a powerful piece of paper 61 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:47,000 Speaker 1: because it established significant institutions like universities, organizations, and of course, communities. 62 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:51,000 Speaker 1: They typically served double duty to setting up the colony 63 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:54,360 Speaker 1: in an official capacity while also providing the laws and 64 00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:58,800 Speaker 1: rules for governing it. The Royal Charter for the Massachusetts 65 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:03,120 Speaker 1: Bay Colony was shoot in sixteen that's almost sixty five 66 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:06,880 Speaker 1: years before the events in Salem. That means three generations 67 00:05:06,880 --> 00:05:10,760 Speaker 1: of people learned to understand, follow, and enforce the laws 68 00:05:10,839 --> 00:05:14,520 Speaker 1: of this new land, and the charter informed all of that. 69 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:18,200 Speaker 1: Even those sumptuary laws I mentioned earlier, the ones that 70 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:21,679 Speaker 1: dictated what clothing people were allowed to wear, came from 71 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:26,560 Speaker 1: that charter. Six years after the charter was established, a 72 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:29,960 Speaker 1: man named William Hawthorne arrived in the New World, first 73 00:05:29,960 --> 00:05:32,920 Speaker 1: settling in the area known as Dorchester, which is now 74 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:36,080 Speaker 1: part of Boston's South Side. A year later he was 75 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:39,400 Speaker 1: elected town deputy, but sometime after that he moved his 76 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:44,160 Speaker 1: family north to Salem. By sixteen forty four, he had 77 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:47,640 Speaker 1: ascended to the colonial equivalent of the Massachusetts Speaker of 78 00:05:47,640 --> 00:05:51,279 Speaker 1: the House, was the military leader of Salem and served 79 00:05:51,279 --> 00:05:54,200 Speaker 1: as magistrate over the people there. He was the man 80 00:05:54,279 --> 00:05:58,160 Speaker 1: responsible for giving land to newcomers in Salem for settling 81 00:05:58,200 --> 00:06:02,520 Speaker 1: disputes and levying to x is one other thing about 82 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:05,760 Speaker 1: William Hawthorne, though, despite the fact that his second wife's 83 00:06:05,760 --> 00:06:08,080 Speaker 1: mother was a Quaker, he spent a good number of 84 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:12,480 Speaker 1: years persecuting them all over the colony. Here's Salem State 85 00:06:12,560 --> 00:06:16,360 Speaker 1: University professor of history Emerson Baker. You see that long 86 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:20,120 Speaker 1: history of Salem, of the quite literally tortured relationship with Quakers. 87 00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:22,240 Speaker 1: If you're not one of us, if you're not a Puritan, 88 00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:24,599 Speaker 1: then you're against us, and more to the point, that 89 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:28,440 Speaker 1: means you are stopping really the the creation of this 90 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:32,880 Speaker 1: godly community of the city upon the hill. Hawthorne and 91 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:36,479 Speaker 1: his first wife had eight children, four boys and four girls. 92 00:06:36,839 --> 00:06:38,640 Speaker 1: His youngest daughter, by the way, would go on to 93 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:41,640 Speaker 1: marry Israel Porter, the man who would later preside over 94 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:44,839 Speaker 1: the execution of Thomas Putnam's estate and award most of 95 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:48,000 Speaker 1: that fortune to the one Putnam who wanted Salem Village 96 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:52,160 Speaker 1: to remain part of Salem Town. His fifth child, born 97 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:55,880 Speaker 1: in sixty one, was John, the man now making his 98 00:06:55,960 --> 00:07:00,760 Speaker 1: way toward Nathaniel Ingersoll's ordinary. He had inherited father's love 99 00:07:00,839 --> 00:07:03,960 Speaker 1: of the legal foundations of the colony and After making 100 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:06,640 Speaker 1: a fortune in a merchant business co owned by his father, 101 00:07:06,839 --> 00:07:09,200 Speaker 1: he began working his way up the same ladder as 102 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:14,600 Speaker 1: his father had decades before. By two John was fifty, 103 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:17,520 Speaker 1: he was one of Salem's magistrates and a Justice of 104 00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:20,840 Speaker 1: the Peace, along with sitting on a number of important committees, 105 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:24,360 Speaker 1: committees like the one tasked with finding a minister for 106 00:07:24,400 --> 00:07:29,040 Speaker 1: the Salem Village Congregation. Thanks to his father's legacy, John 107 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:33,400 Speaker 1: was respected and admired. I think that's equally true of 108 00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:36,040 Speaker 1: the other judges as well. Most of them, again are 109 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:38,520 Speaker 1: very experienced and long standing. Most of the members of 110 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:43,080 Speaker 1: the second generation. Again that's Emerson Baker. You also have 111 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:46,680 Speaker 1: Bartholomew Gidney. He's a second generation merchant. He's a physician. 112 00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:49,360 Speaker 1: He's the colonel in charge and command of the Essex 113 00:07:49,360 --> 00:07:53,560 Speaker 1: County Militia. You have Jonathan Corwin, who again Haythorns and 114 00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:55,920 Speaker 1: Corwin's for for two generations. The fathers served in the 115 00:07:56,000 --> 00:08:00,280 Speaker 1: legislature together. They've been family traditions of militia officers. They 116 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:03,280 Speaker 1: had helped make Salem what it was as this bustling, 117 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:08,720 Speaker 1: shiny seaport. But here's where things go off. The rails 118 00:08:09,320 --> 00:08:13,440 Speaker 1: that Royal Charter that was issued in sixteen lasted for 119 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:16,440 Speaker 1: over six decades. But during that time a lot had 120 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:19,640 Speaker 1: happened back home in England. The Civil War had torn 121 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:23,120 Speaker 1: the country apart. King Charles the First was executed in 122 00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:27,280 Speaker 1: sixteen forty nine and the monarchy was abolished. Then in 123 00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:30,920 Speaker 1: sixteen sixty it was all restored and Charles the Second 124 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:35,439 Speaker 1: took the throne. It was a time of constant, dramatic upheaval, 125 00:08:35,679 --> 00:08:37,560 Speaker 1: and in the midst of all of it was the 126 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:41,320 Speaker 1: fate of England's New World colonies. Many of them weren't 127 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:44,439 