Blowing from a gun seems to have started in the 16th century and carried on right up until the 19th, it was a pretty popular method for a while. It may have been started by, or at least popularised by, the Portuguese and Spanish who used it as a useful tool as they colonised as much of the world as they could find.
It’s been used in Africa, South America, India, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Iraq to name but a few. The last known occasions were in Afghanistan in the 1930’s.
Guess which country used blowing from a gun the most? That’s right, the English. We used it with frightening regularity on Indian troops whilst we were stealing their country from them. Any Indian troops who deserted or mutinied were dealt with incredibly severely and blowing from a gun was one such method used.
It was a pretty straight forward process but it didn’t always go to plan. There was one report from a mass execution at Firozpur (Punjab) in 1857 where the order was given to load the cannon with a blank. For some reason shot was loaded instead meaning that anyone in front of the cannon was decimated. People had to have limbs amputated and others were injured by fast-moving bits of flesh and bone.
☛ More: Thuggee — Mass Murdering Thieves Of India
