Vintage illustration of the Reverend George Burroughs (c1650 - 1692) being accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials.
Vintage illustration of the Reverend George Burroughs (c1650 - 1692) being accused of witchcraft during the infamous Salem Witch Trials. The Salem Witch Trials were a series of witchcraft trials in 1692 and 1693 in colonial Massachusetts which occurred after several young girls began to act strangely and were deemed to be possessed by the devil. Three women were initially accused of witchcraft but many others were also subsequently accused and more than 150 people were arrested and imprisoned. Nineteen people were executed by hanging, one of whom was the Rev Burroughs, the former minister of Salem Village. Burroughs was convicted of witchcraft and conspiracy with the devil on the basis of extraordinary feats of strength - namely the ability to lift a musket with just a finger in the barrel. He was hanged on August 19 1692 - despite reciting the Lord's Prayer while standing on the gallows, something which it was considered impossible for a witch to do. The accusations against him may have been motivated by former members of his congregation in a row over debts owed. The illustration appeared in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper in February 1871. It depicts Burroughs with his hands in chains in the court dock and the footnote reads "The legend of Salem: The Rev. George Burroughs was accused of witchcraft on the evidence of feats of strength, tried, hung, and buried beneath the gallows."
Size: 2095px × 3001px
Photo credit: © Archive Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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