25. Pirate Punishment

Life as a pirate could be tumultuous. If you stepped out of line you were likely to be flogged. The Bosun often handed down the punishment. 

Flogging, Whipping and Starting were common punishments for any laziness or tom foolery aboard ship. Starters were used to make crew members work faster. 

A Pillory or Stockade was a device made of wood and metal with holes for securing the head and hands.  Pirates were often pilloried or placed in the stockade during whipping or flogging.

Sweating is when the victim was tied by a short rope to the mast while the crew would all slash and poke at him with swords, making the victim run or dance and was often accompanied by fiddle playing.

Strappado is where a victim hands are tied behind the back with a long rope that was then slung over a yardarm.  The victim is lifted and dropped, letting him freefall, but just before his feet touch the deck, the rope is jerked to a stop, dislocating shoulders and making it difficult to breathe, leading to suffocation. 

Clapping in Irons means to be locked up in iron shackles and thrown into the ship’s brig or holding cell.  

A Sweatbox is a cramped metal box or crate left on deck and exposed to the sun.  Victims typically spend 8 to 24 hours locked up in the Sweatbox. The U.S. Naval Institute states that during the 1850's a stint in the sweatbox was a punishment used for insubordination.

Walking the Plank is not as common as has been represented in the movies.  Pirates would force captives or crew to be blindfolded and tied up before walking off a plank. 

Dunking is where victims would be tied to a rope and thrown overboard to be dunked and brought back up or dragged along until they died of exhaustion or hypothermia.

Keelhauling involves being tossed into the sea as the ship was sailing and dragged underneath the ship, before being brought back up on the other side. The victim was often cut and sliced by the sharp barnacles on the belly of the ship.

Sold into Slavery.  If a pirate pissed off fellow crew members they were often sold into slavery. The proceeds were then split among the crew.  

Branding.  There is not much proof that pirates were branded like Jack Sparrow.  Some references can be found of branding with a P for Pirate or, in one instance, the word Mutiny was branded on the forehead.

Marooning is being left on a deserted island with little to no chance of survival. In some instances, you would be given a pistol with a single shot.

When convicted of piracy a pirate would be Hanged with a shortened rope so that when the floor was dropped the fall would not snap their neck, they would then strangle to death. This was called the “Marshal’s Dance”.

Beheadings were meant to send a stark warning to other pirates.  Blackbeard was captured by the Royal Navy and beheaded, with his severed head displayed near Virginia’s Hampton River.  Not a typical execution style other than in China.

Gibbeting is when the bodies of pirates who had been hanged were often put on display as a warning to other pirates.  They were hung in a cage called a Gibbet.  Famous pirates that were Gibbeted were William Kidd and Jack Rackham.

At this stop have your picture taken in the Brig.  Notice the authentic assortment of whips, flogs and starters, as well as the Sweatbox and shackles.