History: swift, coordinated, mass betrayal
August 25, 2015 6:21 AM   Subscribe

What are some interesting historical events of relatively swift, coordinated, mass betrayal, such as the Night of the Long Knives, or the Bleiburg Tragedy? Doesn't matter if the betrayers were "good" or "bad".
posted by Sticherbeast to Writing & Language (9 answers total) 13 users marked this as a favorite
 
by "mass" do you mean by the general populace? because successful military coups seem to fit what you're looking for otherwise.
posted by andrewcooke at 6:27 AM on August 25, 2015




WWII's Rescue of the Danish Jews.
posted by seasparrow at 6:47 AM on August 25, 2015 [2 favorites]


The massacre of Glen Coe?
posted by LobsterMitten at 6:58 AM on August 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


This might be too recent and still too politically charged, but the whole debacle surround "The Vow" in the Scottish Independence and the resulting Smith Commission. The whole debacle led to Scottish Labour almost getting wiped out less than a year later in the British General Election.
posted by kariebookish at 7:26 AM on August 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


If you like the Rescue of the Danish Jews, then maybe you'll also like the Dunkirk Evacuation of early WWII, May 27-June 4 1940.
posted by easily confused at 7:32 AM on August 25, 2015 [1 favorite]




Jonestown.
posted by Carol Anne at 11:03 AM on August 25, 2015


There's quite a good one that forms part of the story of the Peninsular War of 1807-1814. Spain and France had invaded Portugal, essentially with the Spanish monarchy subject to the authority of Napoleon. The 15000 men of the Spanish Division of the North were sent to prop up Denmark, a French ally. In 1808 a Spanish military rebellion caused the early succession of a new Spanish king and moves against Napoleon. The Spanish appealed to Britain for help which they provided with ships and soldiers but they also managed to contact the head of the Division of the North and surreptitiously arranged to transfer 9000 men of the force back to Spain to assist in the fight against Napoleon. The Spanish forces seized the port of Nyborg and the British sailed in transports for the transfer. They thus undermined Napoleon's forces in Northern Europe and strengthened Spanish forces.
posted by biffa at 11:41 AM on August 25, 2015


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