During the Salem witch trials, accusations of female witches were often proceeded by acts of aggression such as this (Bever, 2). A possible reason for accusing women of witchcraft after their acts of aggression were due to their failure to adhere to the current idea femininity. Because Carrier was not weak or particularly amiable in this case, as a woman should be, she must be a witch.

As seen here, women in Salem were often accused of witchcraft in the context of physical effects. Women were more accused in cases such as these because they were involved in that "social sphere" (Bever, 9). Women were involved in the social sphere that included tending to the ill. In many cases the effects of witchcraft were supposedly illness seemingly out of nowhere. So when someone fell ill suddenly, people believed witchcraft was the cause. Based on the logic that women were medically knowledgeable, they concluded the witch was a nearby woman, particularly one they may have had a recent conflict with. Furthermore, as women were seen as more likely to be indirectly aggressive (6) they were also seen as more likely to perform witchcraft. When people would fall ill from an unknown source, it was rational for them to look to women as the witch responsible because women were the ones who acted aggressively through indirect means such as witchcraft.

Bever, Edward. "Witchcraft, female aggression, and power in the early modern community." Journal of Social History 35.4 (2002): 955+. Academic OneFile. Web.

During the Salem witch trials, it was more often women who accused other women of being witches. One possible reason a known female witch would have accused another woman would be to take avoid accusations on herself (Blécourt, 295). As stated before, women often pleaded guilty as a way to prove they were repenting their sins (even sins they most likely did not commit). Accusing other women could have also been a tactic to avoid their own persecution. Furthermore, not only men, but women believed they could be more easily coerced by the devil, so even women accused other women of being witches in another effort to avoid accusations on themselves. Seeing so many other women being accused they would call out other women to show they themselves were not witches.

In Puritan New England, people believed women's souls were less protected from the devil because of their weak physical shapes ( Reis, 5) and therefore more likely to succumb to the devil's advances (Reed, 223). In this case women were accused of witchcraft more often because they could easily be drawn in by the devil to sing this book. They were thought to be more easily tricked or seduced into signing over their soul's to the devil and therefore more likely to be seen as witches.

In Puritan culture a family was seen as its own covenant. In these families it was the woman's task to teach the children (Reis, xiii). Therefore when children confessed to having learned or were accused of performing witchcraft the puritans assumed they must have learned from their mother. This was another reason women were more often accused of witchcraft. In this case Carrier's children admitted to having been turned to witches by their mother. However, many people during this time were forced to confess that they had performed witchcraft (Blécourt, 296) so it is not so far-fetched to assume Carrier's children were also forced to confess their mother had taught them witchcraft. Despite this, their "fake" confession helped lead to the conviction of their mother. Furthermore, Puritans believed children "absorbed" the sins of parents, being born already sinful (Krugler, 190). Because of this, if Carrier's children were to confess to the sin of witchcraft, the Puritans could also claim it was a sin they inherited from their mother and use it as proof of her own sins of witchcraft. This relative ideal also accounts for the few men that were accused of witchcraft. In many cases, the men that were accused were the husbands or had other familial ties to women already convicted (Reed, 216). This furthers the argument that gender was at the foundation of the witch trials in that men were only accused of witchcraft in relation to a female witch.

De Blécourt, Willem. "The Making of the Female Witch: Reflections on Witchcraft and Gender in the Early Modern Period." Gender & History 12.2 (2000): 287-309. Web.

In Puritan culture, all people, especially women were thought to be innately sinful, and everyone was expected to repent their sins. During the witch trials, when a woman was accused of witchcraft, she could choose to plead guilty or not guilty. Pleading guilty was an attempt by people to show the court they were repenting their sins, but in doing so was also admitting to performing witchcraft. However, pleading not guilty, as Carrier did, showed the court she did not repent her sins, even though she was trying to prove she had not committed any. This left women stuck between two choices after being accused, neither more desirable than the other. It was either plead guilty and be seen as a witch or plead not guilty and be accused of not repenting your sins of witchcraft. This could account for the high number of accused women who admitted to witchcraft. They chose the former option in the hope that the court would give them a chance to continue their repentance (Reis, 7). Martha's decision to plead not guilty could have, ironically, been the reason for her conviction and death.

Reis, Elizabeth. Damned Women: Sinners and Witches in Puritan New England. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1997.

In Puritan culture, the ability to interfere with fate by means of God was only possible by a man, namely the patriarch (Reed, 227). In this example, Carrier, supposedly has an argument with Preston in which he claims she threatened the loss of his cow and despite its good health, soon died. For this reason, Preston claims Carrier was able to cause this through supernatural means. Because she is a women and therefore could not have done this through God, she must have done it through the Devil, causing Preston to accuse her of witchcraft. His Puritan ideas about women were the reason for the accusation, causing Carrier to be seen as a witch because of her gender.

Reed, Isaac. "Why Salem made Sense: Culture, Gender, and the Puritan Persecution of Witchcraft." Cultural Sociology 1.2 (2007): 209-34. SAGE journals. Web.

In this case, meaning to kill someone by hitting them on the head. Without guns, this is the most efficient way for the indians to kill the colonists.

A word from Algonquian language meaning a native american child. The mistress had just gotten back from the burial of a child, which might explain the angry reaction here. For more information on Wampanoag burials, visit: This Site

These structures were built by first making a frame by cutting down and bending young tree sapplings. Bark from trees is then used as the covering. These structures can hold up against the worst weather, making them ideal for the conditions Rowlandson and the Indians are traveling through. If they made one this large, it must have taken a large number of people and great effort. This "great day of dancing" was important to the Indians.

Parched meal, as seen here are dried corn kernels that are baked. They are light weight, high energy, and last a long time so they would have been ideal for traveling, though as Rowlandson alludes to, not very tasty.

King Philip was another name for the Indian leader of King Philip's War, and Wampanoag chief, Metacom. He was given the name Philip before the war, in honor of the previously friendly relationship between Metacom's (Philip's) people and the Mayflower pilgrims. Some scholars say, in 1660, Metacom's brother appeared before the Plymouth court, requesting English names for himself and Metacom. Both were given names of Kings of Macedon, the ancient Greek kingdom. Metacom was named after Philip II.

This is similar to the passage in "How the Orabi got their womenfolk back," when the Hopi wait until early in the morning to invade the town. Despite what Hariot is trying to portray here, about the natives inability to battle, they seem to know what they are doing.

This is an image of witch hazel. The bowes would have been made from its branches, which are rather feeble looking. This is obviously a good argument for not fearing the natives.

Here, Mantóac means Gods, but is interchangeable with Manitou. Manitou is the spiritual life force of the Algonquians. It exists everywhere, all the time, in animals, plants, events, etc.