Who is the leftist Latin American icon who served as the 40th president of Uruguay?
Our world hasn't only been shaped through battles and wars from the efforts of leaders and heroes, but by traitors, too. From biblical times to the Middle Ages and World War II, human history has also been made with self-serving traitors and collaborators who betrayed their people and nations. Numerous efforts were launched to gain information and secure victories, which many times proved to be successful. But in the end, not everyone got to enjoy the fruits of their betrayal for long.
Click on to read up on the biggest betrayals that changed the course of history.
Responsible for the deaths of half a million of his countrymen, Austrian officer Alfred Redl worked as a spy for the Russian army during World War I. He also sold Austria's plan to invade Serbia to Russia. Redl committed suicide after the Austrian police discovered his double game.
In 1692, 38 members and associates of Clan MacDonald of Glencoe were killed by Scottish government forces. The group of about 128 soldiers had stayed with the MacDonalds for 12 days, and then turned on their hosts in the early morning of February 13. Known as the Massacre of Glencoe, the event inspired George R. R. Martin's red wedding in 'Games of Thrones.'
The tyrannical rule of Roman emperor Julius Caesar came to an end when his nephew Marcus Brutus took part in the plot against him. Although his wife opposed his betrayal, he joined the Roman senators who brutally murdered Caesar.
Spanish conquistador Pizarro held Incan Emperor Atahualpa hostage after defeating an entire army. He asked for gold and silver as a reward, but instead strangled Atahualpa to death. Pizarro eventually fell victim to political power struggles and was assassinated in 1541.
Chinese politician Wang Jingwei was originally a member of the left-wing anti-communist Kuomintang, but became extremely right wing after his political efforts failed. He collaborated with the Japanese when they invaded China in 1937, becoming head of state of their puppet government. Jingwei held the position until he died in 1944.
For 30 silver coins, Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus Christ by kissing him on the cheek to let the authorities know his identity. This led to Jesus' death by crucifixion, making Judas one of the most notorious traitors in history.
La Malinche was a Nahua woman who contributed to the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. A former slave and translator for Hernán Cortés, the conqueror of New Spain (today's Mexico), she became known as a traitor to her people.
Before his treason against his country, Vidkun Quisling served as the Norwegian Minister of Defense. He founded the fascist Nasjonal Samling, which was made puppet government by the Nazis when they invaded Norway in 1940. He was executed for high treason when Germany surrendered in 1945.
Head of the army of Bengal, Mir Jafar's betrayal of his country was fueled by his intense desire to claim the throne. Due to his ambition, he joined the British forces during the Battle of Plassey. The British forces were victorious, and he became king of Bengal in 1763. He ruled until his death in 1765.
Tokyo Rose was the name given by US soldiers during World War II to Iva Ikuko Toguri d'Aquino. She was a Japanese-American radio broadcaster who spread Japanese propaganda in English. After the war, d'Aquino was tried for treason in the US, and sentenced to 10 years in prison. She was eventually granted a presidential pardon by President Gerald Ford in 1977.
One of the greatest acts of treason in English history, Guy Fawkes was part of the group of English Catholics who launched the Gunpowder Plot in 1605. They were set to kill King James I with 36 barrels of gunpowder. However, it was discovered by the authorities, who sentenced him to be hanged.
Also known as the "Ace of Spies," Sidney Reilly was a Russian-born secret agent employed by Scotland Yard, the British Secret Service, and the Secret Intelligence Service. He spied for at least four countries, including the UK, Germany, Japan, and Russia. Reilly was executed in Moscow in 1925.
Ephialtes became famous after he betrayed his country to the Persians in 480 BCE. During the battle of Thermopylae, he led the Persian army on a route to surprise the Spartans. Hoping for a reward from the Persian leader, Xerxes, he was instead assassinated.
Benedict Arnold was an American general during the American Revolutionary War, who sold West Point to the British. When his plan was discovered in 1780, he fled and became a general in the British army.
Marshal Philippe Pétain was once a national hero, who held back the Germans in the 1916 Battle of Verdun during World War I. However, during World War II, he served as head of the collaborationist regime of Vichy France, a German puppet government. After the war, he was jailed in a fortress on a small island in the Atlantic Ocean, until his death in 1951.
Aldrich Ames was a former CIA officer and analyst before he was convicted of spying for the former Soviet Union in 1994. Selling the information had afforded him a life of luxury, which later cost him his freedom.
Christopher John Boyce and his childhood friend, Andrew Daulton Lee, sold information on spy satellites and other official documents to the Soviet Union. After being arrested in 1977, Boyce escaped in 1980 and began robbing banks. He was recaptured and then released in 2002 on bail.
A businessman, trafficker, and a double agent, Karl Schulmeister started out as a spy for the Austrian Empire, but later spied for France. He also spied in England and Ireland for Napoleon. He ended up as a tobacconist when Napoleon's reign ended.
James Armistead was an African-American slave who became a double agent for the US in 1781. He pretended to be a British spy, only to gather intelligence on British plans and information about weapons and troops. His espionage helped the Americans win the Battle of Yorktown.
Theodore Hall was responsible for developing the first and second atomic bombs during World War II for the US. However, he was also an atomic spy for the Soviet Union, for whom he provided detailed descriptions of his work on the Manhattan Project. He eventually confessed to the FBI.
Robert Hanssen is a former FBI agent who willingly approached the Soviet military intelligence agency and offered his services for money. For over 22 years, he sold most of the CIA's information and assets, making more than US$1.4 million in cash and receiving diamonds. Arrested in 2001, he was sentenced to 15 life terms without the possibility of parole.
Jean Bernadotte was a French general who was granted high rankings and honors by Napoleon Bonaparte, a close friend at the time. In 1810, Bernadotte was unexpectedly elected the heir-presumptive to the childless King Charles XIII of Sweden. He later became King Charles XIV John. In 1813, as the head of the Swedish army, he helped defeat Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig. The betrayal effectively sealed Napoleon’s fate.
Harold Cole was a British deputy commander during the end of World War II, who helped build the French Resistance. However, he eventually sold it out to Nazi Germany's secret police. Having played an important role in damaging the Allied forces, he was shot dead by a French policeman in 1946.
One of the first Western scholars of Islamic culture, Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje used his knowledge to quell Muslim resistance in the Dutch East Indies. With his help, the Dutch managed to suppress the resistance and impose colonial rule in Aceh, which resulted in nearly 100,000 deaths.
Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés used betrayal to pull off his seizure of Mexico. His victim was Emperor Montezuma II, ruler of Tenochtitlan and the Aztec Empire, who initially offered hospitality to Cortés. But things quickly turned, as Cortés seized his host and held him hostage. The result was the empire’s destruction and replacement by a vast Spanish domain.
Fritz Joubert Duquesne was one of the most prominent members of the Duquesne spies in the US. The South African agent worked for Germany during both World Wars, and carried out sabotage missions in his own South Africa, Great Britain, Central and South America, and the US.
Simón Bolívar was a military and political leader who led today's Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Bolivia to independence from the Spanish Empire. However, he's considered a traitor to fellow revolutionary Francisco de Miranda, who he sent back to Spain on suspicion of treason. Miranda died in prison a few years later.
Known as the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, the 1939 pact enabled Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union to divide Eastern Europe between them. However, the pact was terminated in 1941 when Germany launched Operation Barbarossa and invaded the Soviet Union. Hitler had betrayed Stalin.
John Walker was a US Navy chief warrant officer, convicted of spying for the Soviet Union from 1967 to 1985. His arrest came about thanks to his ex-wife reporting him to the FBI after he refused to pay her spousal support. He died in prison in 2014.
Sources: (History Collection) (Vox) (All That's Interesting) (ABC News)
See more: Rewriting history: The historical misconceptions you thought were true
Historic betrayals that shocked the world
Ranging from antiquity through to modern times
LIFESTYLE History
Our world hasn't only been shaped through battles and wars from the efforts of leaders and heroes, but by traitors, too. From biblical times to the Middle Ages and World War II, human history has also been made with self-serving traitors and collaborators who betrayed their people and nations. Numerous efforts were launched to gain information and secure victories, which many times proved to be successful. But in the end, not everyone got to enjoy the fruits of their betrayal for long.
Click on to read up on the biggest betrayals that changed the course of history.