Captain Kidd in Gibbet, 18th Century
The body of William "Captain" Kidd left to rot in dockside gibbets in 18th century London. A gibbet is any instrument of public execution (including guillotine, executioner's block, impalement stake, hanging gallows, or related scaffold), but gibbeting refers to the use of a gallows-type structure from which the dead or dying bodies of executed criminals were hung on public display to deter other existing or potential criminals. In earlier times, up to the late 17th century, live gibbeting also took place, in which the condemned was placed alive in a metal cage and left to die of thirst. Kidd's body was gibbeted over the River Thames as a warning to future would-be pirates for three years. The belief that he had left a buried treasure contributed considerably to the growth of his legend.
Size: 2383px × 4932px
Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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