When we look back at history, we may find even more strange people who made the most obnoxious moves in history that are beyond our thinking. Let’s take a look on the list of the most obnoxious moves ever made in history.

1 King Astyages, the last Median king, punished his courtier, Harpagos, by inviting him to the feast and secretly making him eat his own son’s flesh. Astyages asked Harpagos if he enjoyed his meal and obnoxiously presented him with the head of his dead son. Harpagos collected his son’s remaining pieces and left. Later, he avenged Astyages with the help of Astyages’s grandson, Cyrus.

You have read several revenge stories, but this one is dreadful. The last Median king, Astyages, had a dream about his downfall at the hands of his daughter’s son. He ordered his courtier, Harpagos, to kill his daughter’s son. Harpagos, instead of spilling royal blood, gave the child named Cyrus to the herdsman to raise.

Years later when Astyages came to know about Cyrus being alive, he faked his happiness and organized a feast to celebrate. He invited Harpagos and asked him to bring his son to play with Cyrus.

To punish Harpagos, he killed Harpagos’s child and secretly made him eat his own son’s flesh. He obnoxiously asked Harpagoes if he enjoyed his meal, and when Harpagos replied yes, he presented him with the severed head of his dead son in a covered basket.

Harpagos didn’t react and collected the remaining pieces of his son and left. Later, Harpagos avenged his son by aligning with Cyrus who was gathering forces against Astyages. He became the primary general of the combined army of the Medes and Prussians. The united army captured the Median capital and seized Astyages. (source)

2 Genghis Khan sent Ala ad-Din Muhammad II, the ruler of the Khwarazmian Empire, a message, greeting him as his neighbor and seeking trade as part of an agreement of peace and friendship. Though Muhammad II initially agreed to this peace treaty, he massacred a Mongol caravan and its envoys less than a year later. In retaliation, Genghis Khan destroyed the Khwarazmian dynasty and conquered its territory in what is known as one of the bloodiest massacres in human history.

Genghis Khan was the first great khan and also the founder of the Mongol Empire. He sent a message to Ala ad-Din Muhammad, sultan of his neighbor empire, Khwarezmid. It was a peaceful and friendly treaty seeking trade and greeting them as his neighbor.

In the message, Genghis khan stated “I am the master of the lands of the rising sun while you are sultan of those of the setting sun. Consider this as an offer of a firm treaty of friendship and peace.”

Instead of considering Khan’s treaty, Ala ad-Din Muhammad ordered the massacre of the entire Mongol caravan and its envoys. He thought it would frighten Khan and he would never dare to attack the Khwarezmid Empire.

However, this massacre started the conflict between Mongols and the Khwarezmian Empire. Ghenghis khan attacked and captured the entire Khwarezmian Dynasty. He ground the entire dynasty into dust, sparing no one. (source)

3 Early in the 1900s during the Yaqui War, the Mexican government assembled and forced thousands of Yaqui natives to walk over 300 km to the coast. They were put on boats and sold as slaves for about 25 cents. Most ended up on plantations in Veracruz where they were forced to be slaves and worked to death.

During the rule of Porfirio Diaz, a Mexican dictator. The government used to provoke Yaqui Indians to rebellion to capture their land so that it could be used for both agriculture and mining. Yaqui natives were being sold at 60 pesos per head.

By 1908, 5,000 Yaqui were forced to be slaves and were sold into captivity where they worked until their death. At Guaymas, thousands of Yaquis were assembled and shipped to San Blas. They were forced to walk over 300 km to San Marcos.

During the journey, most of the children and women weren’t able to last through the mountain journey and died on the way. Most of the Yaquis ended up on the plantations in Veracruz. They worked in the worst of conditions, beaten in the morning, working in the blazing sun with little food, and worked to death.(source)

4 Haiti paid the cost of independence to France. In 1804, Haiti gained independence. In 1825, France asked Haiti to pay 150 million francs for its loss of slaves and slaves colonies. The debt was later reduced to 90 million francs, but it took 143 years for Haiti to pay off that debt.

In 1825, France demanding 150 million francs from Haiti for the loss of slaves and slave colonies is the perfect example of colonial theft. In the 17th century, France inaugurated slavery on the island. In the 18th century, the enslaved population of the island revolted and eventually gained independence.

In 1804, Haiti officially gained independence, but the French never gave up efforts to reclaim their former colony. On April 17, 1825, the French forced Haiti to pay a debt of 150 million francs. Only then would France recognize Haitian independence. They said that the debt is meant to compensate the loss France faced for their lost revenues from slavery.

France also demanded a discount of 50% from Haiti on goods exported to them. In 1838, France agreed to reduce the debt to 90 million francs. After 143 years, in 1947, Haiti finally paid off the debt. According to the modern equivalent, Haiti paid $21 billion to France.(source)

5 Thomas Midgley was the greatest environmentally disastrous person. In 1921, when he was working on the “knocking” problem of car engines. He discovered that putting tetraethyl lead into gasoline will prevent knocking. He knew that putting lead into gasoline would be deadly to the environment and human health, but he did it anyway for money.

Environmental historians stated that Thomas Midgley had the single largest impact on the Earth’s atmosphere caused by a single organism in the history of the planet. In 1921, he was working on the “knocking” problem of car engines.

It was a big problem where engines would shutter and jerk. Midgley was working under Charles Kettering, and they came to know that knocking was due to fuel-burning unevenly, so an additive could fix the problem. They finally came up with the idea of putting tetraethyl lead into gasoline to fix the problem. However, lead is a deadly poison that is hazardous to both human health and the environment.

It can cause brain damage, kidney failure, high blood pressure, and many other maladies. Despite knowing all this, Midgley did it anyway for money. As a result, he got lead poisoning himself and still lied to people about lead’s effects on health. (source)