American Buddhist Net

This happened in 1621 in the region we now call Indonesia. It describes an extremely deluded over-reaction to a minor incident which Dutch "spice traders" were determined to get to the bottom of. The technique described is clearly what we now call waterboarding. I wonder what Bush/Cheney would think of the candle "enhancement." ABN
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"...'T Sionck quickly had the town's orang kaya seized and tortured to exact confessions.

"The headmen were systematically bound spread-eagled on a door frame, while lighted candles were held to the soles of their feet. Then a sleeve of cloth was bound tightly about the head and filled with water to the point where a futile attempt to draw breath filled nose, mouth, and lungs with water. Freed momentarily to regurgitate the water, the prisoner was subjected again to the alternating trials by fire and water until confessions of conspiracy were gained." (pg. 169)

"The Scents of Eden: A Narrative of the Spice Trade" by Charles Corn. Kodansha America, Inc. 1998.