Speaker 1: in favor of giving the king ultimate authority over their 128 00:08:44,440 --> 00:08:48,199 Speaker 1: own communities, and Massachusetts was the most vocal about that, 129 00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:54,520 Speaker 1: So in sixty four England annulled their charter. So when 130 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:57,640 Speaker 1: I say that context matters, that we have to understand 131 00:08:57,640 --> 00:08:59,920 Speaker 1: how things are supposed to work in order to bed 132 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:02,920 Speaker 1: or understand just how broken they were. This is the 133 00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:06,719 Speaker 1: stuff I'm talking about. Accusations of witchcraft would have been 134 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:09,720 Speaker 1: handled differently if the charter had still been in place, 135 00:09:10,480 --> 00:09:14,320 Speaker 1: but it wasn't. Salem was an untethered boat in a 136 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:18,080 Speaker 1: stormy sea, which meant that these new rumors of witchcraft 137 00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:22,439 Speaker 1: were the worst possible test of their tenuous position. Uncertain 138 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:24,959 Speaker 1: of what to do, the community turned to the only 139 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:28,880 Speaker 1: people they could trust, and the well respected John Hawthorne 140 00:09:28,920 --> 00:09:33,160 Speaker 1: was one of them. Salem might have been in political chaos, 141 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:37,560 Speaker 1: but there was still hope. The magistrates were taking charge. 142 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:48,160 Speaker 1: The process was already off the rails, so to speak, 143 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:51,240 Speaker 1: in the days before the charter had been taken away 144 00:09:51,240 --> 00:09:54,480 Speaker 1: from the colony. The process was fairly strict and weighty. 145 00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:58,080 Speaker 1: If you suspected someone of witchcraft, you were accusing them 146 00:09:58,160 --> 00:10:02,400 Speaker 1: of a capital crime across I'm punishable by death. Because 147 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:05,760 Speaker 1: of that, the law made sure everyone had serious skin 148 00:10:05,840 --> 00:10:10,400 Speaker 1: in the game. Here's Emerson Baker again. Normally you would 149 00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:12,680 Speaker 1: have to postpond if you were charging someone with a 150 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:15,600 Speaker 1: felony like that, basically what today would call a nuisance suit, 151 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:19,240 Speaker 1: or to essentially maybe charge persons for political purposes or 152 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:21,080 Speaker 1: a way to get back at them if the case 153 00:10:21,120 --> 00:10:23,400 Speaker 1: wasn't proven, you'd forfeit your bond. That would have been 154 00:10:23,400 --> 00:10:26,640 Speaker 1: a substantial inducement to not accuse someone flippantly of a 155 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:30,440 Speaker 1: high crime, right. But when Thomas Putnam Jr. And his 156 00:10:30,559 --> 00:10:33,400 Speaker 1: three friends walked to Salem Town the day after the 157 00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:37,560 Speaker 1: snowstorm and stood before Hawthorne and Corwin. They did no 158 00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:42,560 Speaker 1: such thing. Sure, they named names and made accusations, but 159 00:10:42,679 --> 00:10:46,320 Speaker 1: none of them paid the bond. Despite that, the magistrates 160 00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:50,840 Speaker 1: still issued the warrants for three individuals it was unheard of. 161 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:55,600 Speaker 1: Their next steps were simple enough. The three women would 162 00:10:55,640 --> 00:10:58,880 Speaker 1: be arrested and then questioned. The judges would conduct the 163 00:10:58,920 --> 00:11:02,800 Speaker 1: examinations one by one to determine if the charges were true, 164 00:11:03,280 --> 00:11:07,480 Speaker 1: and they would do all of this publicly. The morning 165 00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:10,800 Speaker 1: that Hawthorne and Corwin were traveling to Ingersoll's Ordinary in 166 00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:14,400 Speaker 1: Salem Village, they had two constables doing their dirty work. 167 00:11:14,880 --> 00:11:18,000 Speaker 1: Think of them as police officers with very limited power 168 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:21,760 Speaker 1: who had been assigned a very specific task gather the 169 00:11:21,840 --> 00:11:25,079 Speaker 1: three women at the center of the accusations and bring 170 00:11:25,120 --> 00:11:30,400 Speaker 1: them to Ingersoll's for examination. One of the constables, a 171 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:33,640 Speaker 1: man named George Locker, only really had one person to 172 00:11:33,679 --> 00:11:36,840 Speaker 1: bring in that morning, but Sarah Good was a handful 173 00:11:37,080 --> 00:11:40,520 Speaker 1: and probably needed all of his energy and attention. I'll 174 00:11:40,520 --> 00:11:42,600 Speaker 1: get into more about why that is in a bit, 175 00:11:42,960 --> 00:11:45,280 Speaker 1: but what's important to know right now is that Locker 176 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:48,720 Speaker 1: found her and took her into custody. When he did, 177 00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:55,000 Speaker 1: though Sarah's husband, William Good, followed along The other Constable, 178 00:11:55,160 --> 00:11:58,280 Speaker 1: Joseph Herrick, had more on his list. He needed to 179 00:11:58,360 --> 00:12:03,080 Speaker 1: locate two suspects, not one, Sarah Osburne and Tituba, the 180 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:06,440 Speaker 1: slave who lived at the Paris home. He managed to 181 00:12:06,480 --> 00:12:08,959 Speaker 1: collect both of them that morning, but as he did so, 182 00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:12,560 Speaker 1: he also conducted brief inspections of their homes. He even 183 00:12:12,640 --> 00:12:15,760 Speaker 1: recorded the deed on the back of the warrant. Made 184 00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:20,079 Speaker 1: diligent search for images and such, he wrote, but can 185 00:12:20,240 --> 00:12:25,200 Speaker 1: find none. He also had two other jobs that morning. First, 186 00:12:25,320 --> 00:12:27,720 Speaker 1: he'd been asked to gather the four girls who had 187 00:12:27,760 --> 00:12:32,920 Speaker 1: started all of the accusations, Betsy Paris, her cousin, Abigail Williams, 188 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:37,160 Speaker 1: and neighbor girls Annie Putnam and Elizabeth Hubbard. Then, as 189 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:40,240 Speaker 1: if that weren't enough, the magistrates had also asked him 190 00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:43,880 Speaker 1: to bring, in their own words, any other person that 191 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:48,920 Speaker 1: can give evidence. Naturally, a crowd was forming by the 192 00:12:48,960 --> 00:12:52,640 Speaker 1: time Locker and Herrick arrived at Ingersoll's Ordinary with their 193 00:12:52,679 --> 00:12:56,880 Speaker 1: three suspects. They had a massive entourage and tow Some 194 00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:59,480 Speaker 1: had come as part of the official proceedings that were 195 00:12:59,480 --> 00:13:02,520 Speaker 1: about to place, but all of them were there to watch. 