Adéwalé

"To fight beside a man so driven by personal gain and glory is a hard thing, Edward. And I have come to feel the Assassins - and their creed - a more honourable course."

―Adéwalé to Edward Kenway, 1721.

Adéwalé (1692 – 1758) was a Trinidadian pirate, a Maroon leader, and a member of the West Indies Brotherhood of Assassins active during the Golden Age of Piracy and the Seven Years' War. He was the father of Babatunde Josèphe, grandfather of Eseosa, and an ancestor to Milton Jones.

Born a slave in Trinidad, Adéwalé became a pirate when he was sixteen and went to the Caribbean. In 1715, he was imprisoned on the Spanish Treasure Fleet but escaped with the pirate Edward Kenway and became his quartermaster aboard the Jackdaw. During Edward's journey to find the Observatory, Adéwalé and his captain were introduced to the Assassins, whose cause Adéwalé came to admire.

After years of supporting Edward's search for money and fame, Adéwalé left the pirate's life to find a higher calling among the Assassins, and later encouraged Edward to do the same. In 1722, alongside his fellow Assassins, Adéwalé prevented the West Indies Templars from taking control of the Observatory and parted ways with Edward as the latter returned to England and joined the British Assassins.

During the following decade, Adéwalé assumed command of the Jackdaw, using her to complete a number of missions for the Brotherhood. He later captained his own vessel, the Victoire, which was destroyed in 1735, during a mission to recover a Precursor box from the Templars. Adéwalé was stranded in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, where a Maroon rebellion broke out, and briefly set aside his duties as an Assassin to aid the rebellion's leaders Bastienne Josèphe and Augustin Dieufort.

Freeing hundreds of slaves, Adéwalé became the captain of the Experto Crede and infiltrated Maroons in the French Geodesic Mission. In 1737, after killing Saint-Domingue's cruel governor Pierre de Fayet, Adéwalé left the island but entrusted the Precursor box to Bastienne, with whom he had a liaison, resulting in the birth of their son Babatunde.

Adéwalé continued to serve the Brotherhood for the rest of his life and was renowned among his fellow Assassins for his fight for liberty. During this time, he came into contact with the newly-established Colonial Brotherhood in North America, and assisted them on several occasions. In 1751, he returned to Port-au-Prince to help the population after a devastating earthquake, and met Babatunde for the first time, deciding to recruit him into the Brotherhood.

In 1758, during the Seven Years' War, Adéwalé assisted the Colonial Brotherhood and their French allies during the Siege of Louisbourg, but was ultimately defeated. Later, he was tracked down by the Templars Shay Cormac and Haytham Kenway, who sought to kill him to weaken the Assassins' resolve. After the Experto Crede was defeated by Shay's ship, the Morrigan, Adéwalé was forced to beach the vessel to save his crew and was killed by Shay not long after.

Biography

Early life

"I was born in Trinidad, a slave from my first breath."

―Adéwalé to Edward Kenway, on his early life, 1717.

Born to enslaved Ogoni parents in Yoruba, Adéwalé was sold as an infant and shipped to Trinidad, where he grew up and recognized the oppression visited upon those who worked the sugar plantations, and frequently dwelt on means of achieving his freedom. However, the life of a fugitive slave was difficult and perilous, and Adéwalé was anxious about committing to such an existence.

However, a unique opportunity for escape presented itself in 1708, when pirates arrived at the plantation where Adéwalé worked and raided the storehouse. Killing his master and grabbing a crate of sugar, Adéwalé joined the pirates in their pillaging; while initially surprised at his presence, the pirates were nonetheless pleased to have his help, and welcomed him among their number.

For several years Adéwalé continued to sail with this crew, learning the skills of a proper pirate and seafarer. However, in 1715, the ship ran aground off the coast of Havana and he was captured by Spanish authorities. Due to Adéwalé being fluent in English, French and Spanish, his captors decided to send him to Spain to be an interpreter, and had him imprisoned aboard a ship in the Spanish Treasure Fleet for passage.

Life of piracy

Meeting Edward Kenway

Edward: "Now what's your plan, mate?"

Adéwalé: "Find my weapon and steal a ship."

—Adéwalé and Edward formulating an escape plan, 1715.

Adéwalé shackled alongside Edward Kenway

Not too long after his capture, Adéwalé found himself chained alongside the pirate Edward Kenway, who was also destined for Spain. Working together, the two were able to break free of their bonds and, after incapacitating a number of guards, procured themselves a ship, in the process freeing a number of likewise captured pirates who joined them.

