Taxes
By: Kevin Herrera
Among the chaos of the Salem witch trials, taxes still had their part in the economics of Salem. What were believed to be “factions” were formed by these taxes, the anti-Parris faction and the pro-Parris faction. The pro-Parris supporters lived away from the commercialism of Salem Town in the western direction, while the anti-Parris supporters were concentrated in the village’s eastern section adjacent to Salem town.[i] Not only did taxes play a role in the economics of Salem, but they also had an effect on causing the trials.
Boyer and Nissenbaum see the witchcraft outbreak as “an expression of psychological and social tensions played out within individuals and factions as well as among them.”[ii] This meant that the social tensions being caused between the two factions lead to the psychological tensions of the witchcraft accusations. They go on to say that these tensions were “influenced by economic anxieties and by differing levels of engagement with and access to the political and commercial opportunities unfolding in Salem Town.”[iii] So conflicts began to form as the difference in taxes became part of the hostility between the two factions.
Although there were no actual tax list records in the year of 1692 when most of the events of the witch trials took place, the tax lists from the year 1695 provide a solid estimate of how much each faction was paying in taxes relative to the other. These tax lists showed that the average member of the anti-Parris faction paid approximately 40% more than his counterpart in the pro-Parris faction, which was about 18.3 shillings as opposed to 11 shillings.[iv] These records show how big the difference really was in the amount of Village taxes each faction was paying. When it comes to that much money, there is always resentment between the parties involved.
As things grew worse between the town and village, the accusations began to spread. These accusations and afflictions came from the west side, where the less fortunate directed their hostility towards their wealthier eastern counterparts, accusing them of witchcraft.[v] So the people of Salem Village were accusing the wealthier individuals in Salem Town of tormenting them and practicing witchcraft. It didn’t even matter who was being accused, the accusations just wouldn’t stop. By the end of summer of 1692, some of the most well-known people of Massachusetts or their close kin were accused; this included a wealthy Boston Merchant, a future representative of the general court, and even the wife of the governor.[vi] So it shows how far people were willing to go with their accusations at the time, it left no one safe.
In conclusion, taxes proved to have their effect on the accusations of the Salem Witch trials. Something as simple as the difference in the amount of taxes being paid caused factions to form. The leftover tensions between the two factions just got worse until they finally erupted into all the accusations. So even if taxes weren’t the complete cause of what resulted in the Salem Witch trials, it is obvious that their part in the economics of Salem can be related to differences between the accusers and the ones being accused.
[i] Richard Latner, Salem Witchcraft, Factionalism, and Social Change Reconsidered: Were Salem’s Witch-Hunters Modernization’s Failures?, 426
[ii] Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, Salem Possessed in Retrospect, 521
[iii] Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, Salem Possessed in Retrospect, 521
[iv] Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft, 53
[v] Laurie Winn Carlson, A Fever in Salem, 57
[vi] Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft, 48
Boyer and Nissenbaum see the witchcraft outbreak as “an expression of psychological and social tensions played out within individuals and factions as well as among them.”[ii] This meant that the social tensions being caused between the two factions lead to the psychological tensions of the witchcraft accusations. They go on to say that these tensions were “influenced by economic anxieties and by differing levels of engagement with and access to the political and commercial opportunities unfolding in Salem Town.”[iii] So conflicts began to form as the difference in taxes became part of the hostility between the two factions.
Although there were no actual tax list records in the year of 1692 when most of the events of the witch trials took place, the tax lists from the year 1695 provide a solid estimate of how much each faction was paying in taxes relative to the other. These tax lists showed that the average member of the anti-Parris faction paid approximately 40% more than his counterpart in the pro-Parris faction, which was about 18.3 shillings as opposed to 11 shillings.[iv] These records show how big the difference really was in the amount of Village taxes each faction was paying. When it comes to that much money, there is always resentment between the parties involved.
As things grew worse between the town and village, the accusations began to spread. These accusations and afflictions came from the west side, where the less fortunate directed their hostility towards their wealthier eastern counterparts, accusing them of witchcraft.[v] So the people of Salem Village were accusing the wealthier individuals in Salem Town of tormenting them and practicing witchcraft. It didn’t even matter who was being accused, the accusations just wouldn’t stop. By the end of summer of 1692, some of the most well-known people of Massachusetts or their close kin were accused; this included a wealthy Boston Merchant, a future representative of the general court, and even the wife of the governor.[vi] So it shows how far people were willing to go with their accusations at the time, it left no one safe.
In conclusion, taxes proved to have their effect on the accusations of the Salem Witch trials. Something as simple as the difference in the amount of taxes being paid caused factions to form. The leftover tensions between the two factions just got worse until they finally erupted into all the accusations. So even if taxes weren’t the complete cause of what resulted in the Salem Witch trials, it is obvious that their part in the economics of Salem can be related to differences between the accusers and the ones being accused.
[i] Richard Latner, Salem Witchcraft, Factionalism, and Social Change Reconsidered: Were Salem’s Witch-Hunters Modernization’s Failures?, 426
[ii] Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, Salem Possessed in Retrospect, 521
[iii] Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, Salem Possessed in Retrospect, 521
[iv] Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft, 53
[v] Laurie Winn Carlson, A Fever in Salem, 57
[vi] Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft, 48