196 00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:06,640 Speaker 1: It was a spectacle unlike anything they had ever seen. 197 00:13:08,640 --> 00:13:11,920 Speaker 1: The trouble was Ingersolls was nothing more than a house 198 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:15,120 Speaker 1: like building, not a stadium. There was no way all 199 00:13:15,160 --> 00:13:18,160 Speaker 1: of these people were going to fit inside that humble structure. 200 00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:24,559 Speaker 1: Three suspects, two husbands, four accusers, two constables and two magistrates. 201 00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:28,600 Speaker 1: That was thirteen people without any other witnesses. So Hawthorne 202 00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:31,400 Speaker 1: and Corwin put their heads together and they made a 203 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:36,000 Speaker 1: decision they needed to go elsewhere. Just down the road 204 00:13:36,160 --> 00:13:39,080 Speaker 1: was the new Salem Village meeting House, and while it 205 00:13:39,160 --> 00:13:42,439 Speaker 1: wasn't enormous, it was built to hold larger crowds, so 206 00:13:42,600 --> 00:13:45,680 Speaker 1: they would have to do inside. It was a wide 207 00:13:45,679 --> 00:13:49,200 Speaker 1: open space, roughly thirty four feet by twenty eight ft. 208 00:13:49,679 --> 00:13:52,560 Speaker 1: It's no longer standing today. A few buildings from that 209 00:13:52,600 --> 00:13:55,320 Speaker 1: era are, to be honest, but it was described as 210 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:58,840 Speaker 1: a barn like structure that was modeled after traditional buildings 211 00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:02,480 Speaker 1: of similar purpose. I made the mistake early on of 212 00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:05,520 Speaker 1: thinking of the meeting house purely as a church. And yes, 213 00:14:05,679 --> 00:14:08,760 Speaker 1: that's where Samuel Paris preached every Sunday in front of 214 00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:12,280 Speaker 1: his congregation, but the building served civic duties as well. 215 00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:15,560 Speaker 1: It was exactly what they called it a meeting house. 216 00:14:15,960 --> 00:14:19,000 Speaker 1: It was literally a place for meetings, so moving the 217 00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:22,240 Speaker 1: examinations of the three suspects under that roof made a 218 00:14:22,280 --> 00:14:25,920 Speaker 1: lot of sense. Speaking of which, not all of the 219 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:29,280 Speaker 1: suspects were brought over at once. In fact, when Hawthorne 220 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:31,520 Speaker 1: and Corwin made the brief trek back out into the 221 00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:34,320 Speaker 1: snow and trudged down the road to the larger space, 222 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:38,479 Speaker 1: only Sarah Good followed behind them, watched over by Constable 223 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:43,280 Speaker 1: George Locker. When the meeting began moments later, Sarah Good 224 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:47,120 Speaker 1: found herself standing alone before the two magistrates as a 225 00:14:47,160 --> 00:14:50,720 Speaker 1: packed house watched on. A few people in the room 226 00:14:50,920 --> 00:14:54,680 Speaker 1: cared for Sarah Good, including the judges. If she was 227 00:14:54,760 --> 00:14:57,560 Speaker 1: expecting to throw herself on the mercy of the court, 228 00:14:58,320 --> 00:15:01,960 Speaker 1: she was about to be very to pointed, there would 229 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:10,320 Speaker 1: be no mercy to be found. Sarah Good was the 230 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:14,320 Speaker 1: very definition of an outsider. Life didn't start out that 231 00:15:14,360 --> 00:15:16,840 Speaker 1: way for her. Though her father had been a prosperous 232 00:15:16,880 --> 00:15:19,680 Speaker 1: pub owner when she was born in sixteen fifty three. 233 00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:23,440 Speaker 1: Trouble began nineteen years later when he passed away and 234 00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:26,200 Speaker 1: none of that wealth was bequeathed to her. She was 235 00:15:26,320 --> 00:15:30,120 Speaker 1: left completely on her own. Her first husband had been 236 00:15:30,160 --> 00:15:32,360 Speaker 1: a farmer, but life was hard for them, and they 237 00:15:32,400 --> 00:15:34,880 Speaker 1: took on more debts than either of them could manage. 238 00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:38,040 Speaker 1: When he died a few years later, Sarah was left 239 00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:42,200 Speaker 1: to carry the entire burden herself. Her current husband, William Good, 240 00:15:42,440 --> 00:15:44,880 Speaker 1: thought he could help, but both of them had become 241 00:15:44,880 --> 00:15:48,880 Speaker 1: buried under the weight of it all. By sixte two, 242 00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:51,400 Speaker 1: the couple had a four year old daughter named Dorothy 243 00:15:51,560 --> 00:15:55,440 Speaker 1: and three month old infants, but not much else. Sarah 244 00:15:55,440 --> 00:15:57,600 Speaker 1: and William had been forced to hand a portion of 245 00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:00,680 Speaker 1: their tiny property to debtors, and then had to sell 246 00:16:00,720 --> 00:16:03,680 Speaker 1: the rest so that they could support themselves, which meant 247 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:07,640 Speaker 1: that by March of two they were homeless, sleeping in 248 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:11,560 Speaker 1: neighbors barns, and begging for food. Think about it from 249 00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:14,320 Speaker 1: Sarah's point of view. She had been born into a 250 00:16:14,400 --> 00:16:17,080 Speaker 1: comfortable life, but then all of that had been taken 251 00:16:17,120 --> 00:16:20,280 Speaker 1: away from her, sending her into a downward spiral of 252 00:16:20,320 --> 00:16:24,120 Speaker 1: defeat and hopelessness. It's no wonder others in the community 253 00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:27,680 Speaker 1: viewed her as bitter and sullen when she walked around town, 254 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:31,720 Speaker 1: grumbling under her breath and generally being mean to everyone else. 255 00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:35,800 Speaker 1: She was piste off, and honestly, I can't blame her 256 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:40,320 Speaker 1: after all of that, here she was standing before the 257 00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:43,880 Speaker 1: magistrates in a crowded meeting house on a cold March morning, 258 00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:46,200 Speaker 1: and you can't help but wonder if she would have 259 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:48,320 Speaker 1: been there at all, if she had been a little 260 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:51,480 Speaker 1: bit more likable, a little more well off, and a 261 00:16:51,560 --> 00:16:55,200 Speaker 1: little more religious. Sarah Good, as far as I can tell, 262 00:16:55,680 --> 00:16:58,360 Speaker 1: was thought of as guilty before she stepped through the door, 263 00:16:58,760 --> 00:17:04,280 Speaker 1: simply because she didn't fit in Sarah Good, John Hawthorne began, 264 00:17:05,080 --> 00:17:10,400 Speaker 1: what evil spirit have you familiarity with? None, she replied. 265 00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:13,679 Speaker 1: The written records can't convey the tone of her voice. 