Adéwalé chose a relatively small brig named El Dorado to make their escape, which was made all the more difficult by a sudden, powerful storm that struck the fleet. Ultimately, Adéwalé, Edward and the others managed to escape, while the remaining eleven ships in the fleet sank to the bottom of the sea.

Quartermaster of the Jackdaw

Edward: "It's true, most of these men wouldn't accept you as a captain. So what fair role would complement such unfairness?"

Adéwalé: "I'll be your quartermaster. Nothing less."

—Edward and Adéwalé assuming their roles aboard the Jackdaw, 1715.

Edward introducing Adéwalé to Hornigold and Thatch

With a ship in their possession, Edward renamed it the Jackdaw and, realizing that hardly any of the crew would accept Adéwalé as captain, dubbed him quartermaster. The two pirates then sailed for Nassau, a town that played host to a large number of their kind. There, Adéwalé was introduced to Edward's acquaintances Benjamin Hornigold, Edward Thatch, and James Kidd, before returning to the Jackdaw in order to organize the crew his captain recruited.

During his time on the Jackdaw, Adéwalé served Edward diligently, ensuring the ship was in a seaworthy condition, keeping the crew organized and, wherever possible, pointing out locations and ships of interest. However, he became disillusioned with his captain's behavior over time, as Edward was more interested in the pursuit of spoils than in the democratic ideals of the Pirate Republic.

Search for the Observatory

Adéwalé: "I grow tired of chasing these fantasies of yours, Edward. As does the crew."

Edward: "Hang in there, man. We're getting close."

—Adéwalé voicing his disagreement with Edward's pursuit of the Observatory, 1719.

While Adéwalé could tolerate Edward's pursuit of riches, as it ultimately benefited the Jackdaw's crew, he strongly disagreed with his captain's search for the legendary Observatory, which he believed to be a fool's errand. However, he opted to keep these thoughts to himself, believing it was necessary to do so if he wanted to maintain his role as quartermaster.

Adéwalé taken captive by Rackham's crew

Following the collapse of the Pirate Republic in 1718, the Observatory became Edward's main objective, and he teamed up with fellow pirate Charles Vane to locate Bartholomew Roberts, the Sage who could lead them to the Observatory. Learning that Roberts was serving aboard a slave ship called the Princess, the pirates captured another slave vessel in the hopes it would lead them to the Princess.

However, their plan came to a halt when Jack Rackham, Vane's quartermaster, staged a mutiny and had Edward and Vane marooned. The rest of the Jackdaw's crew was taken prisoner, including Adéwalé, whom Rackham intended to sell into slavery in Kingston.

With the help of James Kidd, Adéwalé eventually managed to overpower Rackham and retake control of the Jackdaw, sailing back to Edward's hideout at Great Inagua. There, Adéwalé was reunited with Edward after the latter escaped the island he had been stranded on by stealing a fishing schooner, and the two returned to their roles as quartermaster and captain, respectively.

After Edward managed to find Roberts and secure a partnership with him, Adéwalé became distrustful of his captain's new associate. He expressed his doubts to Edward, but the latter was too blinded by his desire to use the Observatory for personal gain and paid little attention to his quartermaster's warnings.

Edward, Adéwalé and Roberts in Long Bay

Eventually, in September 1719, Roberts led Edward to Long Bay, Jamaica, the location of the Observatory. While Edward and Roberts took to land, Adéwalé and the rest of the Jackdaw's crew waited aboard the ship but were soon attacked by Roberts' men, who attempted to overtake the vessel. Adéwalé took control of the Jackdaw and sailed her to safety, regretful for abandoning his captain, but believing he had made the right choice.

Life as an Assassin

Joining the Brotherhood

Edward: "Shall we set sail for- You're leaving?"

Adéwalé: "Aye, Edward. For I've another calling elsewhere. [...] When your heart and your head are ready, visit the Assassins. I think you'll understand then..."

—Edward and Adéwalé, discussing the latter's life change, 1721.

Adéwalé had first encountered the Assassins in 1716, when Edward visited the Assassin headquarters in Tulum on the request of James Kidd. He saw in them a kind who fought for something greater than themselves, which he greatly respected.

