The New World Times

Thomas Brattle, a wealthy merchant, wrote a compelling article, in October 1692, protesting the legal premises and procedures of the Salem Witch Trials.

    Thomas Brattle is an influential man known for his discoveries in math, science, and astronomy. He was born into a merchant family and attended Harvard, where he received his B.A. in 1676 and later became its treasurer. In 1680, his observations on a comet were recognized by Sir Isaac Newton. Newton granted him membership to the Royal Society. This British organization was known to be prestigious and advanced in scientific research. Brattle studied with chemists Robert Boyle and John Flamsteed while attending the Royal Society. Upon his parent's death in 1689, Brattle returned to the New England Colonies and continued his research.

    After seeing a portion of the Salem Witch Trials, a disgusted Brattle joined the battle against the methods used for convicting and executing accused witches. In October 1692, he wrote an article to an English clergyman attacking the use of spectral evidence and the legitimacy of the Trials. This article became well-read and widely circulated for the logical ideas it conveyed. Brattle focuses mainly on the validity of spectral evidence throughout his article. He challenges the fairness of the judges and the evidence of the accusers. Brattle also challenges the methods used to deal with the accused witches. He criticizes how unfair the punishments were and resents the lives being lost from this hysteria. Besides attacking the spectral evidence, Brattle also focused on the legal fairness of the trails. He protested how theologically-based the judges were and how the accused witches did not get any chance to speak for themselves.

     Thomas Brattle sent this letter in five days after Increase Mather’s Cases of Conscience article, which also denies the effectiveness of spectral evidence. Though Brattle’s letter has not been recognized by many Puritans, it does open a chink in the armor of the logic used to combat the hysteria going on right now. Accusers and trials have not seem to slow down yet, but this letter is clear representation of the growing feeling in our settlement that spectral evidence and witches might not be as genuine as they seem.