Today’s DOTD - Drink Of The Day - is the Witches’ Daiquiri inspired by the coming Halloween season, & the final Salem Witch Trials executions, which happened on this date in 1692. If you’re unfamiliar with the Salem Witch Trials, they’re a vivid cautionary tale about the dangers of religious extremism, false accusations, and lapses in due process - which resonates strongly right now, for obvious reasons.
In the spring of 1692 a small group of young girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts apparently had convulsions, barked, hallucinated, and according to observers, seemed devil-possessed. What happened next is an episode of mass hysteria that was horrifying, and has become a key moment in U.S. history.
According to records from the time, three women, all of whom were societal outcasts, were arrested for allegedly afflicting the young girls. The women were brought before local magistrates to prove they hadn’t ensorcelled the young girls, even though the practice of witch trials, common in Europe in previous decades, had finally nearly died out .
Initially, the trials appeared to be investigative, trying to find out what happened to the young girls. But as accusations rapidly grew, and proof didn’t, the proceedings began to run… amok. The list of accused grew to more than forty individuals, in both Salem Village and surrounding communities. At that point, a special court was established.
While there are many untrue myths about the witch trials, the “standards” in these trials were ridiculous, and the “tests” to determine whether someone was a witch even more ridiculous, including “witch cakes” and the “touch test.”
As the saga played out, a total of over 200 people were accused and 30 were found guilty. Nineteen individuals, fourteen women and five men, were hanged. Another man was pressed to death by having stones piled on his chest because he refused to enter a plea. The last hangings occurred on September 22, 1692.
A few trials continued in 1693, but the fervor had died out and respected individuals such as the President of Harvard College urged that standards for evidence should be as rigorous as for a criminal trial. Soon enough the Governor of Massachusetts dissolved the special court and pardoned anyone still in prison on witchcraft charges.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’re going to need for this drink:
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