It was only in 1719, after spending four years as the Jackdaw's quartermaster, that Adéwalé, disillusioned with the pirate lifestyle, returned to Tulum and requested a meeting with Ah Tabai, the Mentor of the West Indies Brotherhood of Assassins. Speaking with the Mentor about the nature of the Assassin Order, Adéwalé began to believe it to be a calling that suited him. He then joined the Assassins, becoming a student to Ah Tabai, and began searching for the whereabouts of his former captain.

Adéwalé encouraging Edward to visit the Assassins

In 1721, word reached Tulum that Edward had been imprisoned in Port Royal, along with Mary Read and Anne Bonny. Adéwalé helped Ah Tabai to plot their rescue; while Mary died inside the prison, Ah Tabai was able to rescue both Edward and Anne. Adéwalé then traveled to Kingston to hand control of the Jackdaw back to Edward, and push his former captain onto a new path. From there, Adéwalé returned to Tulum.

Not long after his arrival, he was once again joined by Edward, who had elected to entertain the possibility that he could better himself by joining the Assassins. Together, the two pirates fought alongside Ah Tabai and his Assassins to repel the latest Templar attack on Tulum.

Afterwards, Edward set off to eliminate Bartholomew Roberts, as well as the Templars Woodes Rogers and Laureano de Torres y Ayala, to prevent them from misusing the Observatory. Adéwalé told Edward not to hesitate to call on his new quartermaster, Anne, for aid should he ever be at a loss, and the two parted ways.

Further adventures

West Indies Assassin: "We attacked an East India Company ship on its way through the Caribbean from the South China Sea, and we found something on the ship. Adéwalé thought you'd be interested, so he told me to give you this."

Edward: "Now there's a name I've missed hearing."

—A West Indies Assassin passing the document recovered by Adéwalé to Edward, 1724.

The following year, Adéwalé traveled with Ah Tabai to the Observatory, where Edward had journeyed in order to assassinate Torres. Upon their arrival, they found the Templar Grand Master dead, and Edward standing before the Observatory's armillary sphere, with the Crystal Skull that powered the device in hand. The Assassins subsequently returned the Crystal Skull to its proper place and decided to seal the Observatory.

Adéwalé's last sail alongside Edward

In September 1722, before Edward left for England, the pirate and Adéwalé sailed one last time together in order to recover the gold of a sunken Spanish vessel, the Polvora. However, while Edward was underwater in the diving bell, looking for the treasure, the Jackdaw and her crew were captured by the infamous pirate Ned Low. Threatening the lives of the crew, including Adéwalé, Low forced Edward to lift the rest of the treasure back to the surface.

Unfortunately for Low, Edward trapped the bell, filling it not just with barrels of gold, but also gunpowder he had found in the wreck. The resulting distraction allowed Edward to free Adéwalé and the rest of his captive crew, and together they pushed the other pirates back to their own ship. After Edward disabled Low's vessel with a well-placed musket shot, the Jackdaw sailed away to safety.

Edward, Adéwalé, and Ah Tabai in Great Inagua

The following month, Adéwalé, Ah Tabai, Anne, and Edward reunited in Great Inagua. There, Adéwalé informed Edward that Woodes Rogers had survived his assassination attempt and returned to England, bankrupt and humiliated, but no less a threat; Edward promised to deal with him once he had the chance. Before his own departure to England, Edward granted the Assassins full access to the manor on the island, as compensation for exposing the location of the Assassin bureaus to the Templars seven years prior.

In 1724, the Assassins intercepted an East India Company ship sailing from the South China Sea as it was passing through the Caribbean, and recovered a document mentioning the ruins of the lost city of the Khmer Empire, which was rumored to be a Precursor site. Adéwalé believed that Edward, who by this point had found a number of similar sites around the world, would be interested in the document, and asked a mutual Assassin contact to give it to him during their next meeting.

Adéwalé assassinating his Templar target

In January 1725, Adéwalé, captaining the Jackdaw, tracked down a British Templar in command of an East India Company Man O' War. After disabling the enemy ship and killing its captain, he discovered that the document recovered by the Assassins months prior was a trap, meant to lure Edward to his doom. Concerned, Adéwalé had his crew contact the British Brotherhood immediately and inform them of the plot against Edward's life.

Later that year, when Edward ventured into the Forgotten Temple, he was subjected to a simulation of his past, where he encountered a simulant Adéwalé at the helm of the Jackdaw. When Edward and Shimazu Saito went to defend the Queen Anne's Revenge from an attack by British soldiers, the former left Adéwalé in charge of the ship until their return. Adéwalé subsequently commanded the Jackdaw's crew to open fire on an apparition of Bartholomew Roberts that attacked Edward and Saito; this bombardment saved the pair and allowed Edward to ultimately kill Roberts and escape the simulation.

