The Witch of Blackbird Pond has definite historical context.  Elizabeth George Speare's account of colonial life in New England gives readers insight and clarity into everyday living during this time period. 

The novel takes place in the small village of Wethersfield in the colony of Connecticut in 1687.  Kit Tyler arrives there aboard the Dolphinfrom the colony of Barbados.  Through her perspective, the reader sees Connecticut and its customs through fresh eyes; Speare provides rich detail to describe the setting and characters as vividly as Kit would have seen them.  The novel reveals many of the political and social issues of the colonial time period, including puritanism, the fear of witchcraft and superstition, and the colony's relationship with England.