Keelhauling was a punishment method many sailors were forced to undergo, but few lived through. Often associated with pirates, keelhauling was actually a more common practice on British Royal Navy ships. The earliest example can be found in artwork from ancient Greek and Rhodian naval cultures, circa the ninth century BCE. In the 17th century, the Dutch government adopted keelhauling as a punishment for wayward sailors.

This method was famously depicted in a Dutch painting from the late 1600s - in The Keelhauling of the Ship's Surgeon of Admiral Jan van Nes, Lieve Verschuier illustrates a doomed surgeon dangling in front of a gawking crowd. While keelhauling is a horrific punishment by today's standards, such events were often considered entertainment at the time. Although the practice was banned in the mid-18th century, the term is still used to signify severe scolding or excessive punishment.