- 5/5/2025
From backstabbing allies to selling out countries, history is filled with shocking acts of treachery. Join us as we explore the most devastating betrayals that changed the course of history! Our countdown includes those who betrayed their nations, leaders who turned on their people, and individuals who sold secrets to enemies for personal gain.
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00:00The people will not accept a tyrant's death unless a Brutus holds the knife.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most unexpected, brutal,
00:10and impactful betrayals in human history.
00:13Five days later, Cortes forced his way into the city center again, and again he burnt
00:18what he could before retreating.
00:21Number 20.
00:23Robert Ford
00:24Not every betrayal is tragic.
00:26Robert Ford and his brother Charlie were recent additions to Jesse James' gang, when they
00:32decided to collect the bounty on James' head.
00:48They both lived with the infamous outlaw, making it easy for them to act on their dark plan.
00:52On April 3rd, 1882, James made the critical mistake of turning around to dust a painting,
00:59giving Ford just enough time to fatally shoot him in the back of the head.
01:06However, when the brothers attempted to collect their reward, they were repaid via arrests and
01:11first-degree murder charges.
01:13They were both to be executed the same day they condemned James to death, but their sentences
01:18were pardoned just two hours later.
01:21Number 19.
01:22George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence
01:24You know your betrayal has made history when it's mentioned in two separate Shakespearean
01:29plays.
01:30George Plantagenet was raised in the House of York, with his relatives holding high leadership
01:35roles.
01:36Richest and most powerful of all was Edward's middle brother, George, Duke of Clarence.
01:44The man Shakespeare described as false, fleeting, perjured Clarence.
01:50Though he'd initially supported his older brother, Edward IV, in his bid to become king,
01:55he briefly switched his allegiance to his stepfather.
01:58He soon saw the error of his ways and reverted back to his original loyalties, but the damage
02:03was done.
02:04Not only was his brother the one to push for prosecution, he's also the one who insisted
02:08George be put to death.
02:10He was eventually executed in 1478, supposedly being drowned in a barrel of wine.
02:24The case was unfortunate proof that not even blood could prevent treachery.
02:28Number 18.
02:29Alfred Riddle
02:30Even those who seem beneficial to a cause can also be its downfall.
02:34Though Alfred Riddle had improved Austria's counterintelligence branch with the introduction
02:38of technological advances, he had also been sneaking plans under their noses to Russia.
02:44Within a decade, he was the enemy's top spy, even disclosing a plot wherein Austria intended
02:49to invade Serbia.
02:50These plans were eventually sent to the intended victimized country, ensuring they would be ready
02:55for an attack.
02:56He seemed to have no regard for his own countrymen, even selling out other Austro-Hungarians whom
03:02he'd sent to Russia himself.
03:03He was eventually found out in 1913, and was punished in a truly macabre fashion by being
03:09forced to take his own life.
03:11He may have risen to popularity thanks to his support for leftists, but those values soon
03:19crumbled once a bit of pressure was applied.
03:21No man epitomized French collaboration more than Pierre Laval.
03:25His activities during the Second World War still divide the French today.
03:30By the 1930s, Pierre Laval joined the conservative movement, before morphing into a full-on fascist
03:36by 1940.
03:37When he re-secured power in 1942, he aligned himself with Germany and Italy, but he didn't
03:43stop there.
03:44He punished his own citizens, including deporting whole families of Jewish natives.
03:49Even after he was arrested, he was still convinced that he'd be able to talk his way
03:52out of the situation.
03:54His delusions were quashed in 1945, when he was found guilty of treason.
03:58The key piece of evidence against him was the newspaper article from the 22nd of June
04:021942, where Laval had called for a German victory.
04:09He was sentenced to death.
04:11Though he attempted to take himself out beforehand, his attempts failed, leading him to meet his
04:16death by firing squad.
04:18Number 16.
04:19Aldrich Ames.
04:21Though the Cold War never escalated to a point of full-on combat, the situation wasn't helped
04:25by those selling secrets to the enemy.
04:28Aldrich Ames was a member of the CIA, but his actions made it clear that his loyalties
04:40lay elsewhere.
04:41He began dealing with secrets in 1985, starting with insignificant details, and eventually
04:46working his way up to revealing the identities of agents who'd been spying on the USSR themselves.
04:52Though the CIA was suspicious, Ames managed to slip through the cracks for years.
04:57Eventually, the investigation escalated to the point where agents were rifling through his
05:01trash to find evidence.
05:03He was finally arrested in 1994, and was eventually sentenced to life in prison, which he's still
05:09serving to this day.
05:10What I did to those men, the situation of their families, and others, and this is… and this
05:16is… and the kind of shame and the kind of remorse that I feel is something that is and
05:25I think always will be intensely personal to me.
05:27Number 15.
05:29Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.
