BETRAYALS THAT CHANGED THE COURSE OF HISTORY
Added on: 17th Feb 2015
REVENGE IS SWEET (FRANCISCO PIZARRO)
Pizarro held hostage Emperor Atahualpa after defeating an army with a
limited number of men. He asked for gold and silver as ransom, but he
strangled Atahualpa to death. In turn, Pizarro was executed by a son of
his former military officer, Diego de Almagro, on grounds of his father not
being recognized or rewarded for his efforts to win victories for Pizarro.
SATELLITE SPY (CHRISTOPHER JOHN BOYCE)
Boyce made himself some money along with his childhood friend,
Andrew Daulton Lee, by selling information on spy satellites and
other official documents to the Soviet Union. After being arrested in 1977,
Boyce escaped in 1980 and started robbing banks. After being captured
again he was officially released in 2002 on parole.
ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS TRAITORS (JUDAS ISCARIOT)
For an amount of 30 silver, Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve apostles,
betrayed Christ by kissing him on the cheek to let the authorities know of
his identity. His act led to Jesus’s death by crucifixion which made him
the most notorious traitor in history.
PATRIOT AND BETRAYER (SIMON BOLIVAR)
Bolivar, a military and political leader, is considered the betrayer of
one of the greatest patriots of Venezuela, Francisco de Miranda .
Simon Bolivar turned de Miranda over to Spain on questionable grounds
of treason and some say it was only to get a Spanish passport.
Francisco died in prison several years later.
LA MALINCHE (DOÑA MARINA)
Arguably the most reviled women in the Hispanic world, Doña Marina is
known as the traitor who betrayed her people to the Spanish conquistadors.
A former slave and translator-mistress of Hernando Cortes, New Spain’s
(known today as Mexico) conqueror, Doña Marina played an important
role in changing the course of history with her ability to translate Nahuatl
(Aztec language) to the Mayan language (which can be understood by
Cortes’ translator). It is said that the linguistic link between Dona Marina
and Cortes’ Spanish translator proved crucial for Cortes to
conquer the New World.
THE FIRST BLACK DOUBLE AGENT (JAMES ARMISTEAD)
Armistead was an African American slave that became a double agent
spy for the United States in 1781. He pretended to be a British spy and
gained the confidence of Generals Arnold and Cornwallis only to gather
information about the British plans for troop and arms deployment and
send them to American spies. His espionage greatly helped the
Americans secure victory during the Battle of Yorktown.
NAPOLEON’S DOG (KARL SCHULMEISTER)
A businessman, smuggler, and later a double-crosser, Schulmeister
began as a spy for the Austrian Empire but was later recruited to be
a spy for France. The information he gathered as a double agent led
to the capture of the Duke of Enghien and Napoleon’s victory at the
Battle of Austerlitz. He also did spying in England and Ireland for
Napoleon but ended as a tobacconist when Napoleon’s rule
came to an end.
THE SPY OF FOUR NATIONS (SIDNEY REILLY)
Famously known as the “Ace of Spies”, Reilly allegedly spied for at
least four nations and worked for the Scotland Yard, the British
Secret Service Bureau and the Secret Intelligence Service. He was
responsible for numerous accomplishments like the surprise attack
on Port Arthur, a German plane crash and theft of German weapon plans
among others. His allegiance played among the countries
United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Russia.
BURSTING THE FAT MAN (THEODORE HALL)
Hall was responsible for developing the first and second atomic bombs
during World War II for the United States. But little did the Americans
know that this science genius was actually an atomic spy for the
Soviet Union. After his efforts for the Manhattan Project, he gave a
detailed description of the “Fat Boy” plutonium bomb and several
tactics to purify plutonium to the Soviet.
He confessed to his espionage to the FBI afterwards.
Comment on this