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In relation to the salem witch trials, what was the difference between being afflicted with witchcraft and being accused of witchcraft?.

Sagot :

In relation to the Salem Witch Trials, the afflicted were those who were harmed by the effects of witchcraft, while the accused were those who allegedly practicing said witchcraft.

At the start of 1692, the afflicted began showing bizarre symptoms which included making incoherent sounds, huddling under tables and gripping their heads. They also screamed out names which were believed to be the names of those who practiced magic and thereby bewitched them.

Over time, historians have deciphered that the afflicted, who primarily consisted of adolescent girls, might have been suffering from conversion disorder - a neurological disorder caused by extreme psychological stress caused by PTSD due to the happenings of that time. Symptoms included blindness, hallucinations, spasms, and temporary loss of speech.

In other cases, some suggest that it might have been faked too. Some afflicted persons claimed that disembodied spirits stabbed or choked them, but they were eventually traced to around 150 real individuals from Essex County who were later arrested.

The accused who were named by afflicted or even suspected of witchcraft, were arrested and put on trial under the accusation of the same. The ones allegedly found guilty were hanged and then unceremoniously disposed off.

Witchcraft was deemed a crime worthy of death. Women who didn't fit into the societal standards of the time were considered primary targets, but that isn't to say that men weren't accused and/or put on trial. Five men were put on trial during the Salem Witch Trials.

To know more about the Salem Witch Trials, go to https://brainly.com/question/23966053