Robert Walpole

"You are forgiven for not knowing who I am. I think, however, that you will know my name. It is Walpole. Sir Robert Walpole. I am the First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons."

―Robert Walpole introducing himself to Edward Kenway, 1723.

Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745), known before 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a British statesman who is generally regarded as the first Prime Minister of Great Britain. Although well aware of the long-standing war between the Templars and the Assassins, Robert was not part of either order, instead acting as a neutral party between the two.

In 1723, Robert met with the pirate-turned-Assassin Edward Kenway – who had taken the life and identity of Robert's cousin, Duncan Walpole, years earlier – after the Assassin had taken the Charlotte, in his attempt to kill his old rival, Matthew Hague. Alongside Hague's father Sir Aubrey Hague, a Templar, Walpole offered Kenway and his crew pardons, new lives and property in exchange for Matthew Hague's life, hoping to prevent "another act of barbarism", as well as a gesture of thanks to Edward for dealing with Duncan, who had brought dishonor to the family by betraying the Assassins to the Templars for profit.

Following his success, Walpole purchased a house in London for Kenway, where the latter would spend the remainder of his life, and the introduction to the Stephensen-Oakley family, also employing Kenway's new assistant Reginald Birch.

Reference

• Black Flag novel