Why were the Salem witch trials a comparatively small part of the larger history of witch hunts?

The Salem witch trials are often perceived as a central event in the history of witch hunts due to their prominence in American literature and media, such as Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible. However, historically, they were a comparatively small and late manifestation of the broader early modern witch trials that occurred across Europe and its colonies between the 15th and 18th centuries.123

Several factors explain why the Salem trials represent only a minor chapter in this history:

• Timing: The Salem trials took place in 1692–93, occurring after the peak of the European "witch craze," which saw its most severe activity between the 1580s and the 1640s. By the time of the Salem outbreak, the fervor of large-scale witch hunts had largely abated in Europe.45
• Scale: While approximately 110,000 people were tried for witchcraft across Europe, resulting in 40,000 to 60,000 executions, the Salem trials resulted in 19 executions.45
• Geographic Concentration: The vast majority of witch hunts—about three-fourths—were concentrated in western Germany, the Low Countries, France, northern Italy, and Switzerland. Salem was a localized event in a colonial backwater, rather than part of the intense, widespread regional panics seen in central Europe.45