Bilboes

By Crusader1307

Bilboes were a form of restraint device used roughly starting in the 17th Century AD forward. Similar to Iron Cuffs with attached chains, The Bilboe were attached to one another by Iron Bars. This not only added additional weight, but severely restricted movement. Bilboes were a popular form of imprisonment on Naval Ships. They became even more infamous as a form of restraint used in The North American Slave Trade. Bilboes could be ''arranged'' in a tri-pattern design – whereby a rod was placed through cuff restraints on the legs, hands (wrists) and even neck. This forced the Wearer to remain in a reclined (on the back) position. In The American Colonies, The Bilboe was also adapted into a form of Public Humiliation akin to The Stocks.