Wonders of the Invisible World

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Wonders of the Invisible World is a 1693 book by Puritan minister Cotton Mather defending the Salem witch trials and describing alleged cases of witchcraft in New England.


Statements (49)
Predicate Object
instanceOf book
nonfiction book
author Cotton Mather
claims Satan was actively attacking New England
witchcraft posed a serious threat to the Puritan community
commissionedBy Massachusetts authorities
countryOfOrigin Colonial America
criticizedBy later historians of the Salem witch trials
criticizedFor justification of judicial executions
uncritical acceptance of spectral evidence
describes alleged cases of witchcraft in New England
confessions of accused witches
testimonies of afflicted persons
witchcraft trials in Salem
fullTitle Wonders of the Invisible World: Observations as Well Historical as Theological, upon the Nature, the Number, and the Operations of the Devils
genre polemical work
religious literature
witchcraft treatise
hasFormat modern reprint editions
printed pamphlet
historicalContext Salem witch trials of 1692
late 17th-century New England
includedCase trial of Bridget Bishop
trial of George Burroughs
influenced American perceptions of witchcraft
later interpretations of the Salem witch trials
influencedBy European witchcraft literature
Puritan demonology
language English
literaryStyle didactic
sermon-like prose
placeOfPublication Boston
publicationYear 1693
publisher Benjamin Harris
purpose defense of the Salem witch trials
justification of the New England witchcraft prosecutions
religiousPerspective Puritan
religiousTheme battle between God and the Devil
subject New England Puritanism
Puritan theology
Salem witch trials
Satan
demonic possession
spectral evidence
witchcraft in New England
supports actions of the Salem magistrates
use of spectral evidence in witchcraft trials
theologicalFramework Calvinist
timePeriodDescribed 17th-century New England


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