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Authors: Shaun Porter
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head was finally removed, resulting in the condemned experiencing unimaginable pain during their final few moments.
Mary Queen of Scots famously received three strikes before she was beheaded. It’s even been documented that during the execution of Margaret Pole it took ten agonising blows to remove her head from her shoulders. It became common practice for the victim to bribe the executioner with gold coins to ensure the axe was sharpened to provide a quick, clean death.
Thankfully, the element of human error was removed shortly before the French Revolution with the invention of the Guillotine. This was a n intimidating looking mechanical device which featured a large blade suspended high above the victim’s neck. The blade would plunge down, chopping off a person’s head in one clean slice.
It is estimated that thousands of people met their maker via beheading .
24 – Boiling
Boiling is a method of execution that is considerably less common than many of the others featured. Due to the rarity of this type of execution, it was deemed something of a public event, attracting significantly larger crowds than other, more common methods.
Despite death by boiling only happening on occasion, it was actually a form of capital punishment used all over the world, including many parts of Europe and Asia.
With a name like “ boiling” you pretty much know what to expect; however, there was a little variation in the technique, dependant on the severity of the crime.
The victim would be executed in either water, oil, or tar; water was considered the kindest – anyone who’s ever overheated oil on a frying pan might have an idea why!
The liquid was placed into a large cauldron. If the victim’s crime was deemed to be less severe they would be put into the pot before the fire was lit. This would be less painful as they would grow accustomed to the temperature, which would increase gradually.
If the crime was deemed to be particularly heinous, the liquid would be heated to around boiling point, and then the condemned would be dumped into it.
It was at the executioner’s discretion how long the execution would last. Given the public setting, he would often decide to prolong the suffering for as long as possible to deter any future criminal activity. To allow such a scenario, the condemned was attached to a pulley system, and the executioner could use this to lift him out the red hot liquid.
This would keep the victim alive for longer, allowing him several minutes respite to cool down, before being plunged back into the boiling cauldron.
The unbearably high temperatures of the water or oil would cause severe scalding and up to fourth-degree burns on the victim’s body. As the condemned was raised from the liquid, the audience would often simultaneously gasp in horror at the severity of the burns.
The heat would slowly destroy the skin, and eventually begin to damage the veins and arteries, a t which point death would occur.
If that wasn’t gruesome enough for you, why don’t you try this one on for size : in even rarer instances, it has been documented that the condemned would have his skin soaked in oil. He would then be placed onto a metal surface that had been heated over a fire, where he was literally fried to death. Blimey.
23 – Crucifixion
OK, so I’m sure everyone reading has heard of crucifixion, which, famously, was the method used to execute Jesus.
What you might not know is that crucifixion was used to execute criminals for thousands of years, and in countries all over the world, from Europe all the way to Japan!
Not only was crucifixion designed to kill criminals, but it was also supposedly a deterrent to other would-be criminals, who, whilst witnessing the intense suffering of the victims on the cross, would begin to question their life decisions, hopefully deciding that a life of crime
Mary Queen of Scots famously received three strikes before she was beheaded. It’s even been documented that during the execution of Margaret Pole it took ten agonising blows to remove her head from her shoulders. It became common practice for the victim to bribe the executioner with gold coins to ensure the axe was sharpened to provide a quick, clean death.
Thankfully, the element of human error was removed shortly before the French Revolution with the invention of the Guillotine. This was a n intimidating looking mechanical device which featured a large blade suspended high above the victim’s neck. The blade would plunge down, chopping off a person’s head in one clean slice.
It is estimated that thousands of people met their maker via beheading .
24 – Boiling
Boiling is a method of execution that is considerably less common than many of the others featured. Due to the rarity of this type of execution, it was deemed something of a public event, attracting significantly larger crowds than other, more common methods.
Despite death by boiling only happening on occasion, it was actually a form of capital punishment used all over the world, including many parts of Europe and Asia.
With a name like “ boiling” you pretty much know what to expect; however, there was a little variation in the technique, dependant on the severity of the crime.
The victim would be executed in either water, oil, or tar; water was considered the kindest – anyone who’s ever overheated oil on a frying pan might have an idea why!
The liquid was placed into a large cauldron. If the victim’s crime was deemed to be less severe they would be put into the pot before the fire was lit. This would be less painful as they would grow accustomed to the temperature, which would increase gradually.
If the crime was deemed to be particularly heinous, the liquid would be heated to around boiling point, and then the condemned would be dumped into it.
It was at the executioner’s discretion how long the execution would last. Given the public setting, he would often decide to prolong the suffering for as long as possible to deter any future criminal activity. To allow such a scenario, the condemned was attached to a pulley system, and the executioner could use this to lift him out the red hot liquid.
This would keep the victim alive for longer, allowing him several minutes respite to cool down, before being plunged back into the boiling cauldron.
The unbearably high temperatures of the water or oil would cause severe scalding and up to fourth-degree burns on the victim’s body. As the condemned was raised from the liquid, the audience would often simultaneously gasp in horror at the severity of the burns.
The heat would slowly destroy the skin, and eventually begin to damage the veins and arteries, a t which point death would occur.
If that wasn’t gruesome enough for you, why don’t you try this one on for size : in even rarer instances, it has been documented that the condemned would have his skin soaked in oil. He would then be placed onto a metal surface that had been heated over a fire, where he was literally fried to death. Blimey.
23 – Crucifixion
OK, so I’m sure everyone reading has heard of crucifixion, which, famously, was the method used to execute Jesus.
What you might not know is that crucifixion was used to execute criminals for thousands of years, and in countries all over the world, from Europe all the way to Japan!
Not only was crucifixion designed to kill criminals, but it was also supposedly a deterrent to other would-be criminals, who, whilst witnessing the intense suffering of the victims on the cross, would begin to question their life decisions, hopefully deciding that a life of crime
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