what are two ways in which the setting influences events

Salem, Massachusetts, is the setting of trials. Salem is the real-life setting of the historical Salem Witch Trials which took place during 1692-1693. Salem was founded in 1626, and "to the European world the whole province was a barbaric frontier inhabited by a sect of fanatics who, nevertheless, were shipping out products of slowly increasing quantity and value" (Act I, p. 4).