Salem was a busy port in the its time. In 1804 there were 200 registered international sail ships in Salem. In Salem there were the first millionaires and they where all privateers . First was Elias Hasket Derby he own a million dollar estate. He was the first shipowner to sail past the Cape of Good Hope. Then was William Gray he was worth 3 million dollars. He owned 181 ships in his lifetime. The last was Simon Forester. He was worth 1.5 million dollars. He came to Salem when he was 19 as a Irish sailor. Most sailor started around the time you were 13 years of age. The ships carried 18-20 people at a time. The wage of a sailor was about the same as a officer but officers got privileges. People could make a fortune by being a sailor. We also saw one of the ships named Friendship. It is a reproduction of a old trade ship and is a working ship.
Salem also had a dark history. During the Witch Trials 19 people were hanged and 1 man pressed to death. The reason the Witch Trials started is that on snowy days they were told story by Tituba, a black cook, in Rev. Paris kitchen. Most of the accused were put in jail and died there. One of the first was Rebecca Nurse a old lady who was partly deaf, so she could not hear the questions, so she was put into jail and hanged. Ann Putnam, one people who started the whole thing, confessed 16 years later in front of Rebecca Nurse’s children. When people in Boston heard of this they put a end to it but the people in jail stayed there for more years than they should have.
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