Editing Philippe de Grandpré

{{Era|AC3L}}
{{Quote|Ah, I do fear you are more like your father than is fit for a lady - a chip of the same block.|Philippe to Aveline, 1765.|Assassin's Creed III: Liberation}}
{{Character Infobox
|image = PhilippeDatabaseHD.png
|birth = 1722<br>{{Wiki|Nantes}}, [[France|Kingdom of France]]
|death = 1776<br>[[New Orleans]], [[Louisiana|Spanish Louisiana]], [[United States|New Spain]]
|hidep = Yes
|appear = ''[[Assassin's Creed III: Liberation]]''
|voice = [[Marcel Jeannin]]}}
'''Philippe-Olivier de Grandpré''' (1722 – 1776) was a wealthy [[France|French]] merchant who lived in [[New Orleans]] and the father of the [[Assassins|Assassin]] [[Aveline de Grandpré]].<ref name="AC3L">''[[Assassin's Creed III: Liberation]]''</ref> He is an ancestor to "[[Subject 1]]" of the [[Animus Project]].<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag]]''</ref>

Happily married to the [[Slavery|slave]] [[Jeanne]], albeit unofficially, Philippe experienced a personal enlightenment upon the birth of his daughter Aveline. However, he would marry [[Madeleine de L'Isle]] roughly five years later, in an effort to alleviate his financial troubles, straining his relationship with Jeanne.

When Jeanne vanished without a trace in 1757, Philippe was devastated, but remained confident Madeleine would take good care of Aveline. He also saw to his daughter's education in business, ensuring she would grow into a woman of independent means.   

==Biography==
===Early life===
Philippe was born in Nantes, France in 1722 to a family of successful merchants. As a young man, he traveled to [[Louisiana]] in search of new business opportunities and established a trading enterprise there, shipping goods from the new world to the old.<ref name="AC3L"/>

===Marriage to Jeanne===
{{Quote|P— was full of emotion at her birth. On seeing her, he falls to his knees [...] He begs forgiveness for keeping me enslaved all this time. He vows to grant us both our freedom. Perhaps there is hope for the future.|Jeanne on Philippe's reaction to Aveline's birth, 1747.|Assassin's Creed III: Liberation}}
In 1744, whilst on a trade mission to [[Haiti|Saint-Domingue]], Philippe purchased a slave named Jeanne, whom he rapidly grew fond of. Treating her with kindness despite her status, Philippe would regularly pay Jeanne nightly visits during the trip back to Louisiana. Upon their arrival in New Orleans, he informed her that, unlike the other slaves, Jeanne was allowed to take up residence in his [[De Grandpré Mansion|villa]].<ref name="AC3L"/>

In the next two years, Philippe and Jeanne grew closer, which led to Philippe asking her to become his {{Wiki|Plaçage|placée}} bride on 7 May 1746. She accepted, and in 1747, gave birth to their daughter Aveline. Upon seeing his newborn daughter, Philippe was overcome with guilt at keeping Jeanne enslaved and vowed to grant both his wife and daughter their freedom.<ref name="AC3L"/>

The next few years passed peacefully, with the young Aveline tightly knitting the small family together. Philippe doted on his daughter, with his status and success in trading largely shielding Jeanne and Aveline from the prejudices of others. However, by August 1750, Philippe's business began to suffer, causing him to become troubled, despite Jeanne's assurances that they could make do with less if that was required.<ref name="AC3L"/>

===Marriage to Madeleine===
{{Quote|Monsieur de G— (I will not call him P— now) has married The Madame. He insists nothing need change between us, but he is blind, already everything has changed.|Jeanne on Philippe's second marriage and its repercussions, 1752.|Assassin's Creed III: Liberation}}
As a result of Philippe's financial troubles, Madeleine de L'Isle, the daughter of one of Philippe's investors, became a regular visitor of the de Grandpré family. Slowly but surely, she managed to convince Philippe into marrying her, as it would benefit both his business as well as that of her family's. He conceded and wed Madeleine in February 1752.<ref name="AC3L"/>

The marriage put a strain on the relationship between Jeanne and Philippe, who insisted nothing needed to change between them, to no avail. Although Madeleine soon moved in, Jeanne and Aveline were allowed to remain at the de Grandpré mansion, receiving their own private quarters. For the next few years, this arrangement continued, with Madeleine being responsible for Aveline's education, while also employing Jeanne as her personal handmaid. Around 1755, Philippe would take on [[Gérald Blanc]], an orphan from {{Wiki|Acadia}}, as an errand boy.<ref name="AC3L"/> 

However, in 1757, Jeanne suddenly disappeared, greatly saddening Philippe. Despite this, he was confident that Madeleine would raise his daughter with care and support. He too would start educating Aveline on business matters, so that she would grow into a woman of independent means, as the law technically prohibited her from inheriting his estate. Simultaneously, Gérald grew up to be a capable clerk and accountant, becoming one of Philippe's most trusted employees.<ref name="AC3L"/>

