elizabeth olsem

Samuel Parris was a significant figure in the Salem witch trials, which took place in Salem Village, Massachusetts, in 1692. Parris was the local minister of the Salem Village Church, and his involvement in the witch trials played a crucial role in initiating and fueling the hysteria that spread throughout the community. Parris was appointed as the minister of Salem Village in 1689, and he faced several challenges right from the beginning of his tenure. The village was experiencing various conflicts, including land disputes and financial difficulties. Additionally, many villagers were unhappy with Parris's salary and his strict Puritanical preaching style. In the winter of 1691, Parris's daughter, Betty, and niece, Abigail Williams, began exhibiting strange symptoms, including convulsions, screaming, and behaving as if possessed.

The time scale in which Ghosh works is a fairly recent one, going back some three or four centuries. By writing a history of colonialism, he falls back on the choices of the present that repetitively ask the same question: who is responsible for climate change? Of course, it is human-induced and anthropogenic, as even the policy documents testify. But on what scale and through what measures? Even while using the concept of Gaia frequently, Ghosh fails to show how the living organisms on the planet interact with their surrounding inorganic environment to configure a synergetic and self-regulating system that originally created the climate and biochemical conditions sufficient and responsible for creating ‘life’ on this planet. This is because Ghosh, while pursuing a global politics of vitalism (the belief that living beings have a vital force), still holds humans closest to his heart. A book that makes the case for a ‘planet in crisis’ intentionally emphasises human parables alone.

Collingwood differentiated between human history and natural history by remarking that all history properly so called is the history of human affairs. With sweeping historical perspective and startling insight, Ghosh has written a groundbreaking, visionary call to new forms of human life in the Anthropocene.

In the winter of 1691, Parris's daughter, Betty, and niece, Abigail Williams, began exhibiting strange symptoms, including convulsions, screaming, and behaving as if possessed. Parris, being deeply concerned about their well-being, sought medical help, but the doctors were unable to provide a diagnosis for their symptoms. During this time, witchcraft was a widely believed and feared phenomenon in colonial New England.

The Nutmeg's Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis

In this ambitious successor to The Great Derangement, acclaimed writer Amitav Ghosh finds the origins of our contemporary climate crisis in Western colonialism’s violent exploitation of human life and the natural environment.

A powerful work of history, essay, testimony, and polemic, Amitav Ghosh’s new book traces our contemporary planetary crisis back to the discovery of the New World and the sea route to the Indian Ocean. The Nutmeg’s Curse argues that the dynamics of climate change today are rooted in a centuries-old geopolitical order constructed by Western colonialism. At the center of Ghosh’s narrative is the now-ubiquitous spice nutmeg. The history of the nutmeg is one of conquest and exploitation—of both human life and the natural environment. In Ghosh’s hands, the story of the nutmeg becomes a parable for our environmental crisis, revealing the ways human history has always been entangled with earthly materials such as spices, tea, sugarcane, opium, and fossil fuels. Our crisis, he shows, is ultimately the result of a mechanistic view of the earth, where nature exists only as a resource for humans to use for our own ends, rather than a force of its own, full of agency and meaning.

Writing against the backdrop of the global pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests, Ghosh frames these historical stories in a way that connects our shared colonial histories with the deep inequality we see around us today. By interweaving discussions on everything from the global history of the oil trade to the migrant crisis and the animist spirituality of Indigenous communities around the world, The Nutmeg’s Curse offers a sharp critique of Western society and speaks to the profoundly remarkable ways in which human history is shaped by non-human forces.

Genres NonfictionHistoryEnvironmentClimate ChangeSciencePoliticsNature

The Nutmeg’s Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis. Amitav Ghosh. University of Chicago Press. 2021.

Parris's own slave women, Tituba, and other local women, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne, were accused of being the witches responsible for the afflictions of Betty and Abigail. Parris's involvement in the witch trials began when the girls pointed out these women as the culprits. Parris's role in the witch trials was multifaceted. As the village minister, he had significant influence and authority over the community. He actively supported and encouraged the investigations into witchcraft, making use of his position to promote the accusations. Parris allowed the trials to take place in the church, which further legitimized the proceedings in the eyes of the villagers. Moreover, Parris preached sermons that condemned witchcraft, reinforcing the fears and suspicions already present in the community. He used his pulpit to emphasize the seriousness of witchcraft and the need to eradicate it from Salem Village. His sermons created an atmosphere of panic and contributed to the widespread belief in the presence of witches in the community. Parris's involvement extended beyond his role as a preacher. He served as a key witness against accused witches during the trials, testifying about the bewitching occurrences in his own home and the village. His testimony carried considerable weight due to his position and influence in the community. However, as the witch trials progressed and accusations started to affect more prominent members of the Salem Village community, Parris's involvement came under scrutiny. Many villagers began to question the legitimacy of the witch hunt, and Parris's role in fueling the hysteria became a topic of controversy. His support for the trials started to wane amidst the increasing doubts and criticism. Samuel Parris's involvement in the Salem witch trials had a significant impact on the events that unfolded in Salem Village in 1692. As the village minister, he played a pivotal role in initiating and fueling the witch hunt through his sermons, testimonies, and active promotion of the investigations. However, his involvement came under scrutiny, and he faced criticism as doubts about the legitimacy of the trials grew. The events surrounding Parris's involvement highlight the dangers of mass hysteria and the consequences of unchecked power and influence..

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elizabeth olsem