that is, hanging the victim over the water -- or of a keelhauling proper.

Several 17th-century English writers such as William Monson and Nathaniel Boteler recorded the use of keelhauling on English naval ships. However, their references are vague and provide no date. In 1880, George Shaw Lefevre was confronted in Parliament with a recent report from Italy of a keelhauling on HMS ''Alexandra'',