The system of punishments for negligence or committed misconduct in the sailing era was very sophisticated. For example, an officer always had a "nine-tailed cat" at hand - a special whip with nine ends, which left non-healing scars on the back.
There were rather complex forms of punishment - stretching under the keel, hanging from a mast … For serious crimes - mutiny, murder, insubordination or resistance to an officer - a noose awaited. Sometimes, on the yards of a sailing ship that entered the port, several dead people hung at once. Well, you don't even have to talk about fists that were constantly being used. Assault was an integral part of the relationship within the crew of any sailing vessel …
The concept of "stick discipline" in relation to the navy of the sailing era, perhaps, will be too soft. At the beginning of the 19th century, on the ships of all the great maritime powers, the lower ranks were subjected to punishments, which were "the fruit of the most barbaric inventions of the human imagination for torturing the unfortunate" - this is the definition given to them in 1861 by the author of the magazine "Marine Collection". However, over the past several centuries, sophisticated executions of sailors in the navy were considered the norm.
The most successful in this direction was the "mistress of the seas" Great Britain. Manning the large Royal Navy was not so easy, and a significant part of the crews of the British ships were violent guys recruited in port taverns, shelters and even prisons. If we add to this the severity of naval service, cramped quarters, poor nutrition, illness, then the irritability of the sailors and their nervous breakdowns, often leading to disobedience, fights and stabbing, become understandable. The officers were convinced that without a system of severe punitive measures, it was impossible to maintain order on a ship with such personnel. And these measures were applied on an unprecedented scale. And for greater effect, the process of punishing the offender was heralded as a kind of colorful show.
The most common executions in the British navy were keelhauling, ducking, running the gauntlet, so called skylarking. And, of course, the aforementioned "nine-tailed cat" (cat o'nine tails), which left a bad memory of itself among many generations of sailors.
It is sometimes written about stretching under the keel that the British borrowed it from the Dutch in the 17th century. But in reality, this ritual of punishment is much older: it is mentioned in the Hanseatic decree of the 13th century, and on one of the antique vases there is an image of a certain action very similar to keening. The essence of the execution was that a rope was wound under the keel of the ship, the ends of which were attached to the blocks on the legs of the lower yard. The offender was tied to a rope and pulled under the keel from one side to the other. If he did not choke, then he was given some time to catch his breath, and then "bathed" again, stretching in the opposite direction. Often, the penalty box was pulled out of the water bloody, as it ripped off the skin on the sharp edges of the shells that covered the underwater part of the hull in abundance. Well, if the rope jammed for any reason, then the condemned was inevitable death.
Diving into the sea also represented the forced "bathing" of the offender. They put him astride a log, tied and fastened a load to his feet. Then the log was lifted on a block to the end of the yard, thrown from a height into the water and then slowly picked up the rope, raising the penalty box again to the end of the yard. It is pertinent to note that it would be much easier to carry out such a punishment, but the complex procedure with throwing a log significantly increases the entertainment (and, accordingly, the educational role) of the execution.
The sailors adopted the run through the formation from their army colleagues. The crew of the ship lined up on the deck in two rows, between which a convict, undressed to the waist, was allowed to enter. NCOs armed with sabers walked in front and behind him. Each crew member was given a braided rope with knots, with which he had to hit the offender once.
In Russia, a similar punishment existed in the army, only the soldiers were supplied not with ropes, but with gauges.
"Contemplation of the sky" - under such a romantic name the punishment is hidden when a fined sailor is tied in a special way and pulled to the top of the mast, leaving him hanging there with outstretched arms and legs for several hours. The English also call it hanging “like a spread eagle”.
But the most often used for punishment and at the same time the most cruel punitive instrument is the "nine-tailed cat" - a special whip consisting of a one-foot-long wooden handle and nine belts or hemp ropes, at the ends of which one or two knots are tied. The whipping with this whip went to the lower ranks for any offense - for the slightest violation of discipline, for insufficient zeal when performing deck work, for playing illegal gambling … There is a known case when an English gunboat sailor received 60 blows from a "cat" for spitting on the deck …
The order of execution of the punishment was as follows. The crew lined up on the deck, and the guilty sailor undressed to the waist was escorted to the flogging site - usually to the mainmast. The commander of the ship expounded the essence of the committed offense and announced the verdict. The victim's feet were fixed on a wooden frame or floorboard, their raised arms were tied with a rope, which was then passed through the block. The prisoner was stretched like a string, and the boatswain, who played the role of the executioner, proceeded to scourge. To increase the suffering of the unfortunate man, the "nine-tailed cat" was soaked in salt water or urine. The officers closely followed the flogging process: if the blows seemed to them not strong enough, the boatswain was threatened with a similar punishment. Therefore, the latter tended to try his best.
The minimum "portion" was ten blows, but for serious misconduct, the commander could appoint seventy or even a hundred. Not everyone could endure such an execution - the unfortunate's back turned into a bloody mess, from which rags of skin hung down. Cases of fatal flogging by the "nine-tailed cat" were not uncommon. Therefore, in 1844, the British Admiralty issued special rules prohibiting sailors from being hit more than 48 times.