The Maroon rebellion

Crash on Saint-Domingue

Adéwalé: "We'll retreat through the storm."

Sailor: "We will be smashed ashore!"

Adéwalé: "A worse fate awaits if we let this land in Templar hands."

—Adéwalé giving orders to his crew, 1735.

Throughout the years, Adéwalé became a skilled and feared seafaring Assassin. In 1735, he captained a brig called the Victoire and was tasked with eliminating a French admiral and Templar, whose ship was passing by Saint-Domingue. The Victoire engaged the French galleon and disabled it, allowing Adéwalé to board the ship, kill the admiral, and recover parcel he was carrying, which was meant for Bastienne Josèphe.

Shortly thereafter, the Victoire was surrounded by a French fleet and forced to flee through an approaching storm in order to escape. Despite her crew escaping in time, the Victoire was wrecked, and Adéwalé found himself washed ashore near the town of Port-au-Prince. It was here that he found himself confronted once again with the realities of the slave trade, which was increasingly prevalent in the French colony.

Adéwalé meeting Bastienne Josèphe

Within moments of waking, Adéwalé was forced to save a fleeing slave from her pursuing overseer, cutting him down with a machete found on the beach. Grateful, the woman told Adéwalé that he could find Bastienne at a local brothel called the La Dame en Rose. Upon locating her, Adéwalé was reluctant to hand over the Templar parcel, and so Bastienne directed him to Augustin Dieufort, the Maroon leader, who could be found by speaking with her contact on a nearby plantation.

Locating the contact, Adéwalé was directed to the headquarters of the Maroon rebellion; upon his arrival, he found the resistance fighters being cut down by a contingent of overseers who had managed to locate them. Adéwalé killed the overseers and managed to prevent any from escaping with knowledge of the hideout's location. Augustin then offered the Assassin new equipment and upgrades in exchange for helping liberate any slaves he could before returning to the Brotherhood.

Supporting the rebellion

"Monsieur Adéwalé, the Maroon cause has made an ally of you. Augustin speaks highly of your help."

―Bastienne to Adéwalé, 1735.

With the aid of a number of recently freed slaves, Augustin convinced Adéwalé to capture a docked slave ship, the Experto Crede, in order to free the slaves held beneath its deck en-masse. After completing the task, Adéwalé claimed the ship as his own, after which he agreed to train Augustin, his new quartermaster, in the ways of navigation and sailing so that he might captain the ship following Adéwalé's departure.

Adéwalé joining the slaves

Returning to Bastienne, Adéwalé was tasked with infiltrating Governor Pierre de Fayet's mansion, in order find out why the governor had recently become so strict in his enforcement of the Code Noir. Infiltrating the manor's grounds disguised as a slave, Adéwalé found the governor meeting with a scientist named Louis Godin, who was requesting funds for an upcoming expedition. Reporting back to Bastienne, she was upset that her informants had told her nothing of this expedition, and asked Adéwalé to learn more about it.

Investigating several leads around Port-au-Prince, Adéwalé discovered that the goal of the expedition was to map the circumference of the Earth, so as to provide the French with accurate geographical knowledge far surpassing that of its national rivals. This intrigued Adéwalé; as a sailor, the knowledge of navigation fascinated him, and he knew well that if the Assassins possessed such information, they would hold a significant advantage over their Templar rivals. Bastienne, however, was disgruntled with what little Adéwalé had learend about the expedition, and dismissed him.

Bastienne giving Adéwalé the forged manifest

Eventually, Bastienne's anger subsided. In order to help the Maroons and fulfill her promise to Augustin, she supplied a forged manifest listing the names of three literate slaves, with which the expedition needed to take notes. Adéwalé swapped the forgery with the real manifest and saw the French merchant ship, the Vautour, off from port. He quickly noticed the waiting pirate fleet however, and was forced to defend the expedition ship from the attackers.

Pursuit of the slave ship

Bastienne: "Gouverneur de Fayet threatens retaliation."

Adéwalé: "Then he is behind this!"

Bastienne: "No. Adéwalé-"

Adéwalé: "Not another word! I don't want to hear it."

—Adéwalé and Bastienne arguing, 1737.

