In the 18th century a public punishment was how people were punished for committing a crime even as simple as stealing a bottle of wine. The actors that work at the Fortress of Louisbourg in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia are performing a reenactment of this public punishment so that visitors can see how the law worked in the earlier years.
Children and their carers look on during the public punishment of a fisherman for stealing a bottle of wine at the Fortress of Louisbourg, Louisbourg National Historic Site, Highway 22, Fleur de lis Trail, Marconi Trail, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada.