Blowing from the gun - A cruel and messy form of execution

Blowing from the gun - A cruel and messy form of execution.

Blowing from a gun is a method of execution in which the victim is typically tied to the mouth of a cannon which is then fired, resulting in death. George Carter Stent described the process as follows

The photograph above shows an Iranian convict whose name is unknown, placed with his back in front of the mouth of a cannon. This was done in the 1890s and in a few moments, his body will be scattered to bits.

In March 1764, a native officer secretly planned to persuade the men under his command to defect to an enemy force. But unfortunately for him, his plan was discovered and he was blown from a cannon in front of his soldiers.

One nursing mother became so starved that her production of milk stopped, and her infant was dying. She chose to kill it, and eat it. Once the Portuguese general became aware of her act of cannibalism, he ordered her blown with a gun, but in this particular instance, the clergy and the principal citizens dissuaded him from carrying out the act.

Blowing from a gun is a method of execution in which the victim is typically tied to the mouth of a cannon which is then fired, often resulting in death. This has been a reported means of execution as long ago as the 16th century and was used until the 20th century.

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.

The method was used by Portuguese colonialists in the 16th and 17th centuries, from as early as 1509 across their empire from Ceylon (modern day Sri Launka) to Mozambique to Brazil. The Mughals used the method throughout the 17th century and into the 18th, particularly against rebels. The method is most well known for being used by the British colonialists in India, especially during the rebellion of 1857. 

The most recent use of this execution method happened in Afghanistan in January 1929. During this time the emir, Habibullāh Kalakāni used the method to execute rebels.

This method did not always work as planned however, with reports of prisoners and rebels being literally blown apart and onlookers losing limbs due to bones acting as shrapnel.