Salem Witch TrialsIn 1692 the events that took place in Salem, Massachusetts led to America's most notorious witch trial. Today these witch trials are known as the Salem Witch Trials. More than two hundred people were accused of practicing witchcraft. A witch to them was someone who could do harm by magical means, could curdle milk, hobble animals, and even make small children sick and die (Aronson, Witch Hunt 31). People believed that the Salem witch trials occurred because the English rulers started a war with France. This war was called King Williams' War by the colonists, Blumberg says. This war meant that refugees had to flee to Essex and the village of Salem. Blumberg says: Displacements have put a strain on Salem's resources. This aggravated the rivalry that existed between the families linked to the wealth of the port of Salem and those who still depended on agriculture. Controversy also arose over the Reverend Samuel Parris, who became the first ordained minister of Salem Village in 1689, and was disliked because of his rigid manner and greedy nature. The Puritan villagers believed that all quarrels were the work of the Devil. (par. 4) Since all these people fled to Salem Village, the people of Salem blamed many of them for everything that happened in Salem. They believed that all those people brought the Devil to the village of Salem (Blumberg, par. 3-4) One of the first things that started the Salem witch trials was that three little girls got sick and then the people of Salem accused three women of having put spells on the three children. In January 1692, Reverend Parris's nine-year-old daughter, Betty, and his eleven-year-old granddaughter, Abigail, began having severe fits. They threw objects, said things in strange ways,...... middle of paper......witch trials in America: The Salem Witch Trials.Work cited-Aronson, Marc. Witch Hunts: The Mysteries of the Salem Witch Trials. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005.—Blumberg, Jess. "A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials." October 24, 2007. Smithsonian.com. February 16, 2010.-Buckland, Raymond. The Book of Witches. Canton, Michigan: Visible Ink Press, 2001.—Kallen A. Stuart. Witches. San Diego, California: Lucent Books Inc, 2000.-Linder, Douglas.” The Salem Witchcraft Trials: A Commentary. September 2009. Salem Witch Trials of 1692. February 16, 2010./projects/ftrials/salem/SAL_ACCT.HTM>.-Sutter, Tim. “Victims of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692.” Salem witch trials. February 17 2010. .