61 pages • 2 hours read
Mary Beth NortonIn the Devil's Snare
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2002A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Historical Context: King William’s War
Norton describes the brutality of the Wabanaki attacks on colonial settlements as she develops her argument that these contributed to the witch crisis. The settlers who experienced those attacks, lost relatives in them, or even heard about them feared attacks from the Wabanakis. The attacks took place in the broader context of King William’s War, which was primarily a struggle for the domination of North America between the British and French. The British allied themselves with the Iroquois confederacy, while the French were allies of the Wabanaki confederacy. The Wabanaki confederacy included several Indigenous peoples and was formed in the aftermath of King Philip’s War, which concluded in 1678; it aimed to form an alliance with the French and stop the expansion of New England.
King William’s War began in 1688, and it was still raging in 1692 when the witch crisis occurred. During the previous war (King Philip’s War), Indigenous forces became motivated to stop English settlements on their lands and to refuse to recognize English authority. The Treaty of Casco, which was negotiated at the conclusion of the earlier war, required the English to pay corn tributes for each family living on Indigenous lands; it therefore recognized the sovereignty of Indigenous groups in Maine. However, English settlers returned to the area in the aftermath of King Philip’s War and ignored those and other provisions. Further, Indigenous peoples believed the English were cheating them in the fur trade. Thus, the Wabanakis were seeking to expel the English colonists in defense of their homeland and autonomy. King William’s War proved to be devastating to both the English colonists and the Wabanaki confederacy and did not conclude until 1697.
Geographical Context: Northeastern Massachusetts in the 1690s
The witchcraft crisis of 1692 is associated in the public mind with Salem. At this time, however, the boundaries of Salem were not what they have become in the 21st century. Many of the people involved in the crisis, including the Putnams, lived in Salem Village, which went on to become Danvers. Norton argues that the crisis was exceptional because of its geographic spread. It did not stay contained within Salem Town and Salem Village but spread to the entire county, which is known as Essex County. It sits in the northeast corner of Massachusetts and includes Gloucester, Ipswich, and Andover. During the crisis, Andover had the second highest number of afflictions after Salem Village.
Norton connects the crisis to the colonists’ wars with the Wabanakis. Salem Village was approximately 48 miles from York, Maine, which was attacked by the Wabanakis before the witch crisis. The English were expanding their settlements in the north. Even the coastal settlements in Maine were under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, as Maine was not recognized as a separate colony. Thus, it was in these towns in Essex County that refugees from the wars settled in. The proximity of these towns to the frontier ensured that the people here lived in fear of more attacks, especially in outlying and rural areas. Additionally, Essex County and the Maine settlements contained coastal communities that engaged in fishing and trade. The Wabanakis attacked several ships based in Salem. Accordingly, Norton explains that the inhabitants of Essex County felt threatened by the war. In addition to the refugees who lived here, several citizens had served in the militia that protected the Maine settlements. Thus, Essex County had several ties to the English settlements in Maine.