Two years after Adéwalé's arrival in Port-au-Prince, the French were in a panic over the increasingly strong Maroon resistance, and the number of slaves being liberated by them. The French began to impose stricter curfews, as well as harsher and more frequent punishments. Adéwalé considered this a small price to pay, however, for the ultimate goal of Maroon independence. Angry, he left Port-au-Prince and set to sea in order to liberate another slave ship. This time however, the ship's French escort opened fire on her, disabling the ship and forcing her into a slow sink.

Adéwalé unchaining the slaves

Adéwalé went aboard the severely damaged ship and rescued as many slaves as he could. Eventually, the ship sank with Adéwalé still below deck, and he was forced to swim and climb his way through the vertical ship in order to escape.

On nearby Cumberland Bay, Adéwalé joined Augustin and Bastienne in burying the slaves that had not escaped the vessel's sinking. Adéwalé vowed to kill de Fayet as retribution for the slaves' deaths, claiming his Creed demanded it and that it would give an entire generation of warriors hope.

Assassination of de Fayet

"I feel a tide changing within me. I am no longer young. I must devote my energy to those who struggle for freedom. I will use my conviction in my Creed to defend them, alongside anyone who will help me."

―Adéwalé to Bastienne shortly before leaving Port-au-Prince, 1737.

In July 1737, Adéwalé located the French governor on the grounds of his manor, torturing slaves in order to locate the Maroon hideout and the man freeing the slaves – Adéwalé. As he approached, Adéwalé was spotted, and the governor fled through town.

Despite the overwhelming number of French soldiers and overseers in pursuit, Adéwalé eventually caught up with the governor and killed him with the very branding iron he had previously used to torture his slaves. As he died, de Fayet claimed that slaves were subhuman and would turn to violence without their masters' guidance, prompting Adéwalé to make the governor suffer by plunging his machete deep into his abdomen before finally ending his life.

Adéwalé giving the Precursor box to Bastienne

With de Fayet dead, Adéwalé was forced to leave Port-au-Prince, since remaining would call both his and the Maroons' safety into question. Before leaving, he bid farewell to Bastienne and finally gave her the Templar parcel he had recovered two years prior, which contained a Precursor box; as Bastienne had no one left to sell it to, she kept it as a memento. Adéwalé then declared that he would dedicate the rest of his life to those struggling for freedom, using his conviction in his Creed to defend them.

Before leaving the island, Adéwalé shared a night of passion with Bastienne. Seeing it as a mistake, the two agreed to never speak of it again and parted ways; unbeknownst to Adéwalé at the time, the encounter left Bastienne pregnant and, nine months later, she would give birth to their son, Babatunde Josèphe.

Later life

Aiding the Colonial Assassins

Achilles: "Tell me what happened, old friend."

Adéwalé: "It was terrible, Achilles. The ground shook, and the ocean waves crashed over Port-au-Prince..."

Achilles: "How many were lost?"

Adéwalé: "Thousands. No family was left untouched."

—Adéwalé and Achilles discussing the Port-au-Prince earthquake, 1752.

During the following decade, Adéwalé continued to serve the Assassin Brotherhood, being seen as a living incarnation of the Creed for his fight for liberty. He became friends with Ah Tabai's last student, Achilles Davenport, who later founded the Colonial Brotherhood of Assassins in North America. At some point in the 1740s, he was assigned on a mission alongside Achilles' apprentice Liam O'Brien, who came to respect him greatly.

Adéwalé reuniting with Achilles

In 1751, Adéwalé returned to Port-au-Prince to offer aid following an earthquake, and met his son Babatunde. He also discovered that an independent Brotherhood operated on the island, led by the unstable Maroon Mentor François Mackandal. Learning that the Master Templar Lawrence Washington had stolen the Precursor box and the Voynich manuscript from the Assassins during the earthquake, Adéwalé sailed after him with the Experto Crede. Before leaving, he inducted his son into the Brotherhood and asked him to watch over Mackandal.

However, Adéwalé lost the Templars' trail upon reaching New York. Receiving a letter from his son, he learned that the situation in Port-au-Prince was no better and, at Babatunde's advice, decided to sail to the Davenport Homestead, hoping his old friend Achilles could help him.

Arriving at the Homestead in March 1752, Adéwalé was met by Achilles and made a report about the events in Port-au-Prince. As the Mentor provided supplies for survivors of the earthquake, Adéwalé thanked him and requested that he find the artifacts stolen by the Templars; a task Achilles assigned to his newest recruit, Shay Cormac. Adéwalé then left the Homestead and sailed back to Port-au-Prince with the supplies.

Adéwalé during the Battle of Louisbourg

At the onset of the Seven Years' War, Adéwalé lent his support to the Assassins' French allies, launching several campaigns against the Royal Navy with the Experto Crede. During the Battle of Louisbourg in June 1758, Adéwalé attempted to destroy British reinforcements with fireships. His tactic was foiled by HMS Pembroke, captained by Shay, who had since joined the Colonial Templars. As the fireships were destroyed, Adéwalé was forced to retreat when his ship took damage. However, his actions at Louisbourg had made him a target of the Templars.

Death

"You... have become... a monster, Shay."

―Adéwalé's final words, 1758.

Later that year, Adéwalé went to the French fort on the Île des Pins to refit the Experto Crede. When he saw Shay spying inside the fort, Adéwalé fled aboard his ship. Subsequently, the Experto Crede engaged Shay's ship, the Morrigan, near Vieille Carrière. Outmaneuvered, Adéwalé was forced to beach his ship to save his crew. Preparing for a final stand, Adéwalé was confronted by Edward's son Haytham Kenway, the Grand Master of the Colonial Templars.

Adéwalé and Haytham had a brief exchange regarding Edward, with Adéwalé claiming that Edward would be ashamed in his son for becoming a Templar. After Haytham jokingly responded that he was not aware his father had had a sense of shame, Adéwalé angrily told the Templar that Edward had been twice the man Haytham was. However, this distracted Adéwalé, allowing Shay to get close to the Assassin and engage him.

Adéwalé's final moments

Fatally wounded during the ensuing struggle, Adéwalé told Shay that his death would do little to stop Achilles, who had found the means to locate the Precursor sites the Brotherhood sought. Before succumbing to his wounds, Adéwalé expressed regret in how far Shay had fallen to serving the Templars, declaring him a monster. Shay lamented that the claim may have been true.

Legacy

"That's Adéwalé. He was a slave who freed himself and hundreds of his brothers in the West Indies. That man's a living incarnation of the Creed."

―Liam O'Brien describing Adéwalé to Shay Cormac, 1752.

Adéwalé was regarded as a legendary figure by many contemporary Assassins, with his actions greatly strengthening the West Indies and Colonial Brotherhoods during the early-to-mid 18th century. He also became a key participant in the Maroon rebellion, freeing hundreds of slaves and recruiting people to the Maroon cause against the French Army.

In his later life, Adéwalé became a figurehead of sorts for the Colonial Assassins, and his death at the hands of the Templars was a bitter blow to their morale. This undoubtedly weakened the resolve of his fellow Assassins in the colonies, and perhaps facilitated their destruction soon afterwards. The Assassins would not regain a foothold in the colonies until the arrival of Edward's grandson, Ratonhnhaké:ton, who managed to revive the Brotherhood and tip the scales in the Assassins' favor.

In 1757, Adéwalé's son Babatunde had a son of his own, Eseosa, who also joined the Assassins and became an influential participant in the Haitian Revolution. Being told stories about Adéwalé and his exploits, Eseosa would write several letters to his late grandfather, praying to his spirit to guide his path.

In 1862, a young Evie Frye studied chronicles of Adéwalé's life, as well as those of other legendary Assassins including Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, Ezio Auditore, Edward Kenway, and Arbaaz Mir, all of whom inspired in her a desire to discover the knowledge kept within the Pieces of Eden.

Through Eseosa, Adéwalé became an ancestor of Milton Jones, an Abstergo Industries employee and donor of genetic material for Abstergo Entertainment. This allowed the company to research the Assassin's genetic memories, though they did not help the Templars locate any new Pieces of Eden; nevertheless, Abstergo found some usage for Adéwalé's memories by adapting them into a video game for their Helix system.

Personality and traits

"Once again I almost felt overpowered with admiration for him."

―Edward Kenway, regarding Adéwalé.

Born into a life of slavery, Adéwalé was a stern and hardened individual. Unlike his captain, Adéwalé was more serious and less brash, acting as the voice of reason to Edward's grandiose ambitions. Nonetheless, he had a small sense of humor, as shown when he jokingly called the Observatory 'Captain Kenway's folly', due to Edward's selfish actions to seek the Precursor site. He was also a humble individual, deciding to have Edward captain the Jackdaw, despite Edward's inexperience as a captain.

