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Read a primary source by Cotton Mather, a minister and author, who described the Salem witch scare as a devilish plot against the colony. Learn about the social and religious context, the accused, and the execution of the trials.
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Learn about the life and writings of Cotton Mather, a prominent Puritan minister and author who influenced the Salem witch trials. Explore his views on witchcraft, spectral evidence, and the role of Satan in the events.
Mather's subsequent involvement in the Salem witch trials of 1692–1693, which he defended in the book Wonders of the Invisible World (1693), attracted intense controversy in his own day and has negatively affected his historical reputation. As a historian of colonial New England, Mather is noted for his Magnalia Christi Americana (1702).
Sep 15, 2021 · Learn how Cotton Mather, a prominent minister and author, played a role in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692-3. Find out how he influenced the trials, celebrated the executions, and faced criticism from other colonists.
Jul 11, 2024 · He joined his father in cautioning judges against the use of “spectre evidence” (testimony of a victim of witchcraft that he had been attacked by a spectre bearing the appearance of someone he knew) in the witchcraft trials and in working for the ouster of Sir Edmund Andros as governor of Massachusetts.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Nov 4, 2011 · The infamous Salem witch trials began during the spring of 1692, after a group of young girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts, claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local...
Aug 29, 2022 · Learn about Cotton Mather, a prominent Puritan minister who influenced American Christianity and science. He also attended the Salem witch trials and wrote about his observations and opinions on the supernatural.