Sickness & Evil in the New England Colonies, 1620-1788
Virtual Lecture Wednesday, October 25, 7 PM
LITTLE COMPTON, RI – The Little Compton Historical Society’s Fall Lecture series begins Wednesday, October 25 at 7 PM with a Zoom lecture by author Andrew Rapoza. Andrew will speak on “Sickness & Evil in the New England Colonies” and the methods people used to protect themselves and their families. Pre-registration is required using the zoom link.
The link will also be posted on littlecompton.org, Facebook, and Instagram. The talk is free and open to the public.
According to Mr. Rapoza, “the Puritans felt surrounded by evil. As they settled in Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth colonies throughout the 17 th century, their faith was constantly tested, and their fears often seemed overwhelming – with good reason.
They were assaulted by life-threatening challenges: droughts, snow in the springtime, crop failures, sudden death of farm animals, bread that wouldn’t rise, butter that wouldn’t thicken, and family members who fell sick from strange, unrecognized sickness.
They were convinced the Devil was using witches to destroy them. Many Puritans tried to fight the black magic of witchcraft by using their own white magic, even though their ministers warned they were falling under Satan’s power. But they were desperate.”
Andrew Rapoza, 1s an historian and author of Promising Cures, a four-volume, three-century historyof health in a New England community, will present the little-known evidence of Puritans usingafter the infamous Salem witch trials of 1692. He will also discuss the ways Little Compton’s Wilbor family protected themselves from evil at the Wilbor House Museum.
Please note that the subject matter and images included in Mr. Rapoza’s talk are appropriate for adults and teenagers, but not young children.
Andrew V. Rapoza is a magna cum laude graduate of Boston College, with a Scholar of the College distinction in history. During his management career in purchasing, contracts, and technical publications, he also pursued his passion for collecting and researching health and medical history, especially as it pertained to Lynn, Massachusetts, where he and his wife, Gail, first raised their four children.
Several of his research papers on Colonial, Federal, and Victorian health in New England have been published, and he has been a guest speaker on these subjects at sites over the Northeast, including the Strong Museum in Rochester, New York, and at the Dublin Seminar for New England Folklife.
Photograph of speaker Andrew Rapoza courtesy of Andrew Rapoza.
Photograph of witch’s mark courtesy of the Little Compton Historical Society.