Calamities and indigence in the past _______________________________ than at present.

(I) was afflicted more

(II) were more afflict

(III) may afflict more

None of the given options is correct as all three of them do not agree with the correct grammar structure to make the sentence grammatically correct. The correct phrase should be “were more afflicting” as ’Calamities’ and ’Indigence’ make plural subjects and hence verb should also be plural. Hence 5 is the correct option.