Reconstructs the life of Tituba, the Indian slave woman at the center of the notorious Salem witch trials, from her likely origins in South America to her life in Massachusetts. Details Tituba's part in the witch trials, and illustrates how the Puritan worldview was influenced by its perception of possessed Indians. Includes a timetable of accusations and confessions, a chronological list of 53 confessions, and transcripts of Tituba's confessions, plus b&w photos and drawings. For general readers and students of history. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Breslaw (history, Univ. of Tennessee) provides a fascinating account of Tituba, an American Indian slave woman whose confession inspired much of the 1692 Salem witch trials. Breslaw reveals Tituba as a South American (not an African, as 19th- and 20th-century writers supposed) who was sold into slavery in Barbados and came to Salem with the Reverend Samuel Parris, her owner. Tituba skillfully used her knowledge and storytelling ability to save her own life and to express defiance of her master both in her confession and in her subsequent recantation. Highly recommended for scholars in American history and literature as well as general readers.-Carolyn M. Craft, Longwood Coll., Farmville, Va. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Breslaw reexamines the role of Tituba, household slave of Samuel Parris, accused of witchcraft in Puritan Salem in 1692. Examining the accusations and confession in social context and in light of multicultural influences, Breslaw discusses Tituba's role as a scapegoat or as a manipulator of Puritan fears. "In the process of confessing to fantastic experiences, she (Tituba) created a new idiom of resistance against abusive treatment and inadvertently led the way for other innocents accused of ... witchcraft." Breslaw makes a strong circumstantial case that Tituba was not an African, as is often assumed, but rather a South American Indian. This well-researched and well-written study is a new approach to understanding New England life, emphasizing the syncretic cultural exchange between Puritans and nonwhites. Tituba's mental images of altered states of consciousness, dreams, spirits, possession--all of which came from her origin in the Caribbean--were translated by the New Englanders to mean she was a witch. Tituba's mental world and religious beliefs would have been strange to the Puritans, just as their world was alien to her. Undergraduates and above. D. C. Samuels SUNY at Stony Brook From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.