266 00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:16,920 Speaker 1: But knowing everything else we do about her and positive, 267 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:21,480 Speaker 1: her answer was dripping with annoyance. Have you made no 268 00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:27,399 Speaker 1: contract with the devil? He continued, No, Then, pointing toward 269 00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:31,440 Speaker 1: the four girls who had begun the entire ordeal, Hawthorne continued, 270 00:17:32,040 --> 00:17:36,159 Speaker 1: why do you hurt these children? I do not hurt them, 271 00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:40,200 Speaker 1: she replied. In response, Hawthorne asked the girls to look 272 00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:42,840 Speaker 1: at Sarah Good and say whether or not she was 273 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:46,000 Speaker 1: the person who had been tormenting them. They replied that 274 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:49,920 Speaker 1: Good was one of the people responsible. Yes, a moment later, 275 00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:53,280 Speaker 1: all four of them began to convulse and cry out 276 00:17:53,320 --> 00:17:57,120 Speaker 1: in pain. For the first time, all of the torment 277 00:17:57,200 --> 00:17:59,960 Speaker 1: and despair that had been kept behind the closed doors 278 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:03,400 Speaker 1: of the Paris home was on full display, laid bare 279 00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:06,440 Speaker 1: to the eyes of everyone in the galleries. If their 280 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:09,879 Speaker 1: accusations of witchcraft had begun as a private matter, left 281 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:12,679 Speaker 1: to the realms of whispers and rumor, this was the 282 00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:16,760 Speaker 1: moment it transformed. A cat as black and evil as 283 00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:21,760 Speaker 1: it was, was finally out of the bag. After the 284 00:18:21,800 --> 00:18:26,080 Speaker 1: noise died down, Sarah Good's examination continued. Hawthorne used the 285 00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:29,199 Speaker 1: outburst as evidence of witchcraft and asked Sarah Good to 286 00:18:29,240 --> 00:18:33,200 Speaker 1: tell the truth, why do you torment these poor children? 287 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:37,320 Speaker 1: When she shook her head, Hawthorne replied, who was it 288 00:18:37,480 --> 00:18:41,639 Speaker 1: then that tormented the children? When she answered, the words 289 00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:47,280 Speaker 1: stunned the crowd. It was Sarah Osburne. Sarah Good had 290 00:18:47,359 --> 00:18:50,480 Speaker 1: named names. She had taken the net of accusation and 291 00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:54,520 Speaker 1: tossed it wider, snagging another woman in it. But before 292 00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:56,800 Speaker 1: the court moved on to speak with Osbourne, who was 293 00:18:56,880 --> 00:19:00,399 Speaker 1: waiting for them back at Ingersoll's Ordinary, they brought witness 294 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:01,960 Speaker 1: up to the front of the room to speak to 295 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:06,200 Speaker 1: Sarah Good's character. It was her own husband, William Good. 296 00:19:07,359 --> 00:19:11,760 Speaker 1: Here's Jane Kaminsky, a professor of history at Harvard University. 297 00:19:11,800 --> 00:19:16,040 Speaker 1: In a place like Massachusetts, where it's an inquisitorial system, 298 00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:19,119 Speaker 1: not an advocacy system, a goal of parent religion and 299 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:21,800 Speaker 1: a goal of jurisprudence is to get to the truth, 300 00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:25,760 Speaker 1: not to defend one side against the other. Those are 301 00:19:25,800 --> 00:19:31,480 Speaker 1: instances where the charges at hand and the testimony of 302 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:36,120 Speaker 1: neighbors had made people question the behavior of those they 303 00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:39,520 Speaker 1: lived with intimately, and it would have been expected in 304 00:19:39,560 --> 00:19:41,919 Speaker 1: the community that they would come forward with their doubts. 305 00:19:42,880 --> 00:19:47,320 Speaker 1: There's a unity of husband and wife as a political person, 306 00:19:47,359 --> 00:19:51,760 Speaker 1: as an economic person. He had recently told someone else 307 00:19:51,840 --> 00:19:55,159 Speaker 1: in town that Sarah and I quote, either was a 308 00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:58,640 Speaker 1: witch or would be one very quickly, and they asked 309 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:01,960 Speaker 1: him to explain what that meant. At first, he tried 310 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:04,119 Speaker 1: to back out of it, claiming that she had treated 311 00:20:04,160 --> 00:20:06,720 Speaker 1: him poorly and he was just lashing out at her 312 00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:11,359 Speaker 1: for it, but the magistrates continued to press him on it. Eventually, 313 00:20:11,440 --> 00:20:13,959 Speaker 1: with tears in his eyes, he turned to them and 314 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:17,720 Speaker 1: explained that his wife was and I quote an enemy 315 00:20:17,760 --> 00:20:22,400 Speaker 1: of all Good. That was all the magistrates needed to hear. 316 00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:26,600 Speaker 1: With a gesture from Hawthorne, Constable George Locker moved in 317 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:29,720 Speaker 1: from the side of the room and took Sarah Good's arm. 318 00:20:29,720 --> 00:20:32,760 Speaker 1: He guided her toward the door and then out into 319 00:20:32,760 --> 00:20:37,479 Speaker 1: the cold. As he did, the next suspect was led in. 320 00:20:38,600 --> 00:20:41,800 Speaker 1: Sarah Good had deflected the blame, and now it was 321 00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:46,920 Speaker 1: Sarah Osburne's turn to defend herself. But her battle wouldn't 322 00:20:46,920 --> 00:21:01,440 Speaker 1: be any easier. Sarah Osburne had no idea what had 323 00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:04,720 Speaker 1: transpired inside the meeting house during her long wait back 324 00:21:04,760 --> 00:21:07,919 Speaker 1: at Ingersoll's, But when one of the constables came to 325 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:10,240 Speaker 1: lead her out of the tavern and down the snow 326 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:14,320 Speaker 1: covered road to the official gathering, his face probably told 327 00:21:14,359 --> 00:21:17,320 Speaker 1: her everything she needed to know. At the end of 328 00:21:17,320 --> 00:21:23,440 Speaker 1: that short cold walk was a dangerous display of Puritan law. Now, 329 00:21:23,440 --> 00:21:26,399 Speaker 1: before we dive into her examination, it would be helpful 330 00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:29,080 Speaker 1: to take a small tour of exactly how that law 331 00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:33,639 Speaker 1: functioned there in the colony. The Massachusetts law that had 332 00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:36,280 Speaker 1: been on the book since sixty eight was sort of 333 00:21:36,280 --> 00:21:39,200 Speaker 1: a hybrid of the typical laws of the time mixed 334 00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:43,600 Speaker 1: with Puritan biblical rules. In fact, John Hawthorne's father William, 335 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:46,119 Speaker 1: most likely helped put all of that law on paper. 