[[File:Key to the Problem 1.png|thumb|250px|left|Gérald informing Philippe of the missing shipments' recovery]]
In late January of 1765, Philippe discovered his business was suffering from shipments disappearing, causing customer relations to become strained. During one of his visits to the [[De Grandpré Warehouse|warehouse]], he informed Gérald, who offered to look into the matter for him; unbeknownst to both men, Aveline had [[Eavesdropping|eavesdropped]] on this conversation and intended to discreetly investigate the affair herself. She subsequently managed to recover the goods, securing a discount from one of her father's [[Gilbert-Antoine de Saint Maxent|business partners]]. Gérald later reassured Philippe that the cargo would arrive on time.<ref name="AC3L"/>

Following a conversation regarding her contributions to his business, Philippe gifted Aveline with a [[Jeanne's diary pages|page]] from Jeanne's diary in 1768; this inspired his daughter to subsequently start a search for the missing volumes. That same year, Philippe informed her that Gérald requested her presence at the warehouse, reminding her to be careful during her journey, as New Orleans was in [[Louisiana Rebellion|upheaval]].<ref name="AC3L"/>
 
[[File:An Urgent Favor 1.png|thumb|250px|A bedridden Philippe being visited by Aveline]]
Following his discovery of [[Templars|Templar]] interference in business, Philippe was slowly poisoned by Madeleine, who was in truth the region's [[Master Templar]]. Under the guise of a cure, Madeleine would begin administering a herbal tonic that was laced with {{Wiki|Digitalis|foxglove}}, causing her husband to become bedridden. During one of his conversations with Aveline, Philippe, delirious from pain, began to speak to his daughter as if she were Jeanne and confessed the regret and guilt he felt ever since her disappearance.<ref name="AC3L"/>

Philippe succumbed to the poison in 1776 and was subsequently buried in [[Saint Peter's Cemetery]]. Madeleine would inherit the mansion, as Aveline was unable to, while the de Grandpré business was left to Gérald.<ref name="AC3L"/>

==Personality and characteristics==
{{Dialogue|Aveline|No need to worry, Papa.|Philippe|I will try to restrain myself. I know your charm and grace will protect you like armor.|Aveline reassuring her father, 1768.|Assassin's Creed III: Liberation}}
A product of the 18th century {{Wiki|Age of Enlightenment}}, Philippe was a caring, well-mannered and considerate person. Despite the racial prejudices of his time, he treated Jeanne with kindness and generosity, allowing her to live within his mansion, instead of the usual slave quarters. While it was not uncommon in New Orleans for men of Philippe's stature to take women of color as their "unofficial" brides, he appeared to have no intentions of marrying again after meeting Jeanne, being truly in love with her.<ref name="AC3L"/>

Upon Aveline's birth, Philippe was ashamed to have kept his wife enslaved, and vowed to grant both her and Aveline their freedom, though he would still keep other slaves as servants. However, despite his love for Jeanne, Philippe later married Madeleine to save his business, showing he was reluctant to leave behind his wealthy lifestyle. When Jeanne left New Orleans in 1757, he was deeply saddened and would later come to blame himself for her disappearance, believing his marriage to Madeleine was responsible.<ref name="AC3L"/>

[[File:At_the_Pub_6.png|thumb|250px|left|Philippe being thanked by Aveline]]
A doting father, Philippe loved Aveline dearly, teaching her about business matters so that she would develop into an independent woman. Still, marriage was a frequent topic of discussion, one which he sometimes seemed reluctant to bring up, as his rebellious daughter had made her disinterest in a husband clear on numerous occasions. Due to Aveline's many trips and errands, Philippe also tended to worry about her well-being and often reminded her to be careful.<ref name="AC3L"/>

==Trivia==
*Philippe is a name of [[Greece|Greek]] origin that means "lover of horses", derived from the elements φιλος (''philos'') "friend, lover" and ‘ιππος (''hippos'') "horse"; Olivier is a variant of Olivier, meaning "olive tree". "Grandpré" is a name formed of the French words ''grand'', meaning "great", and ''pré'', meaning "meadow".
==Gallery==
<gallery captionalign="center" position="center" spacing="small" widths="180">
Philippe de Grandpré - Concept Art.jpg|Concept art of Philippe
Philippe Database.png|Philippe's appearance in the Vita iteration
At The Pub 4.png|Philippe speaking with Aveline
Prelude to Rebellion 1.png|Philippe listening to Aveline's music
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{AC3L}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grandpré, Philippe Olivier de}}
[[Category:1722 births]]
[[Category:1776 deaths]]
[[Category:Individuals]]
[[Category:Frenchmen]]
[[Category:Merchants]]
[[Category:Ancestors of Subject 1]]