Short answers, pulled from the story.
The word treason comes from the Latin verb tradere, meaning to deliver or hand over. This root appears in the term traditors, which described bishops and Christians who surrendered sacred scriptures to Roman authorities during the Diocletianic Persecution between 303 and 305 AD.
The Treason Act 1351 stands as the first statutory definition of treason in English law. During Edward I's reign, the Crown began recognizing rebellions as treasonous acts, and by Elizabethan times, courts expanded treason through constructive treason applied for political control.
Billy, an enslaved man sentenced to death for treason in Virginia during the American Revolution, was pardoned by Thomas Jefferson after arguing he owed no allegiance to Virginia. Many individuals now considered dissidents faced these severe punishments under earlier laws.
Russia updated Article 275 in April 2023 to include espionage and disclosure of state secrets, sentencing offenders to 12 years to life imprisonment. Vladimir Kara-Murza received a 25-year sentence in April 2023 for treason charges in Russia, marking one of the longest sentences for political activity since the Soviet era.
Australia's Criminal Code section 80.1 defines treason as actions against the sovereign, carrying a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Different nations define treason with varying scope and severity across their legal systems.