336 00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:49,480 Speaker 1: Today we live in a world where there's a strong 337 00:21:49,560 --> 00:21:54,800 Speaker 1: distinction between civic law and religious customs, though there was 338 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:58,199 Speaker 1: no such thing. All of the laws drew heavily on 339 00:21:58,280 --> 00:22:02,720 Speaker 1: biblical ideas and love old punishment at anyone who broke them. 340 00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:06,600 Speaker 1: Whipping and branding were common, but the authorities also engaged 341 00:22:06,640 --> 00:22:10,240 Speaker 1: in ear cropping and nose slitting, which were as painful 342 00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:14,040 Speaker 1: and horrific as they sound. There's a bit of nuance there. 343 00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:18,480 Speaker 1: According to historian maryland Roach, not every sin as a crime, 344 00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:23,440 Speaker 1: but all crimes involves some kind of sin. Drunkenness would 345 00:22:23,520 --> 00:22:26,600 Speaker 1: be sinful, But if a guy is drunk but he 346 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:30,640 Speaker 1: doesn't waste the family substance, beat the wife and the children, 347 00:22:31,600 --> 00:22:37,280 Speaker 1: then it's not a crime, but it's sinful. The important 348 00:22:37,280 --> 00:22:40,480 Speaker 1: thing to remember here is that the Puritans of Massachusetts 349 00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:45,080 Speaker 1: in didn't see a distinction between the church and the state. 350 00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:48,840 Speaker 1: You could be charged with showing contempt of the ministry 351 00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:52,199 Speaker 1: or even just bad habits. Your only hope was to 352 00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:56,600 Speaker 1: be a law abiding, churchgoing Puritan devotee. Outside of that 353 00:22:56,720 --> 00:23:02,480 Speaker 1: narrow umbrella, you were at risk. Sarah Osburne sat outside 354 00:23:02,520 --> 00:23:05,919 Speaker 1: that narrow umbrella, and she knew it. That's why she 355 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:09,400 Speaker 1: was worried about her examination, not because she was actually 356 00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:12,600 Speaker 1: a witch. You see, Sarah Osborne had been stuck in 357 00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:15,280 Speaker 1: bed for over a year due to illness, which had 358 00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:19,080 Speaker 1: prevented her from doing a lot of things, including attending church, 359 00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:23,360 Speaker 1: and the community had noticed. It didn't help that her 360 00:23:23,359 --> 00:23:27,440 Speaker 1: past was less than ideal in their eyes. After marrying 361 00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:30,280 Speaker 1: into a distant branch of the Putnam family and raising 362 00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:33,520 Speaker 1: two sons, her husband died and placed their land in 363 00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:36,520 Speaker 1: the hands of John and Thomas Putnam, and they weren't 364 00:23:36,560 --> 00:23:40,040 Speaker 1: the sharing type. It also didn't help that shortly after 365 00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:43,480 Speaker 1: her husband died, she began a relationship with a young, 366 00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:49,360 Speaker 1: indentured servant named Alexander Osborne. The scandal was practically overwhelming, 367 00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:52,879 Speaker 1: and the village buzzed with rumors. Folks wondered if she 368 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:56,399 Speaker 1: and her lover conspired to kill her husband. They mocked 369 00:23:56,400 --> 00:23:58,960 Speaker 1: the age difference between the two of them. They found 370 00:23:58,960 --> 00:24:02,520 Speaker 1: it indecent that Era freed him from his indenture herself 371 00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:05,359 Speaker 1: to pave the way for their marriage. It was all 372 00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:10,280 Speaker 1: far too unconscionable for their small community. When Sarah Good 373 00:24:10,359 --> 00:24:12,840 Speaker 1: was led into the meeting house that day, it was 374 00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:16,600 Speaker 1: like being shoved into the lions den. She had been 375 00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:19,240 Speaker 1: absent from church for long enough to give the impression 376 00:24:19,359 --> 00:24:22,879 Speaker 1: she had rejected God. She was the longtime enemy of 377 00:24:22,920 --> 00:24:26,240 Speaker 1: the Putnam family thanks to her property dispute with them, 378 00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:28,800 Speaker 1: So when she laid eyes on Annie Putnam, one of 379 00:24:28,800 --> 00:24:32,080 Speaker 1: the four girls making the accusations, she knew the odds 380 00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:36,280 Speaker 1: were stacked against her. All four of the girls began 381 00:24:36,359 --> 00:24:39,520 Speaker 1: to convulse and shriek at the sight of her. The 382 00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:42,879 Speaker 1: packed room fell silent as everyone held their breath in 383 00:24:43,160 --> 00:24:47,840 Speaker 1: utter horror. Right there before their eyes, a which was 384 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:52,280 Speaker 1: tormenting her victims. It was abhorrence and evil to the core. 385 00:24:54,320 --> 00:24:56,680 Speaker 1: The first questions were the same ones Sarah Good had 386 00:24:56,720 --> 00:25:00,480 Speaker 1: to answer. What evil spirit have you familiar charity with? 387 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:03,840 Speaker 1: Why do you hurt these children? Have you made no 388 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:07,840 Speaker 1: contract with the devil? That was to be expected. But 389 00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:10,920 Speaker 1: then the magistrates brought up Sarah Good and asked how 390 00:25:10,960 --> 00:25:14,639 Speaker 1: often the two women saw each other. I have not 391 00:25:14,720 --> 00:25:20,200 Speaker 1: seen her these two years, Osbourne replied. Frustrated, Hawthorne turned 392 00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:23,920 Speaker 1: his questions towards her work as a witch. Osbourne shook 393 00:25:23,960 --> 00:25:28,280 Speaker 1: her head and protested, I'm more likely to be bewitched 394 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:31,800 Speaker 1: than to be one myself, was her response. But rather 395 00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:35,000 Speaker 1: than settle the matter, that statement gave Hawthorne a bit 396 00:25:35,040 --> 00:25:38,520 Speaker 1: of new flesh to claw at. Why do you say that? 397 00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:43,480 Speaker 1: He asked. In response, Osborne told Hawthorne about a dream 398 00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:46,639 Speaker 1: she had years ago. She had opened her eyes to 399 00:25:46,680 --> 00:25:49,439 Speaker 1: find the dark figure of a Native American standing at 400 00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:52,320 Speaker 1: the foot of her bed. After some struggle, this home 401 00:25:52,359 --> 00:25:54,959 Speaker 1: invader had grabbed her by the hair and dragged her 402 00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:57,639 Speaker 1: to the door of her house. At the same time, 403 00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:00,199 Speaker 1: she claimed she heard a voice that told her she 404 00:26:00,560 --> 00:26:05,159 Speaker 1: and I quote should go no more to meeting. Noting 405 00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:08,280 Speaker 1: her clear absence from church in the time since that dream, 406 00:26:08,480 --> 00:26:12,359 Speaker 1: Hawthorne dug in, why did you yield thus far to 407 00:26:12,400 --> 00:26:15,680 Speaker 1: the devil? Then? But that wasn't the reason. She stayed 408 00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:18,639 Speaker 1: home in bed each day. She was sick, and she 409 00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:21,719 Speaker 1: told him so. Even her own husband spoke up and 410 00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:24,960 Speaker 1: confirmed the dates. One year and two months, he said, 411 00:26:25,359 --> 00:26:29,359 Speaker 1: which didn't really seem to help Sarah Osborne had painted 412 00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:32,720 Speaker 1: herself into a corner while trying to prove that she 413 00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:35,399 Speaker 1: wasn't a witch. She had put forth a story that 414 00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:38,080 Speaker 1: was meant to cast her in the light of a victim. 