05:31During the Cold War, the United States made it clear that any support towards the enemy
05:35wouldn't be tolerated… eventually making an example out of those who did.
05:39Fuchs identifies a man who served as his go-between with the Russians, named David Greenglass.
05:45David Greenglass explains that he was recruited for spying by his brother-in-law, Julius Rosenberg.
05:52Julius Rosenberg began working for the Soviet Union in 1942, and quickly proved to be a worthy
05:58asset.
05:59From supplying thousands of secrets to recruiting several people to his cause, he had a key role
06:04in the Soviets successfully carrying out their own nuclear tests.
06:08He was arrested in 1950, and soon after, his wife Ethel was as well.
06:12Court filings present them as super spies.
06:17They refuse to talk, pleading the fifth instead.
06:21They have little chance, especially when Ethel's brother David Greenglass testifies against them.
06:28Both are found guilty and sentenced to death.
06:31The couple were sent to trial, and were convicted of espionage in 1941, leading to them becoming
06:37the first American citizens to be executed for espionage during times of peace.
06:42Number 14.
06:44Robert Hansen.
06:45The FBI also had some security issues in the Cold War.
06:49They underwent a period of many big secrets being released to the Soviet Union, all being
06:53traced back to one man.
06:55Just a few years after joining, Robert Hansen took it upon himself to offer his skills as
07:12a spy to the USSR, which they gladly accepted.
07:15His activities included giving them exact details of how the agency bugged devices, and even
07:21providing information that led to the capture and killing of a CIA informant.
07:25A trusted insider in the FBI, who worked on counterintelligence, sophisticated spy detection, worked next to the best in America at
07:34spy detection, and went undiscovered for more than 20 years as the most damaging spy in FBI history.
07:41His espionage took place over the course of two decades, earning him over a million dollars before he was arrested in 2001.
07:48He pled guilty to dozens of charges, resulting in 15 consecutive life sentences.
07:55Number 13.
07:56Arminius.
07:57At the height of their power, it seemed that nothing could take down the Roman Empire.
08:02One man in particular was able to alter that legacy permanently.
08:05Arminius was undoubtedly the liberator of Germania.
08:11He fought the Romans when their power was at its height, and decisively defeated them.
08:17Though he was born in Germania, Arminius was raised as a Roman, even joining the country's army as an adult.
08:23His true loyalties were revealed when he returned to his homeland.
08:27Arminius united several independent tribes into one faction, with the goal of preventing Rome
08:32from claiming the land as their own.
08:34In AD 9, his plans came to fruition.
08:37He'd formed a coalition of over 20,000 men, who overpowered and slaughtered members of the opposing side.
08:43Arminius' war of liberation was devastating to the Empire.
08:47It constituted the first time in which the Romans withdrew from conquered territory.
08:52The end of Roman imperial expansion can be traced back with real validity to Arminius' victory.
09:01Their subsequent victory not only resulted in a horrific loss for Rome, but the beginning
09:05of a long reign of Germanic power.
09:08Number 12 Stella Goldschlag Some people will go to extreme lengths in
09:13order to survive.
09:14After being captured during a round of mass Jewish deportation, Stella Goldschlag was determined
09:19to save herself and her family by any means possible.
09:23That meant doing the unthinkable, working for the Germans to identify and turn in fellow Jewish
09:28citizens.
09:29She was shameless in her attempts, from promising victims food to scouring funerals.
09:34While the exact number she betrayed isn't known, she's believed to have sold out up
09:38to 3,000 people.
09:40After the war, she was found and tried by the Soviet army, leading to her serving ten years
09:45in a labor camp.
09:46When she was released, she relocated to West Berlin, only to be arrested and tried once
09:51again.
09:52Number 11 John Walker Lind Though he was born and raised in the United
09:56States.
09:57John Walker Lind ended up moving to Afghanistan in 2001 to fight with the Taliban.
10:03He still remained with them even after the attacks on September 11, 2001.
10:07He and his Al-Qaeda unit were surrounded months later, lending to their supposed surrender.
10:13While they were detained, an intense revolt took place.
10:15This led to the deaths of hundreds, American citizens included.
10:19Lind had been aware of the planned revolt the whole time, making it his worst betrayal yet.
10:24He was swiftly recaptured, and finally brought to trial in 2002, where he was indicted on
10:29a plethora of charges.
10:30While he was hit with a 20-year sentence, good behavior led him to being released early
10:35in 2019.
10:36The now 38-year-old John Walker Lind is leaving prison, much like he went in nearly two decades
10:41ago, under a cloud of controversy, sources expressing concern to ABC News that Lind remains
10:47radicalized with extremist beliefs.
10:50On the surface, John Anthony Walker seemed like an honorable person.
11:03He worked his way up the US Navy ranks and retired in 1976 to become a private investigator.
11:09But it was his ex-wife who blew the lid on his sinister operations.
