Which of these best describes the salem witch trials of the late 1600s? a) as a result of the persecution, a greater sense of religious freedom swept in new england. b) the witchcraft hysteria was short-lived with many people eventually being pardoned. c) tens of thousands of people left massachusetts for religious reasons. d) hundreds of people were put to death for admitting to witchcraft.

The correct answer is B. During the Salem Witch Trials of the late 1600s, the witchcraft hysteria was short-lived with many people eventually being pardoned.

Explanation:

The Salem Witch Trials were series of acts aimed at people accused of witchcraft that took place in 1692 in the village of Salem (Essex County, Massachusetts), whose territory is now largely included in the city of Danvers. It was the last of its kind in the British colonies of North America.

Previously, 17 people had already been subjected to capital punishment in the area for the same crime, during a witch hunt that lasted from 1647 to 1688. With the trials of 1692 the most extensive series of accusations, arrests and executions ever inflicted began in the British possessions of the New World for the crime of witchcraft. At the end of the trial 19 people were executed by hanging, one man was crushed to death for refusing to testify, 150 suspects were imprisoned and another 200 people were accused of witchcraft, a very high number when compared to the fact that at the time the population of New England was about 100,000 people, reaching an intensity higher than that occurred in the United Kingdom.

The indictments for witchcraft spread in a few months in the surrounding cities: Andover, Amesbury, Salisbury, Haverhill, Topsfield, Ipswich, Rowley, Gloucester, Manchester, Malden, Charlestown, Billerica, Beverly, Reading, Woburn, Lynn, Marblehead and Boston. The trials began in April and ended in November, when the protest of some of the most influential religious of Massachusetts prompted the governor to suspend the work of the court. The following year a special court examined the remaining cases, ending the matter.

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