Giles Milton

And they...

Capture one of the English allies.

There were some Japanese who happened to be allied with the English on Amboina.

Japanese are all over the place at this point.

The Japanese are all over the place.

And under torture, one of the Japanese men says, yes, indeed, the English are going to try and take control of this Dutch fort, which, frankly, is utterly absurd.

The Dutch have got hundreds of troops in this fort on Amboina.

They've got tons and tons of weaponry.

The English are merchants there.

They've got about six guns.

In their wildest dreams, they couldn't hope to take control of this place and nor would they want to.

However, Jan Kern wants the English wiped out and thus begins what became known as the Massacre of Amboina.

It was long remembered partly because of the horrific treatment that was meted out during torture to the English.

And one of the notable tortures that the Dutch used was what essentially is waterboarding.

They would tie somebody to a chair.

They would tie a waxed canvas bag up over their head.

And they would proceed to fill this bag with water until it reached your mouth and nostrils.

And the only way to stop yourself from drowning was to drink the water.

And I'm talking gallons and gallons and gallons of water until these men would become, their bodies would become totally swollen, completely grotesque.

Just when you get out of the water, they light candles underneath your arms and legs and thighs and what have you, and burn the fat and the muscle in your body.