costumes. When considering them through a more historical lens, we are commonly introduced to witches through the Salem witch trials — the infamous prosecutions of over 100 people following the exhibition of strange and unusual behavior in a Puritan town.
In our learnings about one of the country’s first literal witch hunt, one person stands out; Tituba, an enslaved woman who was one of the first women to be accused of witchcraft.We know Tituba was of color, with varying accounts describing her as Native Southern American or half African, half Native.
She is often called “the Black Witch of Salem,” but historian Elaine G. Breslaw traced her roots to modern Venezuela, believing the girl was sent to Barbados as a slave.
She was an enigma in origin and in life overall, as not much is known about her following the Witch Trials. Also, during that time, it was not unusual for differing non-white races (within America) to be conflated.As a teenager, Tituba was bought by Samuel Parris in Barbados and relocated to Massachusetts in 1680.
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