Paper 3, Option 33: The witch craze in Britain, Europe and North America, c1580–c1750 - 5 Cotton Mather and the Salem witch hunt, 1692–93 — Edexcel A-Level History
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Paper 3, Option 33: The witch craze in Britain, Europe and North America, c1580–c1750 - 5 Cotton Mather and the Salem witch hunt, 1692–93 explained
Paper 3, Option 33: The witch craze in Britain, Europe and North America, c1580–c1750 - 5 Cotton Mather and the Salem witch hunt, 1692–93 covers 3 specification points, including Weakened authority following the 1688… and The influence of Cotton Mather, including….
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Open a point below for its explanation and revision guidance.
The social, economic and political context of Salem: weakened authority following the 1688 Revolution; Indian threats and economic crisis; social tensions.
Salem's witch hunt grew from a fragile context. Following the 1688 Revolution, the Dominion of New England collapsed, leaving Massachusetts without a secure legal framework until the 1691 charter arrived, weakening authority. Indian threats on the frontier brought fear, refugees and accusations against outsiders. Economic crisis hit Salem Village: disputes over land, trade and the wealth of Salem Town split families. Social tensions included factional feuds, gender and age suspicion, and resentment of independent women. These pressures made accusations plausible and courts willing to act.
The influence of Cotton Mather, including Memorable Providences relating to Witchcraft and Possessions; instigators, including the roles of Samuel Parris, children and Tituba; the nature of the victims; the trials and executions.
Cotton Mather, a Boston minister, shaped elite and popular belief through Memorable Providences (1689), which linked witchcraft to bodily possession and endorsed spectral evidence. In Salem Village, Samuel Parris's household became the epicentre: his daughter Betty and niece Abigail Williams, alongside other children, accused neighbours, while Tituba, an enslaved woman in the Parris home, confessed to covenanting with the Devil and named confederates. The victims were mostly middling women, but also men and children, often socially marginal or in disputes with accusers. The Court of Oyer and Terminer tried and executed nineteen by hanging and one by pressing, using spectral and confessional evidence. Assess causation and significance, not just narrative.
Reasons for the ending of the witch hunt: the roles of Cotton Mather's father and Governor Phips; the general pardon.
The Salem witch hunt collapsed as elite opinion turned. Increase Mather, Cotton Mather's father and president of Harvard, argued in Cases of Conscience (1692) that spectral evidence alone was insufficient and that the Devil could assume an innocent person's shape. Governor William Phips, whose wife had been accused, dissolved the Court of Oyer and Terminer in October 1692 and later issued a general pardon in 1693, freeing remaining prisoners. These actions, alongside growing doubts among clergy and the public, ended executions and trials. Assess how far each factor contributed to the ending, and how the pardon addressed the legal aftermath.
Your focus
- Explain how the 1688 Revolution weakened authority in Massachusetts.
- Describe the impact of Indian threats and economic crisis on Salem.
- Analyse how social tensions contributed to the Salem witch hunt.
Show all 9 objectives
- Explain how Cotton Mather's Memorable Providences shaped beliefs about witchcraft and possession.
- Analyse the roles of Samuel Parris, the children and Tituba in instigating and sustaining the Salem witch hunt.
- Evaluate the nature of the victims and the conduct and outcomes of the trials and executions.
- Explain how Increase Mather's arguments undermined spectral evidence.
- Analyse Governor Phips's actions in dissolving the court and issuing a pardon.
- Evaluate the combination of factors that ended the Salem witch hunt.
Paper 3, Option 33: The witch craze in Britain, Europe and North America, c1580–c1750 - 5 Cotton Mather and the Salem witch hunt, 1692–93 exam tips
Marking Points
- Explains weakened authority: the 1688 Revolution caused the collapse of the Dominion of New England, leaving Massachusetts without a secure legal framework.
- Explains Indian threats: frontier warfare brought fear, refugees and suspicion of outsiders into Essex County communities.
- Explains economic crisis: land disputes, trade problems and Salem Village's resentment of Salem Town's wealth divided the community.
- Explains social tensions: factional feuds, gender and age suspicion, and resentment of independent women made accusations credible.
- Explains how Memorable Providences provided a learned framework that validated spectral evidence and possession, influencing judges and clergy.
- Analyses Samuel Parris's role as complainant, preacher and household head, linking his sermons and disputes to the accusations.
- Assesses the children's accusations as both initiators and sustained witnesses, considering their social position and credibility.
- Evaluates Tituba's confession as a turning point that expanded the scope of accusations and introduced the Devil's covenant.
- Characterises the victims by gender, age, status and reputation, showing patterns and exceptions.
- Examines the trials and executions, including the use of spectral evidence, confessions, and the refusal of some to plead.
- Weighs the relative importance of Mather, Parris, children and Tituba in escalating the hunt.
- Explains Increase Mather's Cases of Conscience and its challenge to spectral evidence.
- Assesses Governor Phips's decision to dissolve the Court of Oyer and Terminer and its impact on trials.
- Evaluates the general pardon of 1693 as a legal and political measure that ended the prosecutions.
- Considers other reasons for the ending, such as changing public opinion, the accused's social status, and the collapse of accusations.
- Weighs the relative importance of Increase Mather, Phips and the pardon in ending the witch hunt.
Examiner Tips
- 💡Separate political, economic and social factors clearly in your plan.
- 💡Explain how context made accusations believable rather than merely describing events.
- 💡Plan essays around the stated categories: influence, instigators, victims, trials and executions.
- 💡Use specific examples from Memorable Providences and the Salem examinations to support each claim.
- 💡When assessing significance, compare the roles of Mather, Parris, children and Tituba rather than listing them.
- 💡Integrate interpretations of causation and evidence throughout, not only in a conclusion.
- 💡Structure answers around the three named factors and then evaluate their relative weight.
- 💡Use precise dates and titles, such as Cases of Conscience (1692) and the general pardon (1693).
- 💡Link the ending to earlier weaknesses in evidence and procedure to show causation.
- 💡Avoid hindsight: explain why contemporaries changed their minds.
Common Mistakes
- Stating the 1688 Revolution revoked the Massachusetts charter; correction: the charter was revoked in 1684; the 1688 Revolution overthrew Governor Andros and collapsed the Dominion of New England.
- Assuming economic crisis affected everyone equally; correction: distinguish Salem Village's agricultural grievances from Salem Town's commercial interests.
- Ignoring gender and age in social tensions; correction: show how accusations often targeted older, independent or marginal women.
- Treating Cotton Mather as the sole cause: correct by situating his writings within local village tensions and legal procedures.
- Assuming all victims were women: correct by noting that men and children were also accused and executed.
- Presenting Tituba's confession as voluntary and reliable: correct by considering coercion, enslavement and her status in the Parris household.
- Confusing Salem Village with Salem Town: correct by distinguishing the rural village from the prosperous port.
- Using modern psychological labels without evidence: correct by analysing contemporary beliefs about possession and the Devil.
- Attributing the end solely to Cotton Mather: correct by distinguishing his father Increase Mather's role and writings.
- Assuming the pardon was immediate: correct by noting the sequence from the court's dissolution to the 1693 pardon.
- Ignoring the wider context of doubt among clergy and public: correct by integrating contemporary criticisms and the decline in new accusations.
- Confusing Increase Mather with Cotton Mather: correct by using full names and specific texts.
- Treating the pardon as an acquittal: correct by explaining it was a general release that did not formally reverse convictions.