In History there have been many different execution methods used to take the life of
a condemned criminal. Today some such as the electric chair are still used, and during
times of warfare enemies would instil great fear and terror by executing people in public.
For example the Germans during World War 2 inside of the Soviet Union executed people
from trees and left them there for a while to send a clear message to the people around.
But during the Medieval and Tudor period in England, many people found themselves hanged,
drawn and quartered at sites such as Tyburn, as many enemies of Henry VIII also made their
way to the scaffold. But inside of India, there was a form of execution used by British
soldiers and the army, that was incredibly savage and would have led to someone being
literally blown to pieces. Being blown from a gun was a terrible and terrifying execution
method used to send a clear message to people inside of India, and it was certainly one
of the most horrific execution methods used by a military in history. But what happened
with it? Join us as we find out and as always to support our channel, please make sure to
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The execution method of blowing from a cannon or a gun was not exclusively used by the British.
It came to fruition during the 1500s, and was even used within the past 100 years. A
Portugese explorer named Fracisco de Almeida in 1509 executed many people by blowing them
from a gun, and it was used by other Portuguese explorers in lands where they wanted to conquer.
In Mozambique, one Portuguese commander killed a number of prisoners using it, and it was
a sight that many people would be haunted by until the day they died. Being blown from
a gun was when a prisoner would be literally tied to the mouth of a cannon where the cannonball
would come out of and hurtle towards the enemy. So once the gun was fired, someone would be
blown to pieces, and often some of the most horrific injuries would be sustained on the
unfortunate person. One man described what he saw when he saw someone being killed in
this way. HE said, ‘The prisoner is generally tied to a gun with the upper part of the small
of his back resting against the muzzle. When the gun is fired, his head is seen to go straight
up into the air some forty or fifty feet; the arms fly off right and left, high up in
the air, and fall at, perhaps, a hundred yards distance; the legs drop to the ground beneath
the muzzle of the gun; and the body is literally blown away altogether, not a vestige being seen.’
It was famously used by the British when they went to different lands to colonise and conquer
them. In India it was used to deal with uprisings and rebellions, and was used to put down the
Indian rebellion of 1857. Sepoys who deserted from the British side would be killed in this
way, and a number did manage to help rebellions and desert from the British side. As this
was seen as very shameful, using the cannon to execute was seen as ample punishment for
them. It was considered an old Mughal punishment and execution method, and it was used in March
1764 against a native officer. He was caught trying to get others to defect to an enemy
side, and with this he was executed using the cannon in front of his own soldiers to
add an extra element of disgrace and shame. But shockingly the British even used the execution
method against their own soldiers, as in 1798 an uprising occurred amongst British soldiers,
and one of the ringleaders in this was arrested and was then blown from a cannon.
The British used this method of killing usually against natives and locals, but this specific
example was the only example of a European being killed by the British in this way. There
were many other punishments used in India including whippings, and following the Vellore
Mutiny of 1806, which resulted in many British soldiers and officers being killed whilst
they slept, six people who were involved in the killing were blown from a cannon. Further
executions in India were carried out by the British, and it was used to bring down the
Indian Rebellion of 1857. Following this there were scores of executions that occurred, and
it was used to put people off joining the uprising. It was said that, ‘‘On 8 June,
two sepoys from the 35th light Infantry were blown from guns. 10 June, in Ludhiana, Peshawar,
some 40 from the 54th regiment were blown from guns. On 13 June, ten[50] sepoys from
the 45th Regiment at Firozpur were blown from guns, two hanged. The same day, in Ambala,
10 sepoys from the 54th regiment suffered the same fate. The 26th of the same month,
in Aurungabad, 1 was blown from a gun, 1 hanged, and 3 were shot. On 8 July, in Jhelum,
it is assumed that captured rebels would be blown away.
On the 19th, Aurungabad, 1 was blown away, 2 shot. On 5 September, Settara, 6 were blown
away. On 17 September, Multan, 1 was blown away, 121 were summarily executed. On 23 September,
in Karachi, 1 was blown away, 7 were hanged and 20 deported. (The local body count on
court-martialed individuals then came to 4 blown away, 14 hanged, 22 deported and 3 beheadings.)
At the end of October, in Rohilkhand near Agra, 1 was blown away. On 16 November, Bombay,
two sepoys from the 10th regiment were blown away.’
Hundreds were executed by the British in India following and during the Rebellion, and with
this 44 of the rebels were executed being blown from the cannon, but most were killed
more simply and quicker using a firing squad. It’s believed though that there was some
form of retribution administered by the Indian people and that they did capture some British
people and officers, and during the rebellion they may have executed them blowing them from
cannons of their own. But following the rebellion in 1871, 65 people were killed being blown
from guns, but it wasn’t the most reliable method of killing. Throughout history, hangmen
for example experimented with the quickest and most efficient way of killing, but Blowing
from a cannon was bloody and a messy job.
A number of things could go wrong, and in 1857 it was said that from then on blank cartridges
should be used int he executions, as previously grapeshot had been used. When the cannon was
fired, a number of civilians who were watching were hit by the projectiles and many were
injured and some even had to have limbs amputated because of the injuries they sustained from
simply watching an execution. Also the British soldiers who stood by the cannon were injured
by the grapeshot, and flying bits of bone and flesh also caused injuries, as the bone
would embed into the skin of the guards nearby. Also another accident occurred as the victim
slipped from the cannon just before the shot was fired. It was said that, ‘ ‘One wretched
fellow slipped from the rope by which he was tied to the guns just before the explosion,
and his arm was nearly set on fire. While hanging in his agony under the gun, a sergeant
applied a pistol to his head; and three times the cap snapped, the man each time wincing
from the expected shot. At last, a rifle was fired into the back of his head, and the blood
poured out of the nose and mouth like water from a briskly handled pump. This was the
most horrible sight of all. I have seen death in all its forms, but never anything to equal
this man's end.’
Being blown by a gun or a cannon as a horrific way to go, and after the animals nearby and
birds would pick at the remains of the victim, and many body parts would be thrown into the
air and would land anywhere including inside of the crowd. It was used in other areas around
the world, and in Afghanistan it was believed that in the 1880s hundreds were being killed
being fired from cannons. It was a truly harrowing method of execution, and today remains a dark
stain on British history. Lets remember than the people who were rebelling against them
were fed up of the British colonial rule, and to impose the regime onto the people further,
terror was used to stop people rebelling. There are very few other execution methods
throughout history that were as harrowing and as terrifying as seeing someone be blown
to pieces by a cannon. It was comparable to being hanged, drawn and quartered. It was
a barbaric way that the British used to impose their reign over the locals, and they wanted
to scare them off going against them.
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