Provost

A crew member responsible for discipline on board a ship. Most were physical punishments. The provost often doubled as the bosun.

Measures

Caning

Usually reserved for boys and Midshipmen; the provost would whip the offenders with a wooden cane. The maximum sentence was 12 strokes, enough to hurt for about two weeks. This could be prescribed either as an immediate punishment, for misbehaving in a minor way or come after a more formal hearing, for more troubling cases.

Flogging

Using a Cat o' Nine Tails (or Cat), the offender would be whipped. Flogging by the gangway was used for nearly all noncapital offenses. A grating would be rigged upright, and the sailor would have his shirt removed.

He would then have his wrists lashed to the grate, and the provost would proceed to whip him with a Cat O’ Nine Tails. This was a whip made out of 9 strands, with small knots on the end. (some worse variations included straps with glass shards or metal). This was done in front of the whole crew.

Another form of flogging was called 'running the gauntlet' where the crew would whip the offender as he walked slowly through them.

For the most severe offenses, especially in the Navy, the offender would be flogged around the fleet -going to every vessel at the port for an individual flogging. This caused death in a lot of cases.

Hanging at the Yardarm

Obviously, the most severe punishment was death by hanging at the yard-arm. This was the ultimate punishment for desertion or mutiny against the fleet.

Keel-hauling

More popular in the pirate scene, the punishment entailed dragging the offender underneath the hull of the ship where barnacles would rip off his skin. Often resulted in death as the offender might be sentenced to several hauls and ultimately bleed out or drown.

Type

Public Relations

Other Associated professions

• Quartermaster