Around 1700 in colonial Americas, live electric eels and fish were reportedly used in interrogations and torture for their shocking capabilities to inflict pain. This practice drew on early observations of bioelectricity. It reflects intersections of natural history, exploration, and colonial power dynamics.

The use of electric eel or fish shock torture in colonial Americas around 1700 introduced early themes of scientific cruelty in Enlightenment poetry. Writers began to grapple with the ethical implications of progress, reflecting on the human cost of scientific advancement.