Walking the plank was a method of execution practiced on special occasion by pirates, mutineers, and other rogue seafarers. For the amusement of the perpetrators and the psychological torture of the victims, captives were bound so they could not swim or tread water and forced to walk off a wooden plank or beam extended over the side of a ship.
Although forcing captives to walk the plank has been a motif of pirates in popular culture since the 19th century, few instances are documented.[1]
- ^ Karen Abbott (August 9, 2011). "If There's a Man Among Ye: The Tale of Pirate Queens Anne Bonny and Mary Read". Smithsonian.com. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
The notion of 'walking the plank' is a myth...