Black and Indigenous Women’s Relationships to the Salem Witch Trials
1. Was there any correlation between the free people of color versus those enslaved, with those accused of witchcraft? Can we draw any parallels between the freedoms or lack of the same between those accused of witchcraft?
2. There is no declaration for there to be a separation of church and state at this point. How did the practice of Indigenous religions play into who was considered to be practicing and what was considered witchcraft?
3. Look at the larger picture of women carrying the burden for men. “If the women of his house shielded him from knowledge of scandal, he had plausible deniability of things illegal, if not moral exemption from a disorderly household.” (IV Legal Repercussions Hofstra Law Review)
Not surprisingly, we see the burden placed on women as it pertains to this case of fornication and the welfare of the babies. Turning back to Zipporah’s case, might this have been one of, if not, the earliest policing of women’s bodies in the colonies to come through the courts?
Also to note, Zipporah’s surname constantly changed and having a surname would imply that she was married. In the case brought up against her, they caught her during a window when she was not married and thus, could be charged with fornication? Could men be tried for fornication? Was upholding the narrative of women using magic to impose their sexuality perhaps used as justification to charge women with witchcraft?