The death penalty has been around since BC. And the practice of killing people as a result of committing crimes is still used to this day. So it's no surprise that pirates adopted and encouraged this form of punishment amongst each other. What does surprise me is the fact that people view pirates as villains or cruel because they used this form of punishment.
For centuries this was considered normal amongst civilizations. Of course it's a harsh and savage way to punish a human being, but this form of discipline had been passed down from past generations. So, of course pirates also used this method of penalty.
It's no secret that pirates were ruthless, violent, savages. But when it comes to the act of death by penalty, they aren't quite different from any other civilization who practices the same execution techniques. One of the earliest recordings of execution were death by hanging, nearly 2,500 years ago. Execution by hanging-also known as lynching was one of the most commonly used forms of criminal punishment for most countries.
As humanity evolved, so did the form of permanent punishment. Crimes that were deemed punishable by death have become solidified in modern legal systems throughout the world. But now it's known as Capital Punishment. Hanging criminals evolved into death by electrocution. And not long after death by electrocution became the new norm, death by lethal injection took its place.
Another way pirates would punish one another - or anyone who crossed them for that matter - was by torture. Drowning, burning, starvation, the list goes on and on. And believe it or not, one of these ways of punishment from the days of piracy still continues to be used today. Water boarding is a common tactic used by American federal law enforcement when dealing with terroristic threats. Although pirates are well known for their use of violent punishment, it isn't unique to piracy.
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