Question

1. Elaine Breslaw acknowledges that other historical works have cited a number of contributing factors as to why the Salem witchcraft trials may have occurred. What approach does Breslow’s study take in order to provide a new perspective to this historical event?

Answer 1

The religiosity.

The term witch hunt can be used to historically refer to the persecution that occurred in any age for women who supposedly had supernatural powers, but it is usually more used to refer to events that took place during about four centuries from the 15th century, when the Church he led a great charge against women who had somehow hurt social, political or religious expectations, usually of a lower class. Currently, the term witch-hunt refers specifically to systematic persecution against a group.