415 00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:40,719 Speaker 1: She was nothing more than an innocent woman who had 416 00:26:40,720 --> 00:26:44,439 Speaker 1: been cursed. But the magistrates hadn't heard the message she 417 00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:47,840 Speaker 1: was trying to get across. They heard an admission of guilt. 418 00:26:48,400 --> 00:26:51,120 Speaker 1: She had received orders from the devil himself, they said, 419 00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:55,040 Speaker 1: and then she had followed them. Right there, on the 420 00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:59,440 Speaker 1: first day of examinations, a suspect had revealed her true colors. 421 00:27:00,359 --> 00:27:03,600 Speaker 1: And yet the day was far from over. One more 422 00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:07,040 Speaker 1: woman had yet to take the stand. When she did, though, 423 00:27:07,560 --> 00:27:10,080 Speaker 1: she would pull on the thread that would unravel the 424 00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:15,040 Speaker 1: entire community. Everything they believed was about to be confronted, 425 00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:23,840 Speaker 1: and they would never be the same. If Sarah Good 426 00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:28,040 Speaker 1: and Sarah Osburne were outsiders, Tituba was an alien in 427 00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:31,600 Speaker 1: a foreign land by sixteen ninety two. It was the 428 00:27:31,640 --> 00:27:34,680 Speaker 1: second time in her life that she had felt that way. 429 00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:38,080 Speaker 1: She was, of course a slave, but she was also 430 00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:41,200 Speaker 1: referred to as an Indian in all of the surviving 431 00:27:41,280 --> 00:27:44,879 Speaker 1: documents from the Salem Trials. Now, for most of the 432 00:27:44,920 --> 00:27:48,280 Speaker 1: settlers living in New England, and Indian was anyone from 433 00:27:48,359 --> 00:27:50,800 Speaker 1: one of the many Native American tribes in the area, 434 00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:55,600 Speaker 1: the Wampanoag, Narragansett, and Wabanaki being some of the most common. 435 00:27:56,119 --> 00:27:59,320 Speaker 1: But Tituba was not from the northeast or even from 436 00:27:59,359 --> 00:28:03,040 Speaker 1: North America. Uh she had been, like so many others 437 00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:07,120 Speaker 1: during the four centuries of transatlantic slave trade, kidnapped from 438 00:28:07,119 --> 00:28:10,600 Speaker 1: her home and taken far away. We can infer a 439 00:28:10,600 --> 00:28:13,480 Speaker 1: few details of her past from her name and where 440 00:28:13,520 --> 00:28:17,080 Speaker 1: she began her life of slavery. Barbados, where the Paris 441 00:28:17,119 --> 00:28:19,920 Speaker 1: family had lived in the late seventeenth century, placed a 442 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:23,879 Speaker 1: high value on slaves from South America, particularly in the 443 00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:27,560 Speaker 1: area of modern day Venezuela. The women from the Arawak 444 00:28:27,680 --> 00:28:31,560 Speaker 1: tribes were gifted at skills their slavers needed, like weaving cloth, 445 00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:36,040 Speaker 1: which was highly valued in Puritan society. One of the 446 00:28:36,119 --> 00:28:39,920 Speaker 1: clan names within the Arawak people is Tetabitana, which some 447 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:43,880 Speaker 1: scholars think was reduced down to Tituba. It's highly likely 448 00:28:43,920 --> 00:28:46,440 Speaker 1: that she was kidnapped into slavery around the age of 449 00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:49,560 Speaker 1: ten and taken straight to Barbados to serve there among 450 00:28:49,600 --> 00:28:53,960 Speaker 1: the white landowners who needed domestic servants. It's all a guess, 451 00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:57,600 Speaker 1: but based on a lot of strong clues. What we're 452 00:28:57,600 --> 00:29:00,400 Speaker 1: a lot more sure about is that when Samuel Paris 453 00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:03,840 Speaker 1: sold off his plantation in Barbados and then headed north 454 00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:07,480 Speaker 1: to Salem, he brought Tituba along with her husband John 455 00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:12,040 Speaker 1: with him. So when she finally arrived in Massachusetts, in sight, 456 00:29:12,520 --> 00:29:14,760 Speaker 1: it was the second time she had been removed from 457 00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:17,240 Speaker 1: a place she was familiar with and thrown into a 458 00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:20,600 Speaker 1: strange new land. And while her life in Barbados might 459 00:29:20,640 --> 00:29:23,640 Speaker 1: have been different from South America, it was only when 460 00:29:23,680 --> 00:29:27,200 Speaker 1: she moved to Puritan Massachusetts that the culture shock really 461 00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:31,400 Speaker 1: hit her. It was cold and strict and very unfriendly. 462 00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:35,480 Speaker 1: Don't assume she was brought in as an equal, though, 463 00:29:35,680 --> 00:29:39,280 Speaker 1: despite the efforts to christianize anyone who wasn't white, The 464 00:29:39,400 --> 00:29:42,520 Speaker 1: color of her skin placed her firmly outside the community 465 00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:46,480 Speaker 1: in every practical sense, from rights and freedoms to the 466 00:29:46,520 --> 00:29:49,400 Speaker 1: types of punishment they had to endure. If a white 467 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:52,400 Speaker 1: settler broke a minor law, they would typically be fined. 