Database: Public Shaming in the colonies

was a common practice during the Colonial era, based on a mix of medieval legacy and Puritan culture. It served as a public humiliation in front of the community and a warning for the audience. Public flogging was frequent, with a varying degree of pain administered. Less harmful but uncomfortable and equally humiliating were devices made of wooden boards and based on physical restraint. Offenders were put in the , which restrained their ankles and sometime their wrists too, or in the , standing on a post, with their neck and wrists secured. The punishment took place in public spaces such as marketplaces to increase visibility, and usually lasted around a couple of hours. Often used for women, there was a specific punishment called the : the offender was placed on a chair attached to a long beam and repeatedly submerged in water. Gossips were forced to wear the infamous , a mask or some straps made of iron silencing the victim.
Category:Abstergo Cloud database entries