Adéwalé and Edward aboard the Jackdaw

Though Adéwalé had chosen a life of piracy, he found that when serving under Edward, he lacked the conviction to partake in an industry of dishonest work. After being introduced to the Assassins and the failure of Nassau, Adéwalé was opened up to the wisdom and nobility of the Assassins. He found that the Creed promised a more noble cause than an aimless life of plunder, and consequently dedicated himself to the life of an Assassin, serving the Brotherhood dutifully.

Due to the harsh treatment he had experienced as a slave, Adéwalé notably spoke out against slavery and even lost his composure whenever the subject was brought up. He was unwilling to cooperate with Edward once he realized he was bartering with Laurens Prins, a known slaver. Moreover, he warned Edward not to fire at slave ships, worried about the lives below deck, and was appalled at how reckless Charles Vane was, firing blindly at a slave vessel. He also gave Governor de Fayet a slow and painful death, when the latter disregarded slaves as mere animals.

Despite having many disagreements with Edward over the latter's selfish actions, Adéwalé nonetheless held the captain in high regard, even towards the end of his life. He managed to convince Edward to turn to the Assassins as a way to amend his mistakes. When confronting Edward's son, Haytham Kenway, Adéwalé expressed disappointment in Haytham for becoming a Templar, and likewise mentioned that Edward would have felt the same.

Skills and equipment

"You have the brand of a slave, the eloquence of a scholar... hands of a sailor... and an Assassin's hood."

―Bastienne Josèphe to Adéwalé, 1735.

From his early years as a pirate, Adéwalé acquired the skills required to survive aboard a ship, and was trained in terms of swordsmanship where he eventually became a capable swordsman and he was taught how to wield firearms. He possessed considerable knowledge of seamanship, far greater than most others, which helped him to gain the position of Quartermaster on-board the Jackdaw.

Adéwalé fighting with his machete

Throughout the passing years, Adéwalé acquired skills in captaincy and proved able to pilot various ships across the Caribbean, including the Victoire and Experto Crede with exceptional ease, while also being capable of sailing in rogue waves and storms. Additionally, he proved to be a capable swimmer as he was able to hold his breath for a relatively long period of time, and was capable of fending off against various hostile sea creatures during his underwater explorations.

Upon joining the West Indies Brotherhood, his skills increased immensely as he was personally mentored by the legendary Ah Tabai, where he was trained in the methods of stealth, combat, swordsmanship, freerunning, eavesdropping and pickpocketing. He was able to wield a variety of weaponry including Hidden Blades, swords, pistols, throwing knives, axes, muskets, smoke bombs, rope darts and a blowpipe, he proved able to Dual-wield several combinations of these weapons with excellent proficiency. Even in his later years it took the combined efforts of Haytham and Shay in order to defeat him in combat.

Through his training he grew to become a skilled freerunner as he was able to transverse through cityscapes as well as climb natural elements including branches with relative ease, a skill which he managed to retain even in his twilight years.

Adéwalé firing his blunderbuss

Adéwalé proved to be a highly adept hand-to-hand combatant as he was aided by his heavy muscular build after years of vigorous training. He was able to take down multiple opponents in battle with minimal effort, and could also utilize the environment to his advantage.

During his time in Saint-Domingue, Adéwalé became accustomed to using a machete and blunderbuss in combat, while he also added firecrackers to his other tools. By 1752, he opted to carry a flintlock pistol and a knife instead. In addition, Adéwalé possessed the extra-sensory ability known as Eagle Vision.

Trivia

• "Adéwalé" is a variant of the Yoruba name Adebowale, suggested to mean "crown has come home".
• Adéwalé was originally scripted as having been born in Martinique, but this was changed to honor his voice actor Tristan D. Lalla's Trinidadian heritage.
• Adéwalé's Assassin robes in Assassin's Creed: Rogue bear striking resemblance to the Haytham overcoat that can be worn by Edward in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.

Appearances

An image gallery is available for Adéwalé

• Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (first appearance)
  • Freedom Cry
• Assassin's Creed: Black Flag
• Assassin's Creed: Initiates (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Memories
• Assassin's Creed: Rogue
• Assassin's Creed: Underworld (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Reflections
• Assassin's Creed: The Official Collection
• Assassin's Creed: Rebellion
• Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple
• Assassin's Creed Roleplaying Game