Jan van Aert

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Jan van Aert was a Dutchman who served as Chief Navigator for the Dutch East India Company during the 1720s.

While based in Portuguese Macau, Jan, alongside Alan Jacob of the Far East Company and Master Sun of the Hualien Trading Company, became a rival of the trading company led by Madam Lee. All three ultimately allied with the Templars in order to sabotage Lee's business and benefit their own. However, Jan later went behind his allies' back by establishing a lucrative partnership with the Assassin Edward Kenway and his organization, the Zhang Wei Union.

Biography

Alliance against Madam Lee

In February 1725, under the Templars' influence, Jan collaborated with Alan Jacob, a representative of the Far East Company, and Master Sun, head of the Hualien Trading Company, to sabotage the rival trading company led by Madam Lee and benefit their own respective businesses in the process. To this end, they hired Shimazu clan ninja led by the Templar Shimazu Saito to eliminate Lee at her own residence, the Mandarin's House.

After the ninja failed to kill Lee, Alan called an emergency meeting with Jan and Sun at St. Dominic's Church in order to discuss their next course of action. During the meeting, Jan remarked that the ninja's failure might be a sign they were not as strong as they had thought, but Alan pointed out that all the ninja had been allegedly killed by a single skilled warrior. Unbeknowst to them, the Assassin Edward Kenway was watching the meeting from above after following Alan there and suspected one of them of being a Templar.

Jan meeting with Alan and Master Sun to discuss about Madam Lee

Jan listened to Alan's plan to cripple Lee's company, which required Jan to use his standing in the Dutch East India Company to detain Lee's ships in the Macau harbor. Jan remarked that his role in the operation was suspiciously easy and questioned Alan's motives. Seeing that Sun was just as hesitant to follow his lead, Alan then showed the two a "treasure" he had acquired to entice their cooperation, promising them unprecedented wealth.

Having been convinced to go along with Alan's plan, Jan later did as he had been told and, when several of Lee's ships were attacked by pirates at sea, he prevented the Dutch Navy from sending any ships to their rescue. He also contributed to Alan's plan to frame Lee's company for opium trafficking, having her ships detained in the harbor under the pretense of being investigated for smuggling illegal narcotics.

However, this plan was thwarted by Edward Kenway, who exposed the Far East Company for smuggling the opium into Macau. Unable to cover this up due to the large number of witnesses, Jan had no choice but to comply to the orders of the Dutch East India Company's resident officials and detain one of the Far East Company's ships.

When Jan later met with Alan and Sun at the port to discuss, he was accused by the former of betraying their agreement and attempting to sabotage his company. Their fight was broken up by Sun, who suspected that Lee had somehow learned about their plan and had sabotaged it. He then reminded Jan and Alan that they could not end their alliance until they had dealt with Lee.

Working with Edward Kenway

After Edward and his organization, the Zhang Wei Union, protected a Dutch East India Company ship from pirates near the Philippines, Jan met with the Assassin upon his return to Macau. Claiming that he was in Edward's debt for bringing his vessel back safely, Jan asked him to talk in private.

Aware of Edward's former activities in the Caribbean, Jan requested his aid in riding the Paracel Islands of pirates who had overrun them, in order to allow his company to resume trade operations there. In exchange, he promised to let the Assassin keep any goods he looted from the pirates and to secure a five-year partnership between his company and the Zhang Wei Union, which led Edward to accept his offer.

Edward was ultimately successful in his task, eliminating the pirates and taking their ships for himself. Upon Edward's return to Macau, an impressed Jan offered to help him register his new ships and kept his promise to secure a five-year contract between the Dutch East India Company and the Zhang Wei Union. However, Edward referred him to his associate Zhang, who he claimed was the true head of the Union. This amused Jan, but he nonetheless shook hands with Zhang, marking the beginning of a lucrative partnership between their organizations.

Personality and traits

Jan was a greedy businessman motivated mainly by his desire to increase his company's profits by any means necessary. As such, he had no real loyalties and would work with anyone as long as it benefited him. Jan was willing to go to extreme lengths to achieve his goals and was not above breaking the law or sabotaging his rivals for his personal benefit. However, he was limited in what he could do due to having to obey the orders of his higher-ups in the company.

Jan was the most reluctant member of the alliance against Madam Lee, frequently doubting the others' plans, and eventually going behind their backs by forming a partnership with Edward Kenway, despite the Assassin's previous alliance with Lee. As shown during his meeting with Edward, Jan was a skilled negotiator, maintaing a friendly facade throughout and appealing to the Assassin's interests to get him to accept his offer. However, he was also prone to anger when confronted or accused of doing something he had not done, as shown during his fight with Alan Jacob.

Gallery

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  Close-up of Jan

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple