Top 10 Most Ruthless Betrayals In History
#10: John Walker
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On the surface, John Anthony Walker seemed like an honorable person. He worked his way up the US Navy ranks and retired in 1976 to become a private investigator. But it was his ex-wife who blew the lid on his sinister operations. In 1967, after falling into serious money troubles, Walker started selling classified information to the Soviet Union. When he left the navy, he recruited others into the spy ring, including his own brother and son. The details he provided to the USSR were very damaging. Essentially, they could track US ships across the globe. In 1985, Walker reached a plea deal with investigators and was given a life sentence. He passed away in prison in 2014.
#9: La Malinche
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In the 1500s, Spain invaded Mesoamerica and conquered the Aztec Empire. Many factors contributed to the success of this conquest, but chief among them was an Aztec woman named La Malinche. Once an enslaved woman gifted to the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés, Malinche used her ability to speak multiple languages to her advantage. She soon turned on her own people, becoming an interpreter for Cortés and providing him with vital information from the surrounding areas. This helped the Spaniards avert incoming attacks and wipe out the communities that dared oppose them. Today, Malinche has a mixed reputation, and the term ‘malinchista’, used to refer to people who prefer foreign cultures to theirs, was derived from her name.
#8: Guy Fawkes
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In the UK, November 5th is celebrated with fireworks and bonfires as Guy Fawkes Day. The reason for this stems from the infamous gunpowder plot of 1605, of which Fawkes was an instrumental conspirator. At the time, Catholics were persecuted in England by the Protestant King James I. In response, Fawkes and his group of Catholic dissidents decided to blow up parliament to eliminate the King. Instead, one mysterious member of Fawkes’ group sent a letter to their friend, Lord Monteagle, cautioning him away from the building on the 5th. The anonymous letter was shown to the authorities, who arrested Fawkes in the cellars of the Parliament building. In 1606, the infamous traitor was executed for his treasonous actions.
#7: Ephialtes of Trachis
Looking to expand his empire in 480 B.C.E., King Xerxes marched into Greece with a Persian army reportedly up to 4 million strong. However, their smooth entry was blocked at Thermopylae, where the smaller allied Greek forces led by Leonidas had occupied the narrow passageway. The Persians struggled within this tight space, until they were able to bypass it using a trail called the Anopaia path. The information about this trail came from Ephialtes of Trachis, who decided to backstab his country in exchange for a reward. This betrayal allowed the invaders to attack the Greeks from behind and ultimately win the battle. Despite their victory, the Persian army still suffered massive losses at Thermopylae.
#6: Mir Jafar
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The British colonization of India certainly wasn’t an easy task. For one, they were a smaller nation going up against a much more populated country. But with the help of Mir Jafar, the Brits were all but assured an easy victory. Jafar was a commander under the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj ud-Daulah, who was desperate for power. As the Bengal army fought the British in the Battle of Plassey in 1757, they were poised to win. After all, they had an army of around 50,000 to Britain’s 3,000. However, Jafar secretly made a deal with the Brits and held his army back, allowing them to succeed. Jafar then became the new Nawab of Bengal under the direction of the British.
#5: Wang Jingwei
Following his release from prison after the 1911 Wuchang Uprising, Wang Jingwei was a beloved political figure in China. He joined the Kuomintang party, which was led by Sun Yat-sen, and eventually became a senior official in the party. In 1925, Sun passed away, leaving his lieutenant Chiang Kai-shek and Wang to battle over its leadership. After losing to Chiang, Wang later got in bed with the Japanese Empire and agreed to a secret deal with them. As Japan took control of certain areas of China in 1940, Wang was installed as a puppet president and remained at odds with his former party, under the leadership of Chiang. Wang died in Japan in 1944 and is now mostly known as a traitor.
#4: Benedict Arnold
Born in the British colony of Connecticut in 1741, Benedict Arnold joined the American Continental Army in 1775 and quickly rose up the ranks. During the Revolutionary War, Arnold served under and gained the trust of George Washington, who put him in charge of the military fortress at West Point, New York. However, in 1779, Arnold got married to Peggy Shippen, who came from a loyalist family. Shippen reportedly pushed him to turn on his own country and conspire with British major John André to hand West Point to them. This plan was ultimately discovered when André was captured by a revolutionary militia. While the major was executed, Arnold escaped and joined the British army, leading troops against his former compatriots.
#3: Vidkun Quisling
You know you’re the poster child for betrayal when your name becomes an accepted synonym for ‘traitor’ in multiple languages. Vidkun Quisling served as a military officer, relief worker and Defense Minister of Norway in the 1930s. He abruptly shifted towards fascism and founded the far-right political group, the Nasjonal Samling in 1933. Struggling to gain any traction politically, Quisling met with Adolf Hitler in 1939 and encouraged Germany to invade Norway, which ultimately happened the next year. In 1942, Quisling was installed as a figurehead Minister President of Norway, under the control of the Nazis. After the war ended in 1945, Quisling was held responsible for many deaths and executed for his actions.
#2: Benito Mussolini
Over human history, several figures have risen to power on the back of socialism, only to betray their ideals at the first opportunity. That was certainly the case for Benito Mussolini. After being kicked out of the Socialist Party for encouraging Italy to join WW1, Mussolini began his descent into creating the fascist movement. By 1922, he seized control over Italy and reigned as Prime Minister and later, dictator. Mussolini then joined forces with Adolf Hitler, who shared political ideals, as WW2 erupted. Although he temporarily lost power in 1943, he was restored by Germany in a puppet government. When the war ended, Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci attempted to flee, only to be caught by Italian communists and executed.
#1: Marcus Junius Brutus
With the simple Shakespearean words of “Et tu, Brute?”, the betrayal by Marcus Junius Brutus in 44 B.C.E was immortalized. After Julius Caesar took control of the Roman Republic and became a dictator, there were concerns in the senate that he was consolidating too much power. Some in Caesar's inner circle, including Brutus, Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus, and Gaius Cassius Longinus, hatched a plan to fatally turn on their ally. Over 60 prominent members of Roman society were involved in the plot. When Caesar arrived in the senate on March 15th, he was stabbed 23 times by his own senators. This incident was meant to stabilize the republic. Instead, it resulted in its eventual collapse in 27 B.C.E.