By the middle of the 19th century, the attitude towards the lower ranks on the part of the command became more humane. Finally, the practice of stretching under the keel and immersion in water ceases - punishments for minor offenses are mitigated.
In the British Navy, such sanctions are beginning to be applied as displacement from 1st class to 2nd, imprisonment in solitary confinement, deprivation of salary or grog on leave, deprivation of the badge given for good behavior. It is curious that in addition to being deprived of the daily cup (no grog), there are also punishments such as diluting grog with water and not smoking tobacco for half the time assigned for eating. In addition, the commander of the ship can force the guilty sailor for half lunch time and also stand for two hours in the evening under the supervision of a sentry or perform emergency and dirty work at this time. True, at the same time it is indicated that "the punishments determined in the penalty lists are suspended on Sundays."
However, corporal punishment in the British navy continued into the second half of the 19th century. Here are the figures from the official statistics on the use of the "nine-tailed cat":
“In 1854, the total number of punishments was 1214; the total number of strikes was 35 479. The highest punishment was 50 strokes, the lowest one was 1 stroke. All ships were 245, of which 54 did not have corporal punishment at all.
In 1855, there were 1333 of all punished, the total number of strikes delivered was 42,154; the highest punishment was 48 strokes, the lowest 2 strokes. All ships were 266, of which 48 did not have corporal punishment at all …
In 1858 all corporal punishments were counted 997, the total number of blows was 32 420 … Capital punishment is 50 blows, the lowest is 3 blows."
According to the circular ordinance of December 10, 1859, the lower ranks of the 1st class in the Royal Navy can only be subjected to corporal punishment by a court-martial. The commander retains the right to punish the lower ranks of the 2nd class, but violations are stipulated for which they are threatened with a nine-tailed whip: “riot and riot; the escape; repeated drunkenness; secretly bringing wine to the ship; theft, repeated disobedience; leaving the combat post; immoral acts."
In Russia, the system of punishments introduced by Peter I differed little from those that existed in England and Holland. The Russian military regulations also provided for a wide variety of executions - for example, walking on wooden stakes, beating with batogs, threaded rods, branding with iron, cutting off ears, cutting off a hand or fingers … In the Navy, keeling was used, shackling and, of course, flogging - but not overseas "Cats", but domestic. The person who committed the murder was usually tied to the corpse of his victim and drowned with her in the sea.
The first country to refuse cruel treatment of soldiers and sailors was France: there, during the 1791 revolution, all types of corporal punishment were prohibited. Belgium made the same decision in 1830, Prussia, Italy and Switzerland in 1848, and Austria-Hungary in 1868. In the US Navy, flogging of the lower ranks continued until 1880, in Britain - until 1881. The last on this list is the Russian Empire, where corporal punishment was abolished only on June 30, 1904. From now on, sailors were punished much more humanely: they were put under arrest, deprived of a glass or dismissal, were put on the deck "under arms." However, the de facto officially prohibited scuffle remained in the Navy for a long time - both in our country and abroad.
The system of disciplinary measures in the East was markedly different from the European one. So, in the Chinese navy, at the end of the 19th century, a decree on punishments was in force, adopted a century and a half ago for the land army. It is curious that in it corporal punishment was provided not only to the lower ranks, but also to officers. For example, in September 1889, a gunboat commander who landed his ship on stones in the Ming River was hit by a hundred blows with a bamboo stick.
Some articles of the Chinese punishment code are worthy of being quoted verbatim:
“Whoever does not move forward by the beat of the drum or does not retreat in time at the signal of the cabin boy, must be decapitated.
Anyone who retreats without a command when meeting an enemy, or who reveals fear, or who raised a murmur, is subject to beheading.
Anyone guilty of appropriating merit made by others is punished by beheading.
Anyone who claims that he saw a devil in a dream and tempts others with this omen is subject to the death penalty.
If a soldier falls ill during the campaign, then officers (in the original - ba-tszong or tsing-tsun) must immediately examine him and take measures to heal, otherwise they are punished by sticking an arrow in the ear; cut off the head of a soldier who pretended to be sick.
A person guilty of simple arson is punished with 40 blows of bamboo. Anyone guilty of setting fire to gunpowder is punished by beheading.
Anyone guilty of oppressing the defenseless and the weak is punished with a whip and piercing the ear with an arrow; the same punishment is imposed on those guilty of drunkenness.
Anyone guilty of stealing military and other supplies or destroying food sacks is punished with 80 blows of bamboo.
Those responsible for the loss of weapons are punished with blows of bamboo: soldiers 8-10 blows; non-commissioned officers with 40 strikes; officers with 30 strikes.
A sentry who falls asleep at his post is punished with 80 blows of bamboo."
Like this: for the loss of a weapon - eight blows with a stick, and for a dreaming devil - the death penalty! How difficult it is for a European to understand Eastern logic and the gradation of values there …
In conclusion, it should be added that in China, beheading is considered a shameful death, and execution by hanging is an honorable one.
