Torture

Torture (from Latin tortus: to twist, to torment) is the inflection of bodily pain, especially to extort evidence or confession.

Medieval tortures were usually physical, such as the thumbscrew, the boot (which crushed the foot), heavy weights (that crushed the whole body) and the iron maiden (a metal cage shaped like a human being with spikes inside to spear the occupant).

A variety of torture instruments, including the large Iron Maiden of Nuremberg By epbechthold

Many so-called "medieval torture devices" are considered to be historically inaccurate, and were likely created and popularized by hoaxers, showmen, and con artists in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. These devices were often used as props in traveling shows or exhibitions, and were presented as authentic historical artifacts, but many are considered to be fictional creations.

The brazen bull, a medieval torture device that cooked it's victims, was invented in Athens between 570 and 554 BC during the reign of Phalaris, tyrant of Acragas, Sicily. The first test subject was the person that built it.

A form of medieval torture was covering the victims feet in salt water and then a goat would start licking them. Sometimes the laughter and stress from the intense tickling resulted in a heart attack or a brain hemorrhage.

Torture was authorized by the Catholic Church during the Inquisition from 1252 to 1816. The methods used included the chevalet, in which an accused witch sat on a pointed metal horse with weights strung from her feet; to be forced to swallow gallons of water; and the rack (to stretch affecting joints to breaking point). The latter was the instrument of torture used most frequently.

A rack in the Tower of London. By David Bjorgen 

The first reported use of official torture in England occurred in 1310 against the Templars after the Pope put pressure on England and other countries to allow the Inquisitors to use "their" methods, namely "torture", and reluctant approval was given by the King of England.

The 16th century Spanish Dominican missionary Bartolomé de las Casas campaigned on behalf of the Indians enslaved by the Spanish colonization of America. De las Casas wrote a book, A Very Short Account of the Destruction of the West Indies, in which he recounted numerous incidents of torture and genocide he'd witnessed in the New World. For instance he told how native pearl fishers were thrown into the water with stones tied around their necks so they'd sink to the very bottom where the biggest pearls were. The slaves were pushed to the limits of their endurance and in due course their lungs burst.

Tarring and feathering was a form of public torture used in feudal Europe and its colonies in the early modern period, as well as the early American frontier. The victim would be stripped naked, or stripped to the waist. Hot wood tar was then either poured or painted onto the person while they were immobilized. The victim then either had feathers thrown on them or was rolled around on a pile of feathers so that they stuck to the tar. 

Anton Praetorius (1560 in Lippstadt –December 6, 1613) was a German Calvinist pastor, theologian and writer. In 1597 Praetorius had to witness the torture of four women accused of witchcraft. He wrote the book Thorough Report about Witchcraft and Witches to protest against torture of witches, which was published the following year. Praetorius was one of the first to protest against all means of torture, and to publicly object to the prevailing attitude in the church on the torture and burning of witches.

Medieval torture rack

Vlad the Impaler, was a ruler of Wallachia (present-day southern Romania) in the 15th century. He became notorious for the extremely cruel punishments that he dealt to his enemies, his favorite form of torture being impaling his victims, then mocking them. He is perhaps best known for being the inspiration for Dracula.

In 81 year old man called Giles Corey, accused of being a wizard in 1692, was the only man in American history to be subjected to death by pressing in an attempt to get him to submit to trial by jury. It is said that his response to the torture was to tell them to add 'more weight.'

Torture was legally abolished in England in around 1640 but was allowed in Scotland until 1708. William Carstares (1649–1715) was the last man in Britain to be given the thumbscrew. As torture was illegal in England, he had to be taken to Edinburgh.

Modern torture techniques include brainwashing, developed by the KGB and other, communist interrogators from the 1950s.

From the early 1960s a technique used in the West replaced isolation by severe sensory deprivation. For example IRA guerrillas were prevented from seeing by a hood, from feeling by being swathed in a loose fitting garment, and from hearing by continuous loud noise at about 85 decibels, while being forced to maintain themselves in a 'search' position against the wall by their fingertips.

American prisoner of war Jeremiah Denton, blinked a message in Morse code whilst on Vietnamese television, spelling the word "torture." This informed the CIA of conditions in Vietnamese captivity.

The make-up process for the 2000 movie The Grinch was so grueling, the lead Jim Carrey had to meet with an expert who trained CIA operatives to deal with torture.

Almost all countries agree that torture is a violation of human rights. On December 10, 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Article 5 states, "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment".

Article 4 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union  proclaimed on December 7, 2000 by the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers and the European Commission prohibits torture. 

By Trounce - Own work 

White torture is a type of psychological torture which involves putting the prisoner in a completely white, soundproof room, often leading the prisoner to madness.

Throughout British history, just 84 royal warrants for torture were ever issued. Of these, 53 were authorised by Elizabeth I. 

Amnesty International, the leading non-governmental organisation against the use of torture states on its website: "Over the last five years, Amnesty has reported torture in at least three quarters of the world - 141 countries".

Source Hutchinson Encyclopedia