468 00:29:52,920 --> 00:29:57,680 Speaker 1: A slave, though would face physical punishment. Court documents show 469 00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:00,160 Speaker 1: us how slaves were referred to as it or that 470 00:30:00,680 --> 00:30:05,200 Speaker 1: instead of he, she, or even they. The dehumanize them, 471 00:30:05,240 --> 00:30:08,320 Speaker 1: and as history has shown us, when you dehumanize a 472 00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:11,040 Speaker 1: person or a people group, it's a lot easier to 473 00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:14,800 Speaker 1: rob them of even the most basic human rights. Slavery 474 00:30:14,880 --> 00:30:17,800 Speaker 1: is New England's dirty little secret first off, and we 475 00:30:17,880 --> 00:30:20,880 Speaker 1: know that as early as the sixteen thirties that we 476 00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:23,720 Speaker 1: have the first sort of documented evidence of slaves coming 477 00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:27,320 Speaker 1: into Massachusetts. So not longer after the colony starts, slaves 478 00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:31,560 Speaker 1: come in as well. That's Emerson Baker. Once again, they're 479 00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:34,200 Speaker 1: not a large presence in the colony. We don't have 480 00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:37,280 Speaker 1: a plantation economy, but we do need people to work 481 00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:41,360 Speaker 1: the docks in places like the lumber mills and working 482 00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:44,560 Speaker 1: the crops. They do become sort of a status symbol 483 00:30:44,920 --> 00:30:49,080 Speaker 1: for the wealthier merchants. I think one more thing about 484 00:30:49,080 --> 00:30:53,200 Speaker 1: Titsuba and her background. She didn't come to Massachusetts as 485 00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:56,000 Speaker 1: an empty vessel like each and every one of our 486 00:30:56,040 --> 00:30:59,200 Speaker 1: own ancestors. When she was transplanted from one part of 487 00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:01,760 Speaker 1: the world to another, there she brought her beliefs and 488 00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:06,400 Speaker 1: traditions and folklore with her. Yes, the Paris family probably 489 00:31:06,440 --> 00:31:08,960 Speaker 1: did their best to teach their slaves the Christian faith, 490 00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:12,800 Speaker 1: but nothing was going to erase those older stories and lessons, 491 00:31:13,760 --> 00:31:16,760 Speaker 1: stories of devils in the woods that prowled in search 492 00:31:16,760 --> 00:31:19,920 Speaker 1: of those who stepped off the path, tales of evil 493 00:31:19,960 --> 00:31:22,760 Speaker 1: spirits that could take the form of animals or even 494 00:31:22,800 --> 00:31:26,720 Speaker 1: take control of humans. They were stories of darkness and 495 00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:32,840 Speaker 1: fear and risk. Tituba's world was alive with danger. So 496 00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:35,840 Speaker 1: when she stood before the magistrates that cold March day 497 00:31:36,160 --> 00:31:39,040 Speaker 1: and told John Hawthorne that the devil had approached her 498 00:31:39,080 --> 00:31:42,040 Speaker 1: and asked her to serve him, it wasn't a notion 499 00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:45,160 Speaker 1: she would have found unusual, But in a room full 500 00:31:45,200 --> 00:31:48,320 Speaker 1: of frightened Puritans living on the edge of the known world, 501 00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:52,200 Speaker 1: thousands of miles from their homeland, it was a bombshell. 502 00:31:53,680 --> 00:31:56,800 Speaker 1: But then she dove deeper into the hysteria. She told 503 00:31:56,840 --> 00:32:00,440 Speaker 1: Hawthorne that she had personally witnessed at least four women torment. 504 00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:04,200 Speaker 1: The girls, Sarah Good and Sarah Osburne were two, but 505 00:32:04,280 --> 00:32:06,880 Speaker 1: she couldn't remember the names of the others, but they 506 00:32:06,880 --> 00:32:09,920 Speaker 1: would command her to hurt them. And then there was 507 00:32:10,200 --> 00:32:14,200 Speaker 1: the tall man. The crowd was most likely forced into 508 00:32:14,240 --> 00:32:18,360 Speaker 1: a frightened silence. According to Tituba, there weren't just two 509 00:32:18,360 --> 00:32:21,920 Speaker 1: other witches the first two women examined that day, No, 510 00:32:22,080 --> 00:32:26,280 Speaker 1: there were five others beside her four women and one man. 511 00:32:27,680 --> 00:32:30,719 Speaker 1: Tituba went on to apologize for hurting the girls and 512 00:32:30,760 --> 00:32:34,080 Speaker 1: claimed that it would never happen again. She was only 513 00:32:34,120 --> 00:32:36,880 Speaker 1: doing what she had been instructed to do by the others. 514 00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:40,320 Speaker 1: She was a slave, after all, not a person, just 515 00:32:40,480 --> 00:32:43,680 Speaker 1: a thing to order around. How could she be held 516 00:32:43,720 --> 00:32:48,840 Speaker 1: responsible for her actions? She was painting a frightening picture 517 00:32:48,960 --> 00:32:51,920 Speaker 1: for the magistrates and the people in the galleries listening 518 00:32:51,960 --> 00:32:55,040 Speaker 1: to her. Things were much worse than they had feared. 519 00:32:55,520 --> 00:32:57,880 Speaker 1: When she was pressured to identify the man who worked 520 00:32:57,880 --> 00:33:01,760 Speaker 1: alongside the witches, Tituba shook her head. She didn't know 521 00:33:01,920 --> 00:33:04,480 Speaker 1: his name, but he took the form of a hog, 522 00:33:04,760 --> 00:33:07,440 Speaker 1: and sometimes a great black dog that spoke to her. 523 00:33:08,240 --> 00:33:11,920 Speaker 1: Stacy Schiff is a Pulitzer Prize winning author and historian. 524 00:33:12,600 --> 00:33:14,920 Speaker 1: We know so little about Titiba that it's very hard 525 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:17,280 Speaker 1: to say where that comes from. It has been hinted at. 526 00:33:17,600 --> 00:33:20,280 Speaker 1: It's possible that she was fed some lines it. Indeed, 527 00:33:20,320 --> 00:33:22,600 Speaker 1: is she who mentions the She's got yellow bird, she's 528 00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:24,720 Speaker 1: got red cats, she's got a black hog. It's very 529 00:33:24,760 --> 00:33:27,719 Speaker 1: colorful stuff. And yes, the furry creature with the wings 530 00:33:27,720 --> 00:33:31,320 Speaker 1: and the long nose who sits by the fireplace. This 531 00:33:31,400 --> 00:33:35,240 Speaker 1: particular animal, according to Tichiba, was dragging her out of 532 00:33:35,280 --> 00:33:37,880 Speaker 1: the Paris house where she had been instructed to torment 533 00:33:37,920 --> 00:33:41,440 Speaker 1: the girls under her care, and out into the wider village. 534 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:44,920 Speaker 1: That's why Elizabeth Hubbard and Annie Putnam were pinched and 535 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:47,680 Speaker 1: stabbed as well, because the man who took the shape 536 00:33:47,680 --> 00:33:51,440 Speaker 1: of a black dog forced her to do it. There 537 00:33:51,440 --> 00:33:55,200 Speaker 1: were more animals too. Sarah Good had a small yellow 538 00:33:55,240 --> 00:33:58,480 Speaker 1: bird that suckled at the skin between her fingers. A 539 00:33:58,560 --> 00:34:00,760 Speaker 1: dark man had offered her a bird of her own, 540 00:34:01,080 --> 00:34:04,040 Speaker 1: but she refused, and one of the witches sent a 541 00:34:04,040 --> 00:34:09,840 Speaker 1: different animal to afflict Elizabeth Hubbard, a wolf. The entire 542 00:34:09,920 --> 00:34:13,480 Speaker 1: crowd probably inhaled at once. They had all heard the 543 00:34:13,520 --> 00:34:17,200 Speaker 1: story of the wolf following poor Elizabeth home just days before, 544 00:34:17,680 --> 00:34:20,560 Speaker 1: and this confession only seemed to make it more real 545 00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:24,120 Speaker 1: and more frightening, and it forced everyone to wrestle with 546 00:34:24,160 --> 00:34:28,239 Speaker 1: a larger question, one that left all of them unsettled 547 00:34:28,280 --> 00:34:33,480 Speaker 1: and anxious. If the wolf was real, what else was 548 00:34:33,520 --> 00:34:48,239 Speaker 1: out there for them to fear? If the magistrates were 549 00:34:48,239 --> 00:34:52,680 Speaker 1: looking for scary stories, Tituba was ready to deliver. As 550 00:34:52,680 --> 00:34:55,160 Speaker 1: I mentioned earlier, she was well equipped for this sort 551 00:34:55,200 --> 00:34:58,279 Speaker 1: of task. Born into a culture that believed in the 552 00:34:58,360 --> 00:35:01,960 Speaker 1: dangers of the supernatural word around her, this new world 553 00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:06,480 Speaker 1: of Christianity, with its demons and devils, monsters and magic, 554 00:35:07,040 --> 00:35:11,560 Speaker 1: was at once both new and familiar. Stacy Schiff once again, 555 00:35:12,120 --> 00:35:14,080 Speaker 1: remember that she's the only woman of those three who's 556 00:35:14,120 --> 00:35:17,360 Speaker 1: a slave, and we probably lived in fear of reporting 557 00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:19,919 Speaker 1: back to Samuel Parris, in whose household she lives. She's 558 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:22,800 Speaker 1: clearly been with the family for years. She clearly loves 559 00:35:22,840 --> 00:35:25,720 Speaker 1: the children. She lives in close quarters. She probably slept 560 00:35:25,719 --> 00:35:28,040 Speaker 1: in the same beds as they. She may have been 561 00:35:28,560 --> 00:35:31,280 Speaker 1: told a tale. She may also have been a tale teller. 