What really happened during the Salem Witch Trials - Brian A. Pavlac

Prevoditelj: Nina Bassi Recezent: Sanda Liker

You’ve been accused of a crime you did not commit.

Optuženi ste za zločin koji niste počinili.

It’s impossible to prove your innocence.

Nemoguće je dokazati vašu nevinost.

If you insist that you’re innocent anyway,

Ako ustrajete na vašoj nevinosti,

you’ll likely be found guilty and executed.

vjerojatno ćete biti proglašeni krivima te smaknuti.

But if you confess, apologize, and implicate others for good measure,

Ali ako priznate, ispričate se i u znak dobre volje ukažete na druge,

you’ll go free.

bit ćete slobodni.

Do you give a false confession— or risk a public hanging?

Hoćete li dati lažni iskaz ili riskirati vješanje na javnom mjestu?

This was the choice facing those accused of witchcraft

Ovo je bio izbor s kojim su se suočavale osobe optužene za vještičarenje

in the village of Salem, Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693.

u selu Salem u Masachusettsu od veljače 1692. do svibnja 1693.

They were the victims of paranoia about the supernatural,

Ove osobe bile su žrtve paranoje zbog nadnaravnih događaja,

misdirected religious fervor—

pogrešno usmjerene vjerske gorljivosti

and a justice system that valued repentance over truth.

i pravnog sustava koji je cijenio kajanje više nego istinu.

Salem was settled in 1626 by Puritans, a group of English protestants.

Salem je naseljen puritancima, grupi engleskih protestanata, 1626. g.

Life was strict and isolated for the people of Salem.

Za ljude iz Salema život je bio oštar i izoliran.

Battles with their Native American neighbors

Borbe s domorodačkim susjedima

and groups of French settlers were commonplace.

i grupama francuskih doseljenika bile su njihova svakodnevnica.

People feared starvation and disease,

Ljudi su se bojali gladi i bolesti,

and relations between villagers were strained.

a odnosi među seljanima bili su nategnuti.

To make matters worse, 1692 brought one of the coldest winters on record.

Kako bi stvari bile gore, 1692. donijela je jednu od najhladnijih zima ikad.

That winter, two cousins,

Te su se zime dvije rođakinje,

9 year old Betty Parris and 11 year old Abigail Williams

devetogodišnja Betty Parris i jedanaestogodišnja Abigail Williams

started behaving very strangely.

počele veoma čudno ponašati.

A physician found nothing physically wrong —

Liječnik nije pronašao fizičke znakove bolesti,

but diagnosed the girls as under “an evil hand.”

ali je rekao kako su djevojčice pod utjecajem "ruke zla".

Puritans believed that the Devil wreaked havoc in the world through human agents,

Puritanci su vjerovali kako vrag djeluje preko ljudi

or witches, who blighted nature, conjured fiendish apparitions,

ili vještica koje su štetile prirodi, prizivale đavolje utvare

and tormented children.

i mučile djecu.

As news swept through the village, the symptoms appeared to spread.

Kako su novosti putovale selom, simptomi su se širili.

Accounts describe 12 so-called “afflicted” girls contorting their bodies,

Navodi spominju 12 djevojaka kako "pod utjecajem" izvijaju tijela,

having fits, and complaining of prickling skin.

imaju napadaje i žale se na iritaciju kože.

Four of the girls soon accused three local women of tormenting them.

Četiri su djevojke uskoro optužile tri lokalne žene za mučenje.

All three of the accused were considered outsiders in some way.

Sve tri optužene žene smatrane su autsajderima.

On February 29th, the authorities arrested Sarah Good,

29. veljače vlasti su uhitile Sarah Good,

a poor pregnant mother of a young daughter,

trudnu majku koja je imala i mladu kćer,

Sarah Osbourne, who had long been absent from church

Sarah Osbourne, koja duže vrijeme nije dolazila u crkvu

and was suing the family of one of her accusers,

i koja je tužila obitelj jednog od svojih optužitelja,

and Tituba, an enslaved woman in Betty Parris’s home

i Titubu, ropkinju u domu Betty Parris,

known by her first name only.

koja je bila poznata samo po svojem imenu.

Tituba denied harming the girls at first.

Tituba je u početku poricala da je naudila djevojčicama,

But then she confessed to practicing witchcraft on the Devil’s orders,

ali je tada priznala kako je prakticirala vještičarstvo po naredbi vraga

and charged Good and Osbourne with having forced her.

i optužila je Good i Osbourne da su je natjerale.

