Great Purge (1757-1763)

I wanted to ask you something. Which is... what's your name? This article title is conjecture. Although the article subject is canon, no official name for it has been given.

"Sometime during the Seven Years' War the Templars made their move and destroyed [the Colonial Brotherhood] during the Assassin witch hunt."

―Shaun Hastings on the 1763 attack, 2012.

The 1763 Colonial Assassin purge was a full-scale assault on the Assassin Brotherhood in the Thirteen Colonies by the Colonial Rite of the Templar Order, led by Grand Master Haytham Kenway.

History

Kenway's arrival

Before Kenway's arrival and under the rule of their Mentor Achilles Davenport, the Colonial Assassins controled the Atlantic coast of North America through Assassin-aligned gangs, controling a great number of forts and cities. Arrived first, the Assassins had also a strongly established network of spies and allies. As such, the Assassins were the dominating Order in the colonies, wiping out any attempt of Templar implantation, as in 1752 when Lawrence Washington, Samuel Smith and James Wardrop were all killed.

In 1754, following Haytham's arrival in the New World, and the creation of an independant Colonial Rite, the Templars and their new Grand Master quickly came into conflict with the already established Assassins. Beginning as a proxy war between them and mercenaries recruited by the Assassins, the conflict soon intensified as they both sided with the opposed european sides of the French and Indian War.

Turning the tide

From 1757 onward, Shay Cormac, a former Assassin, helped the Templars track down and kill several of his former comrades, including the high ranking Assassins Kesegowaase, Hope Jensen, Louis-Joseph Gaultier, Chevalier de la Vérendrye. In addition to his former colonial brothers, Cormac also killed the legendary Caribbean Assassin Adéwalé.

Furthermore, Shay also eliminated seven Assassin-allied gangs in New York City, captured many Assassin forts in the River Valley and Atlantic coast, intercepted several Assassins during their missions, and killed a number of stalkers sent after him personally, weakening the Assassin presence further.

In 1760, after a battle in the Precursor Temple of Arctic, the conflict definitely turned in favor of the Templars. Cormac caused the death of Liam O'Brien, the informal "chosen successor" of Davenport, while Grand Master Kenway crippled the Mentor and obtained from him that the Assassins no longer investigate about the Precursor Temples.

Final assault

Six years after Cormac's defection, the Templars launched their final attack on the Davenport Homestead, killing all the remaining Assassins, with the exception of their aging and crippled Mentor, Achilles Davenport. Convinced that the lone Mentor no longer posed a threat, the Templars spared Achilles' life, on the condition that he gave up his life as an Assassin. Achilles agreed,

However, some Colonial Assassins survived the purge as Benjamin Tallmadge, Sr. who hide his Assassin allegiance or as Pierre Bellec who left for France just in time before being killed. After having spent six years in complete isolation in his manor until the arrival of Haytham's son, Ratonhnhaké:ton, Davenport broke his promise and trained the boy, starting the rebirth of the Colonial Brotherhood.

Trivia

• In Assassin's Creed: Unity, the database entry for Pierre Bellec states he trained in the Colonies during the French and Indian War, and left for Europe shortly before the Purge began in earnest, narrowly avoiding the assault on the Homestead.

References

• Assassin's Creed III
• Assassin's Creed: Rogue