562 00:35:32,719 --> 00:35:35,720 Speaker 1: After revealing Sarah Good as the source of the wolf 563 00:35:35,800 --> 00:35:39,360 Speaker 1: that had pursued Elizabeth Hubbard, Titchuba moved on to describe 564 00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:42,799 Speaker 1: the creature that seemed to serve Sarah Osborne. It had 565 00:35:42,840 --> 00:35:45,960 Speaker 1: a head like a woman, she said, with two legs 566 00:35:46,040 --> 00:35:50,640 Speaker 1: and wings. At that very moment, Abigail Williams, the niece 567 00:35:50,719 --> 00:35:53,160 Speaker 1: of Samuel Paris and the first of the girls to 568 00:35:53,200 --> 00:35:56,440 Speaker 1: show signs of this demonic torment, shouted out that she 569 00:35:56,520 --> 00:35:59,160 Speaker 1: had seen that very same creature with her own eyes, 570 00:35:59,640 --> 00:36:03,000 Speaker 1: and when she saw it. She had watched in horror 571 00:36:03,040 --> 00:36:06,759 Speaker 1: as it transformed back into the shape of Sarah Osburne. 572 00:36:07,800 --> 00:36:11,919 Speaker 1: But Tituba wasn't finished just yet. What else have you seen, 573 00:36:12,160 --> 00:36:15,480 Speaker 1: Hawthorne asked her, like a child asking his grandmother about 574 00:36:15,480 --> 00:36:19,759 Speaker 1: all the places she'd visited in her lifetime. Another hairy thing, 575 00:36:19,960 --> 00:36:23,200 Speaker 1: she replied. It goes upright like a man and has 576 00:36:23,320 --> 00:36:27,800 Speaker 1: only two legs. This thing, she told them, had appeared 577 00:36:27,920 --> 00:36:31,520 Speaker 1: right inside the Minister's house the previous night, standing in 578 00:36:31,560 --> 00:36:34,120 Speaker 1: front of the fire as if to warm itself. It 579 00:36:34,239 --> 00:36:38,040 Speaker 1: was dressed in black clothing and stood very tall, and 580 00:36:38,120 --> 00:36:40,839 Speaker 1: he sometimes brought a woman with him, one who wore 581 00:36:40,960 --> 00:36:44,520 Speaker 1: a black hood with a top knot on it. At 582 00:36:44,520 --> 00:36:47,960 Speaker 1: this final description, the four girls began to writhe and 583 00:36:48,040 --> 00:36:51,000 Speaker 1: cry out in their nearby seats. It began to act 584 00:36:51,040 --> 00:36:54,359 Speaker 1: as if something invisible were attacking them, striking them and 585 00:36:54,400 --> 00:36:58,840 Speaker 1: causing them pain. They appeared to be in agony. Do 586 00:36:59,040 --> 00:37:01,520 Speaker 1: you see who it is is that torments these girls, 587 00:37:01,600 --> 00:37:06,520 Speaker 1: Hawthorne demanded, Yes, Tituba said, it is Sarah Good. She 588 00:37:06,680 --> 00:37:10,080 Speaker 1: hurts them in her own shape, and then it stopped. 589 00:37:10,760 --> 00:37:13,080 Speaker 1: It was almost as if naming the attacker was enough 590 00:37:13,120 --> 00:37:16,080 Speaker 1: to frighten her off. The girls all fell into a 591 00:37:16,160 --> 00:37:19,359 Speaker 1: hushed calm, and the people gathered around them did the same. 592 00:37:20,120 --> 00:37:23,280 Speaker 1: But it wouldn't last. After a brief pause, the girls 593 00:37:23,320 --> 00:37:26,560 Speaker 1: began crying out in pain and convulsing all over again. 594 00:37:27,719 --> 00:37:32,440 Speaker 1: Who hurts them now, Hawthorne demanded. In response, Tittiba moved 595 00:37:32,440 --> 00:37:35,160 Speaker 1: her head back and forth, almost as if she were 596 00:37:35,200 --> 00:37:39,040 Speaker 1: looking around the room, but her eyes were distant, almost blank. 597 00:37:39,840 --> 00:37:43,400 Speaker 1: She rolled her head backward and then forward again, and 598 00:37:43,520 --> 00:37:46,640 Speaker 1: side to side, until finally she gave him an answer. 599 00:37:47,640 --> 00:37:53,279 Speaker 1: I am blind now, she said, I cannot see. Tituba 600 00:37:53,360 --> 00:37:55,799 Speaker 1: had led the village to the edge of a precipice 601 00:37:56,080 --> 00:37:59,319 Speaker 1: and then abandoned them there. She was certain that they 602 00:37:59,320 --> 00:38:02,040 Speaker 1: were all in danger, but she had nothing else to 603 00:38:02,080 --> 00:38:06,279 Speaker 1: tell them, whether her insider knowledge had just dried up 604 00:38:06,760 --> 00:38:09,400 Speaker 1: or there were no more fresh fictions to weave into 605 00:38:09,440 --> 00:38:13,440 Speaker 1: her testimony. She was done, however much. The rest of 606 00:38:13,440 --> 00:38:17,719 Speaker 1: the crowd wanted her to keep going, but that was 607 00:38:17,920 --> 00:38:22,440 Speaker 1: a dangerous thing. If Tituba could no longer see the truth, 608 00:38:23,320 --> 00:38:26,120 Speaker 1: then they would have to go hunt it for themselves. 609 00:38:28,800 --> 00:38:32,760 Speaker 1: That's it for this week's episode of Unobscured. Stick around 610 00:38:32,800 --> 00:38:36,040 Speaker 1: After this short sponsor break for a preview of what's 611 00:38:36,080 --> 00:38:43,960 Speaker 1: in store for next week. Next time on Unobscured. He 612 00:38:44,040 --> 00:38:46,200 Speaker 1: told me to sign my name in it, she said, 613 00:38:47,040 --> 00:38:50,439 Speaker 1: And did you do that? They asked, yes. One time 614 00:38:50,480 --> 00:38:52,560 Speaker 1: I made a mark in the book with a red ink, 615 00:38:53,120 --> 00:38:57,000 Speaker 1: red like blood. Did he take that red ink from 616 00:38:57,040 --> 00:39:00,520 Speaker 1: your own body? No? But he said, would get it 617 00:39:00,520 --> 00:39:04,080 Speaker 1: out of me the next time he visited. And then 618 00:39:04,080 --> 00:39:08,160 Speaker 1: the magistrates dug deeper. They believe that Titsuba had seen 619 00:39:08,200 --> 00:39:11,719 Speaker 1: the Devil's Book, his tool for recruiting humans into his 620 00:39:11,760 --> 00:39:15,839 Speaker 1: evil mission among them. So he asked about that. Did 621 00:39:15,880 --> 00:39:20,239 Speaker 1: you see any other marks in this book? They asked, yes, 622 00:39:20,440 --> 00:39:24,440 Speaker 1: she said, a great many, some in red, some in yellow. 623 00:39:25,040 --> 00:39:27,560 Speaker 1: He held it wide open and showed me a great 624 00:39:27,640 --> 00:39:31,479 Speaker 1: many marks in it. What names were in the book? 625 00:39:31,600 --> 00:39:36,520 Speaker 1: They asked? Did he tell you Good and Osbourne? She answered, 626 00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:41,440 Speaker 1: but there were more. I couldn't read. Hawthorne and Corwin 627 00:39:41,680 --> 00:39:45,040 Speaker 1: must have felt a chill run down their spines. More 628 00:39:45,160 --> 00:39:49,359 Speaker 1: names meant more witches. They had already found three, which 629 00:39:49,440 --> 00:39:52,560 Speaker 1: felt overwhelming as it was, But now they had learned 630 00:39:52,600 --> 00:39:55,880 Speaker 1: that there were more among them. They prayed it wasn't 631 00:39:55,960 --> 00:40:54,000 Speaker 1: an insurmountable number. Unobscured was created and written by me 632 00:40:54,200 --> 00:40:57,840 Speaker 1: Aaron Mankey and produced by Matt Frederick and Alex Williams 633 00:40:57,960 --> 00:41:01,120 Speaker 1: in partnership with How Stuff Works, with research by Carl 634 00:41:01,200 --> 00:41:05,400 Speaker 1: Nellis and original music by Chad Lawson. Learn more about 635 00:41:05,440 --> 00:41:10,239 Speaker 1: our contributing historians, further reading material, a resource archive, and 636 00:41:10,360 --> 00:41:15,200 Speaker 1: links to our other shows at history unobscured dot com. 637 00:41:15,320 --> 00:41:17,840 Speaker 1: Until next time, thanks for listening.