11:12In 1967, after falling into serious money troubles, Walker started selling classified information
11:18to the Soviet Union.
11:31When he left the Navy, he recruited others into the spy ring, including his own brother
11:34and son.
11:35The details he provided to the USSR were very damaging.
11:38Essentially, they could track US ships across the globe.
11:41In 1985, Walker reached a plea deal with investigators and was given a life sentence.
11:46He passed away in prison in 2014.
11:48The damage he caused the United States is so great that experts on Soviet intelligence say
11:54if war had broken out in the 1970s, the Kremlin would have won.
11:59Number 9.
12:00Hernán Cortés.
12:01The reasoning as to why Moctezuma II allowed Hernán Cortés to peacefully enter the capital
12:07of the Aztec Kingdom in 1519 is still debated today.
12:23While some believe he did it to learn his enemy's weaknesses, others are adamant that
12:27he did so because he believed Cortés to be the god Quetzalcoatl.
12:32Whatever his justification was, he soon let his guard down.
12:35Then offering the Spanish army a plethora of gold.
12:38His attempts at pacifying the enemy army were for naught, as he was swiftly taken hostage
12:43as soon as Cortés learned that some of his own men had been slain.
12:46The Spaniard then went on to rule vicariously through his prisoner, eventually fleeing a year
12:51later and leaving the emperor to be executed.
12:55The situation that existed in the final siege of Tenochtitlan was very different.
13:00And surely the Aztecs who were fighting must have realized that.
13:03They must have seen that it signaled the end of their empire.
13:08In the UK, November 5th is celebrated with fireworks and bonfires as Guy Fawkes Day.
13:15The reason for this stems from the infamous gunpowder plot of 1605, of which Fawkes was
13:21an instrumental conspirator.
13:22At the time, Catholics were persecuted in England by the Protestant king James I. In response,
13:26Fawkes and his group of Catholic dissidents decided to blow up Parliament to eliminate
13:28the king.
13:29It hasn't taken me long to work out that this letter is a warning that Parliament is
13:30about to be blown up.
13:31How mind-bogglingly clever, Your Majesty.
13:32I would never have spotted that in a million years.
13:38Instead, one mysterious member of Fawkes' group sent a letter to their friend, Lord Monteagle,
13:40cautioning him away from the building on the 5th.
13:45The anonymous letter was shown to the authorities who arrested Fawkes in the cellars of the Parliament
13:47building.
13:48In 1606, the infamous traitor was executed.
13:50For his treasonous actions.
13:51I've witnessed firsthand the power of ideas.
13:52I've witnessed firsthand the power of ideas.
13:53I've witnessed the power of ideas.
13:54And the fact that this letter is a warning that this letter is a warning that Parliament
13:55is about to be blown up.
13:56How mind-bogglingly clever, Your Majesty.
13:57I would never have spotted that in a million years.
14:00Instead, one mysterious member of Fawkes' group sent a letter to their friend, Lord Monteagle,
14:05cautioning him away from the building on the 5th.
14:08The anonymous letter was shown to the authorities who arrested Fawkes in the cellars of the Parliament
14:12building.
14:13In 1606, the infamous traitor was executed for his treasonous actions.
14:16I've witnessed first-hand the power of ideas.
14:19I've seen people killing the name of them.
14:23Number 7.
14:24Ephialtes of Trachys.
14:25There is such a root, good king.
14:28Just past that western ridge.
14:29Looking to expand his empire in 480 BCE, King Xerxes marched into Greece with a Persian army
14:36reportedly up to four million strong.
14:38However, their smooth entry was blocked at Thermopylae, where the smaller, allied Greek
14:42forces led by Leonidas had occupied the narrow passageway.
14:46The Persians struggled within this tight space until they were able to bypass it, using a trail called the Anopeia Path.
14:52The information about this trail came from Ephialtes of Trachys, who decided to backstab his country in exchange for a reward.
14:59Despite your insufferable arrogance, the god-king has come to admire Spartan valour and fighting skill.
15:07You will make a mighty ally.
15:09Use your lighters!
15:10This betrayal allowed the invaders to attack the Greeks from behind and ultimately win the battle.
15:15Despite their victory, the Persian army still suffered massive losses at Thermopylae.
15:19I know a secret path through these mountains.
15:23What secret path?
15:24An old goat track.
15:26It comes down on the other side of Thermopylae.
15:29Number 6.
15:30Mir Jaffer
15:31The British colonization of India certainly wasn't an easy task.
15:34For one, they were a smaller nation going up against a much more populated country.
15:38But, with the help of Mir Jaffer, the Brits were all but assured an easy victory.
15:43Jaffer was a commander under the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj Adula, who was desperate for power.
15:48As the Bengal army fought the British in the Battle of Plassey in 1757, they were poised to win.