Osbourne and Good both maintained their innocence.

Obje Osbourne i Good i dalje su tvrdile kako su nevine.

Osbourne died in prison, while Good’s husband turned against her in court,

Osbourne je umrla u zatvoru, dok se muž Goodove na sudu okrenuo protiv nje

testifying that she "was a witch or would be one very quickly."

te dao iskaz kako je ona "vještica ili će uskoro postati vještica".

Good’s 4 year old daughter was imprisoned

Četverogodišnja kćer Goodovih odvedena je u zatvor

and eventually gave testimony against her mother.

i svjedočila je protiv svoje majke.

Meanwhile, Good gave birth in jail.

U međuvremenu, Goodova je rodila u zatvoru.

Her baby died, and she was convicted and hanged shortly thereafter.

Dijete je umrlo, a ona je nedugo nakon toga osuđena i obješena.

Tituba was held in custody until May, and then released.

Titubu su držali u pritvoru do svibnja, a onda su je pustili.

These three victims were just the beginning.

Ove tri žrtve bile su tek početak.

As accusations multiplied, others, like Tituba,

Kako su se optužbe gomilale, ostale, kao i Tituba,

made false confession to save themselves.

davale su lažna priznanja kako bi se spasile.

The authorities even reportedly told one accused witch

Vlasti su, navodno, jednoj od optuženih vještica rekle

that she would be hanged if she did not confess, and freed if she did.

kako će je objesiti ako ne prizna, a osloboditi ako prizna.

They were not particularly interested in thoroughly investigating the charges—

Nisu bili pretjerano zainteresirani za temeljito istraživanje optužnica.

in keeping with their Church’s teachings, they preferred that the accused confessed,

U duhu vjerskih učenja, cilj im je bio da optužena osoba prizna,

asked for forgiveness, and promised not to engage in more witchcraft.

traži oprost i obeća kako se više neće baviti vještičarenjem.

The court accepted all kinds of dubious evidence,

Sud je priznavao svakakve dvojbene dokaze,

including so-called “spectral evidence”

uključujući i takozvani "spektralni dokaz",

in which the girls began raving when supposedly touched by invisible ghosts.

u kojem bi djevojke počele buncati kada bi došle u kontakt s nevidljivim duhom.

Complicating matters further, many of the jurors in the trials

Da bi stvari bile kompliciranije, mnogi porotnici u suđenjima

were relatives of the accusers, compromising their objectivity.

bili su rođaci tužitelja, što je utjecalo na njihovu objektivnost.

Those who dared to speak out, such as Judge Nathanial Saltonstall,

Oni koji su se usudili istupiti, kao što je sudac Nathanial Saltonstall,

came under suspicion.

postali su sumnjivi.

By the spring of 1693, over a hundred people had been imprisoned,

Do proljeća 1693. preko sto ljudi bilo je zatvoreno,

and 14 women and 6 men had been executed.

a 14 žena i 6 muškaraca bilo je smaknuto.

By this time, accusations were starting to spread beyond Salem

Do tada, optužbe su se počele širiti i izvan Salema

to neighboring communities, and even the most powerful figures were targets.

do susjednih zajednica, a čak su i najutjecajniji ljudi postali mete.

When his own wife was accused,

Kada mu je žena optužena,

the governor of Massachusetts colony suspended the trials.

guverner kolonije Massachusetts obustavio je suđenja.

Sentences were amended, prisoners released, and arrests stopped.

Osude su izmijenjene, zatočenici oslobođeni, a uhićenja su prestala.

Some have speculated that the girls were suffering from hallucinations

Neki su smatrali da su djevojke halucinirale

caused by fungus;

pod utjecajem gljiva,

or a condition that caused swelling of the brain.

ili da su im mozgovi natekli.

But ultimately, the reason for their behavior is unknown.

Na kraju, razlog njihova ponašanja ostao je nepoznat.

What we do know is that adults accepted wild accusations by children

Ono što znamo je da su odrasli prihvatili sulude optužbe djece

as hard evidence.

kao čvrste dokaze.

Today, the Salem Witch Trials remain a cautionary tale

Suđenja vješticama u Salemu danas služe kao priče upozorenja

of the dangers of groupthink and scapegoating,

na opasnosti grupnog razmišljanja, žrtvovanja

and the power of fear to manipulate human perception.

i moći da se kroz strah manipulira ljudskom percepcijom.