Tituba of the Salem Witch Trials

This video looks at how a woman named Tituba played a pivotal role in the Salem Witch Trials, and her backstory. Tituba was an enslaved domestic worker in Salem Village and likely also Barbados. Some Historians say she had African ancestry, while others say she was of Arawak/Native ancestry, and others say both. In this video, I explain her heritage based on the reasoning found in the book Tituba Reluctant Witch of Salem.  

⏰TIME STAMPS⏰

0:00-1:46 Intro
2:04-Background on Tituba
4:26-About the girls "afflicted by witchcraft"
10:05- Tituba's trial
14:11-Protector’s Ledge- site of the hanging

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📝Additional Notes📝

A couple of additional points I’d like to add that are missing from the video:

#1- From what I understand, Tituba’s testimony helped lead the judges to use spectral evidence (i.e. evidence based on actions of the accused person’s spirit) to find people guilty of practicing witchcraft.

#2- In addition to the factors mentioned in the video that put the people of Salem Village and Salem Town on edge, they were also anxious and ready to believe that the Devil was present because the Government was in a state of disarray since their Charter had recently been revoked by England.

#3- Tituba's name is also (and perhaps more accurately) pronounced "Tit-chu-buh".

📗 SOURCES📗

“An Indian Slave Woman Confesses to Witchcraft” https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/dis... (accessed November 25,2020)

Breslaw, Elaine G. Tituba, Reluctant Witch of Salem: Devilish Indians and Puritan Fantasies. New York: London, 1996. Pages 12,17,19, 118,125, 192 (really, you should just read the whole book)

Brooks, Rebecca Beatrice.“ Salem Witch Trials: Historical Sites & Locations”. History of Massachusetts Blog  https://historyofmassachusetts.org/wh... (accessed November 25,2020)

Brooks, Rebecca Beatrice. “Tituba: The Slave of Salem” . History of Massachusetts Blog https://historyofmassachusetts.org/ti... (accessed November 25,2020)

Elder, Rosalyn. African American heritage in Massachusetts Exploring the Legacy People and Places of Significance. Boston. African American Heritage Massachusetts, 2016.  Pages 381-383

“The 1692 Salem Witch Trials”. Salem Witch Museum. https://salemwitchmuseum.com/history-... (accessed November 25,2020)

Walker, Rachel. “Cotton Mather”. Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/people/.... (accessed November 25,2020)

“Witch Trials and Salem: Then & Now - Informational Primer” Peabody Essex Museum

• #education
• #salem