15:53After all, they had an army of around 50,000 to Britain's 3,000.
15:57However, Jaffer secretly made a deal with the Brits and held his army back, allowing them to succeed.
16:03Jaffer then became the new Nawab of Bengal, under the direction of the British.
16:07Number 5.
16:09Wang Jingwei
16:10Japan welcomes His Excellency Wang Qingwei, puppet president from Nanking.
16:15This first state visit signals new cooperation between Japan and the puppet Chinese state.
16:20Following his release from prison after the 1911 Wuchang Uprising, Wang Jingwei was a beloved political figure in China.
16:27He joined the Kuomintang Party, which was led by Sun Yat-sen, and eventually became a senior official in the party.
16:33In 1925, Sun passed away, leaving his lieutenant Chiang Kai-shek and Wang to battle over its leadership.
16:40After losing to Chiang, Wang later got in bed with the Japanese Empire and agreed to a secret deal with them.
16:46As 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.
16:56Wang died in Japan in 1944 and is now mostly known as a traitor.
17:00Number 4.
17:01Benedict Arnold
17:02Before them are captured documents that reveal the most notorious act of treason in American history, a plot to sell out West Point in upstate New York.
17:12Born in the British colony of Connecticut in 1741, Benedict Arnold joined the American Continental Army in 1775 and quickly rose up the ranks.
17:21During 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.
17:29However, in 1779, Arnold got married to Peggy Shippen, who came from a loyalist family.
17:35Shippen reportedly pushed him to turn on his own country and conspire with British Major John Andre to hand West Point to them.
17:42This plan was ultimately discovered when Andre was captured by a revolutionary militia.
17:57While the Major was executed, Arnold escaped and joined the British Army, leading troops against his former compatriots.
18:04I will ride into Philadelphia at the head of my American Legion and I will capture Congress.
18:11Number 3.
18:12Vidkun Quisling
18:13This was one of the most amazing acts of treachery the world has ever known.
18:18It brought Major Quisling international fame.
18:21You know you're the poster child for betrayal when your name becomes an accepted synonym for traitor in multiple languages.
18:28Vidkun Quisling served as a military officer, relief worker, and defense minister of Norway in the 1930s.
18:34He abruptly shifted toward fascism and founded the far-right political group the Nazjonal Samling in 1933.
18:41Struggling to gain any traction politically, Quisling met with Adolf Hitler in 1939 and encouraged Germany to invade Norway, which ultimately happened the next year.
18:51In 1942, Quisling was installed as a figurehead minister-president of Norway under the control of the Nazis.
18:58After the war ended in 1945, Quisling was held responsible for many deaths and executed for his actions.
19:04Number 2.
19:06Judas Iscariot
19:07Though it may not be completely historically sound, this is one of the most widely known double-crosses in human history.
19:14Though he was one of Jesus' trusted twelve disciples, Judas still sold him down the river, earning himself thirty pieces of silver for the act.
19:22While his exact motives for doing so aren't spelled out, several guesses ranging from disillusionment to pure greed have been made.
19:50What is known is that he attempted to walk his treachery back after learning Jesus was going to be crucified, which was swiftly denied.
19:57He then took his own life, an act which is still hotly debated across several Christian denominations today.
20:06To this day, many revile him for his act, and his name alone is synonymous with betrayal.
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20:39Number 1. Marcus Junius Brutus
20:44With the simple Shakespearean words of et tu Brute, the betrayal of Marcus Junius Brutus in 44 BCE was immortalized.
20:52Et tu Brute, then fall Caesar.
20:57After 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.
21:05Some in Caesar's inner circle, including Brutus, Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus, and Gaius Cassius Longius, hatched a plan to fatally turn on their ally.
21:15Over 60 prominent members of Roman society were involved in the plot.
21:19When Caesar arrived in the Senate on March 15th, he was stabbed 23 times by his own senators.
21:24The incident was meant to stabilize the Republic.
21:27Instead, it resulted in its eventual collapse in 27 BCE.
21:36Which betrayal do you think had the most historical significance?
21:39Let us know in the comments below.
21:41And what Arminius does is turn around and make a radical choice.
21:45Actually, a total out-and-out rejection of Roman power and mounting the largest rebellion that he can put together.
22:11This is the right one to learn from me so far...
22:14It has been a good fight for the people of the United States.
22:16This will bring us up to...
22:17So you start to give us a wide variety,
22:18It has been a great idea of an incredible encounter.
22:21Imple tokio...
22:22I realized he has a strong goal of the world that is to have a stronger woman.
22:23There was a great idea...
22:24We can find that the Roman society has been able to continue.
22:25The Roman society has been able to build together.
22:26To keep the city of Abraham's inner circle,
22:28But who is the Roman society?
22:30We can also find that it has become historical,
22:31And what came on?
22:32Here in the south of the United States was created.
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