Early Settlers of New England (Salem 1626-1629) Complete 1940 Encyclopaedia Britannica Films (Patreon)

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'Dramatized impressions of the life of the pioneer settlers in a New England colony.'

Originally a public domain film from the Library of Congress Prelinger Archives, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and one-pass brightness-contrast-color correction & mild video noise reduction applied.

The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem,_Massachusetts

Wikipedia license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Salem is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts located in the North Shore region. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 and Salem would become one of the most significant seaports in early American history...

Much of the city's cultural identity reflects its role as the location of the infamous Salem witch trials of 1692, as featured in Arthur Miller's The Crucible. Police cars are adorned with witch logos, a public elementary school is known as Witchcraft Heights, and the Salem High School athletic teams are named the Witches...

Salem is located at the mouth of the Naumkeag River at the former site of an Native American village and trading center. Colonists settled the area in 1626 when a company of fishermen arrived from Cape Ann led by Roger Conant. Conant's leadership provided the stability to survive the first two years, but John Endecott replaced him by order of the Massachusetts Bay Company. Conant graciously stepped aside and was granted 200 acres (0.81 km2) of land in compensation. These "New Planters" and the "Old Planters" agreed to cooperate, in large part due to the diplomacy of Conant and Endecott. In recognition of this peaceful transition to the new government, the name of the settlement was changed to Salem, the hellenized name of Shalem (שָׁלֵם), the royal city of Melchizedek, that is traditionally identified with Jerusalem.

In 1628, Endecott ordered that the Great House be moved from Cape Ann, reassembling it on Washington Street north of Church Street. Francis Higginson wrote that "we found a faire house newly built for the Governor" which was remarkable for being two stories high. A year later, the Massachusetts Bay Charter was issued creating the Massachusetts Bay Colony with Matthew Craddock as its governor in London and Endecott as its governor in the colony. John Winthrop was elected Governor in late 1629, and arrived with the Winthrop Fleet in 1630, one of the many events that began the Puritan Great Migration.

In 1639, Endecott was one of the signers on the building contract for enlarging the meeting house in Town House Square for the first church in Salem. This document remains part of the town records at City Hall. He was active in the affairs of the town throughout his life. Samuel Skelton was the first pastor of the First Church of Salem, which is the original Puritan church in America. Endecott already had a close relationship with Skelton, having been converted by him, and Endecott considered him as his spiritual father...

Salem's harbor was defended by Fort Miller in Marblehead from 1632 to 1865, and by Fort Pickering on Winter Island from 1643 to 1865.

One of the most widely known aspects of Salem is its history of witchcraft allegations which started with Abigail Williams, Betty Parris, and their friends playing with a Venus glass (mirror) and egg. The infamous Salem witch trials began in 1692, and 19 people were executed by hanging as a result of the false accusations; Giles Corey was pressed to death for refusing to plead innocent or guilty, thus avoiding the noose and instead dying an innocent man. Salem is also significant in legal history as the site of the Dorothy Talbye Trial, where a mentally ill woman was hanged for murdering her daughter because Massachusetts made no distinction at the time between insanity and criminal behavior.

William Hathorne was a prosperous businessman in early Salem and became one of its leading citizens. He led troops to victory in King Philip's War, served as a magistrate on the highest court, and was chosen as the first speaker of the House of Deputies. He was a zealous advocate of the personal rights of freemen against royal emissaries and agents. His son Judge John Hathorne came to prominence in the late 17th century when witchcraft was a serious felony. Judge Hathorne is the best known of the witch trial judges, and he became known as the "Hanging Judge" for sentencing accused witches to death...