Sweating was a type of punishment in which the victim was tied by a short rope to the mast while the crew would all try to slash and poke him with their swords. The victim only had one option to try and escape the pain, and it was running or dancing. To make things even more sketchy, sweating was often accompanied by a fiddler playing some music.

Walking the plank. Despite the fact that this punishment wasn’t nearly as common as TV and movies make it out to be, there have been a few instances of this being used as a real punishment on pirate ships. Pirates would force either their captives or members of their own crew to be blindfolded before walking off of a plank and plunging into the ocean. In one instance, Dutch pirates in 1829 shot their victims in the legs before forcing them to walk off of the plank.

Flogging was a very common punishment for any tom foolery that went on in a ship. Flogging consisted of being tied up and whipped by a cat O’ nine tails for a predetermined number of times. To add insult to injury, the fresh wounds were often covered with salt and vinegar shortly after the flogging to inflict additional pain.

Thrown Overboard. As simple as it sounds, if you somehow managed to piss off your pirate mates, you could get thrown right off of the ship. If you were lucky, they’d just toss you over. Some people, however, would be tied to a rope and thrown overboard to be dragged along until they die of exhaustion or hypothermia.

Dunking was a form of punishment that consisted of a pirate being tied to a wooden beam and then dunked into the ocean several times. The depth and length of time under depended on the severity of the crime committed.

Sold into slavery. Pirates who pissed off the crew enough were often sold into slavery. The proceeds were then split among the remainder of the crew.

Marooning was a popular tactic used for both pirate prisoners and pirates who had fallen out of favour with their crew. When being marooned, you were left on a deserted island with little to no chance of survival. However, you would be given a pistol with a single shot, or a blade, should you choose to take your own life on the island. Grim.

Clapping in irons. The victims of this punishment were locked up in iron shackles and thrown into the holding cells under the ship. However, in more extreme cases, they would be shackled up and left out on the deck where they would be exposed to the harsh weather and conditions constantly.

Hanging was the ultimate form of punishment for pirates. Pirates who were hung were often left out as a warning for other pirates to see. The hanging of a pirate was often a big public event.

Keelhauling is a punishment that involves the victim being tied up and hung by the mast’s yardarm. They were then tossed into the sea as the ship was sailing and dragged underneath the entirety of the ship, before being brought back up on the other side. This process was then repeated several more times. If the pain of being slowly drowned underneath a massive ship wasn’t bad enough, the victim was often cut and sliced by the barnacles attached to the bottom of the boat.