It was the arbitrary nature of violence that so thoroughly broke the spirit of the galeotti, turning them from men into unresisting animals. As Frances Knight put it, the slaves "are beaten to put on their clothes and beaten to take them off; they are beaten to [make them] eate, drinke, sleepe, and wash, and are beaten for doing any of these." There seemed to be no limit to this incessant lashing and whipping. Before departing for the corso, the re'is of Mascarenhas's galley supplied his petty officers with 50 "big sticks" specifically to discipline his galeotti, but he sorely underestimated the extent of their cruelty. After just 15 days, Mascarenhas reported, "only one of the sticks was left, all the rest having been broken on the backs of the captives. Thereafter, they were whipped with a tarred rope."
from page 188, Holy War and Human Bondage
from page 188, Holy War and Human Bondage