Whether for power, wealth or revenge, people have betrayed each other since time began. But what does it really mean to be a traitor? And how has treachery changed the course of history? From the infamous Judas Iscariot to an American spy who sold his countries secrets for cash, get the lowdown on some of history's most slippery customers.
“A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within”
OFF WITH THEIR HEADS! • Considered among the worst crimes one can commit, the definition and punishment for treason has changed dramatically over time
ALL IN GOOD FAITH • Inspired by a bloody 17th-century mutiny off the coast of Australia, The Traitors continues to captivate audiences with its Machiavellian contestants
The betrayal that inspired The Traitors
SEALED WITH A KISS
THE GUNPOWDER PLOT • Everyone remembers the fifth of November, but the true story of the men who plotted to blow up Parliament is all too often forgotten
Turbulent times • In the years following Henry VIII’s break from Rome the religion of the reigning monarch swung from Protestant to Catholic, with devastating effects for their subjects
The conspirators
A PLOT UNRAVELS • As the plot was uncovered, the men fled their separate ways, clinging to hope of revolution
The Gunpowder conspiracy • Was the plot really concocted by the state?
AND YOU, BRUTUS? • Famed for his part in the murder of Julius Caesar, was Brutus a heartless traitor or a bold liberator?
AXIS SALLY THE STORY OF AN ALL-AMERICAN TRAITOR • A troubled child, failed Broadway actress, impressionable lover and Nazi propagandist, Mildred Gillars’ life is an American tale that descends into the darkest depths of betrayal
THE SAMURAI WHO SWITCHED SIDES • Kobayakawa Hideaki’s lust for revenge changed the course of Japanese history
ONCE, TWICE, THREE TIMES A TRAITOR • Mir Jafar’s lust for power made him betray his people, his allies and his family
DENMARK’S GREATEST TRAITOR • When he married into the Danish royal family, Corfitz Ulfeldt had it all. So what made him decide to betray king and country by serving Denmark’s mortal foe?
The traitor’s queen • FROM CHILD BRIDE TO PRISONER TO NATIONAL HEROINE, LEONORA CHRISTINA WASN’T A TYPICAL HISTORICAL HEROINE
The reign of Frederick III • FREDERICK III WAS DETERMINED TO NEUTER ULFELDT, BUT WHAT BECAME OF THE KING?
ATHELRED’S HIRED MUSCLE • Eadric Streona’s double-crossing changed the fate of England forever
SELLER OF STATE SECRETS • What drove a high-ranking Austro-Hungarian officer to divulge top-secret information to the enemies of the empire?
BENEDICT ARNOLD AMERICA’S FALLEN PATRIOT • Benedict Arnold epitomises treason for Americans, but without him the American Revolution might have failed
PÉTAIN VERDUN HERO OR VICHY TRAITOR? • Philippe Pétain, Marshal of France and hero of Verdun during WWI, tarnished his reputation beyond redemption as a collaborator with the Nazis during WWII and head of the puppet Vichy government
TEN TRAGIC DAYS • La Decena Trágica (the Ten Tragic Days) plunged Mexico into a bloody standoff that saw General Victoriano Huerta snatch power from the president and in turn become his country’s biggest traitor
THE BETRAYAL OF ROME • How a Roman citizen lured three of the empire’s legions into a deadly trap
MATA HARI SPY OR SCAPEGOAT? • Discover the love, lies and tragic life of the accused exotic dancer who faced the firing squad
The birth of MI5 • BRITAIN’S SECURITY SERVICE SEALED THE FATE OF MATA HARI
Tricks of the trade • WWI WAS ONE OF THE FIRST CONFLICTS IN WHICH TECHNOLOGY WAS USED TO SPY ON THE ENEMY, AND BOTH SIDES CAME UP WITH...