Terrifying simulation shows unsettling torture method used to punish sailors at sea

A pretty disturbing simulation has shown what torture method was used to punish sailors while out at sea.

For some bizarre reason, there is a general fascination with torture, particularly methods that were used throughout history.

Humans have been torturing each other for as far back as the history books go. Credit: Nastasic/Getty

I'm going to assume it's because people are fascinated with something that seems so barbaric to us.

Medieval torture would involve instruments such as the rack which would pull arms and legs out of their sockets, and tongue tearers that do exactly what you think they do.

Obviously, there were many many more... but how have sailors throughout history been punished?

Allow me to introduce you to Keelhauling.

The pirate's life isn't for everyone. Credit: Heritage Images/Getty

Keelhauling involved tying a rope around the underside of a ship and attaching a person to it.

The individual would then be dragged underneath the vessel from one side to the other, scraping along the jagged, barnacle-encrusted hull.

If you were lucky enough to survive this gruesome treatment, then you would be battered and bruised, with several infections.

The origins of keelhauling date back to around 700 BC, with the Ancient Greeks reportedly using it as a punishment for pirates.

Its application was brutal and rarely survived by those subjected to it.

'The keel-hauling of the ship's surgeon of Admiral Jan van Nes' painting by Lieve Pietersz in the 1600's. Credit: Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)

While English naval writers have suggested the practice may have been used by their own navy, no official records confirm this.

However, the Dutch navy officially employed keelhauling, with several documented cases from the 17th century.

In one such instance from 1652, a sailor who deserted the Dutch East India Company for nine days was keelhauled, lashed 150 times, and sentenced to two years of enslavement.

Another case in 1673 saw Dutch sailors convicted of murder punished by being keelhauled.

If you're sitting there thinking that you'd like to see keelhauling in action, then simulation master Zack D. Films has you covered.

Comments flooded in from concerned viewers, with one person asking the question we are all thinking: "I wonder who was the sick person that came up with this idea?"

"This is actually traumatizing," said a second person, while a third added: "This one disturbed me honestly."

As disturbing as it is, it would certainly send a message to the other sailors to not break any rules while onboard the ship.

Aren't you glad you were born in the era that you were?

Featured image credit: Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)