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Witchcraft in the English Colonies in North America--Puritan Intolerance and Superstition--Cotton Mather's…

Date of account
Published 1865
Source
The Superstitions of Witchcraft
Reference
The Superstitions of Witchcraft · selected passage 188
Rights
public_domain
Language
English
Record updated
2026-08-24

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Record summary

Witchcraft in the English Colonies in North America--Puritan Intolerance and Superstition--Cotton Mather's 'Late Memorable Providences'--Demoniacal Possession--Evidence given before the Commission--Apologies issued by Authority--Sudden Termination of the Proceedings--Reactionary Feeling against the Agitators--The Salem…

Published source text

Read the available text below. Archive transcriptions may contain OCR errors; later context is labelled separately. A recorded claim is not a finding that it happened.

Source passage

Source text · mention only

Witchcraft in the English Colonies in North America--Puritan Intolerance and Superstition--Cotton Mather's 'Late Memorable Providences'--Demoniacal Possession--Evidence given before the Commission--Apologies issued by Authority--Sudden Termination of the Proceedings--Reactionary Feeling against the Agitators--The Salem Witchcraft the last Instance of Judicial Prosecution on a large Scale in Christendom--Philosophers begin to expose the Superstition--Meritorious Labours of Webster, Becker, and others--Their Arguments could reach only the Educated and Wealthy Classes of Society--These only partially Enfranchised--The Superstition continues to prevail among the Vulgar--Repeal of the Witch Act in England in 1736--Judicial and Popular Persecutions in England in the Eighteenth Century--Trial of Jane Wenham in England in 1712--Maria Renata burned in Germany in 1749--La Cadiere in France--Last Witch burned in Scotland in 1722--Recent Cases of Witchcraft--Protestant Superstition--Witchcraft in the Extra-Christian World.

Historical context

Contextual commentary · mention only

This is a historical account assembled under the reporting and publishing conventions of its period. It may preserve testimony, hearsay, retelling and editorial interpretation together.

Modern context

Contextual commentary · mention only

A modern comparison can identify recurring descriptions and possible explanations, but the account is not treated as independently verified evidence merely because it appeared in print.

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