Gang headquarters

A gang headquarters in New York City

A gang headquarters, also called a gang stronghold, is a base for a gang, a group of criminals which claims territory within a community.

Historically, due to the susceptibility of gangs to be employed as henchmen for the Templar Order and the Assassin Brotherhood, the two secret organizations have used gang headquarters as their own bases in the underground world. A notable case of this was during the Seven Years' War, when the Colonial Brotherhood of Assassins established a crime syndicate under one of their own, Hope Jensen, and many gang bases doubled as their Assassin bureaus.

This trend was repeated in the 19th century amidst the poverty-stricken, industrial world of Victorian era London. The Templars and Assassins vied to control the lower elements of the city in the form of two gangs, the Blighters and Rooks respectively, and gang bases often served as the main strongholds in the city for either faction.

Hisory

Seven Years' War

During the 1750s, six headquarters belonging to an Assassin-affiliated gang led by Hope Jensen existed in the various districts of New York City. Others were found in Albany, Lac Eternel, Two Bends and Halifax. The headquarters served as Assassin bureaus and local bases of operations for the Colonial Brotherhood. However, the citizens often suffered as a result of this, as the Assassins neglected to keep the gangs in check, and thus they terrorized the populace by stealing and demanding protection money from the inhabitants.

Each gang headquarters was led personally by an Assassin, who directed attacks at British positions and controlled the wealth of the district. By 1756, the gangs had become so influential that the Templar George Monro made it a priority to take down every gang hideout in the colonies, a goal which was shared and finally carried out by the former Assassin Shay Cormac.

During his hunt of his former associates, Shay sought to weaken the Assassins' control over the colonies and liberating gang headquarters was one of his main means of achieving this. While taking down a gang headquarters, Shay would eliminate the Assassin in charge and cut down the gang flag, as well as rescue any British soldier the gang held prisoner in some instances. Buildings in the area could then be renovated, increasing the income of the city, while the headquarters themselves would be taken over by the British Army.

The loss of all of their headquarters, along with the assassination of Hope Jensen in 1759, was a crippling blow for the gangs, who were consequently dissolved as a major fighting force for the Colonial Assassins. However, gang members would still persist in small enclaves throughout the colonies, causing minor problems for the British troops whose work they commonly interfered with.

Industrial Revolution

The Rooks taking over a Blighter stronghold

During the mid-19th century in London, the British Templars led by Grand Master Crawford Starrick formed their own crime syndicate, the Blighters, to control the city's criminal element. By 1868, the Blighters had established strongholds in all seven of London's major boroughs – Whitechapel, the City of London, the River Thames, Lambeth, Southwark, The Strand and Westminster – from where they coordinated most of their activity.

Following their arrival in London, the twin Assassins Jacob and Evie Frye established a gang called the Rooks and, with their help, took over all the Blighter strongholds in the city by eliminating all gang members they found there. Occasionally, the twins would also liberate any Rook held prisoner by the Blighters or burn the gang's heist plans to sabotage their operations. This ultimately weakened the Templars' influence in London while building up that of the Rooks.

Gallery

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  Concept art of a gang headquarters in New York
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  Alternate gang headquarters concept art
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  Shay cutting down a gang headquarters' flag
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  Promotional art of a captured Blighter stronghold
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  Evie destroying heist plans during a stronghold capture

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Rogue (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Syndicate