Salem Village Accusations

SV Histogram

Histogram of Salem Village Accusations 1692

Following the procedure applied earlier, construct a histogram of Salem Village accusations. For Salem Village, use the "Salem Village" column as "Input Range" and the "Bin" column for the "Bin Range."

Salem Village was the locus of the outbreak's first three accusations in February 1692. Village residents continued to be arrested in March and April, with accusations peaking in May. However, no Salem Villager was accused once the Court of Oyer and Terminer began its work in June. The pattern of accusations in Salem Village parallels only the first wave accusations that the marked the outbreak as a whole. The village never participated in the second wave, which began at the end of June and continued through September. similar to 1692.

Related to the time period of Salem Village's involvement was the rhythm of accusations. Most historical accounts view the Salem outbreak as a continuous, year-long event, but within a community, the crisis subsided more rapidly. Attacks on village residents, though intense, were relatively short-lived; a total of sixteen accusation were spread over only four months.  The village's afflicted girls remained active throughout the second wave, but their attention was directed away from their immediate neighbors to other communities.

To examine pattern of accusations in Salem Town, click Next.