Spanish Army

Spanish guards in New Orleans

The Spanish Army is the land-based branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, whose first activity dates back to the 15th century, during the reign of King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella.

History

During the Renaissance, the soldiers of the newly unified Spain fought with the Moors for control of Granada, and enforced the Spanish Inquisition. Ezio Auditore da Firenze came into conflict with many guards when he came to the country to rescue several Spanish Assassins, who had been arrested by the Inquisition after Rodrigo Borgia had given Tomas de Torquemada a list of their names.

In 1507, Spanish forces were engaged in a civil war, where Louis de Beaumont defended Viana from an attack by Cesare Borgia, who commanded a mainly-Spanish army on behalf of King John of Navarre. Ezio came to assassinate Cesare, but was attacked by troops on both sides who mistook him for an enemy. Despite this, Ezio assassinated Cesare, earning him Ferdinand's gratitude.

During the Age of Discovery, Spanish soldiers and scholars known as conquistadors conquered the New World. Among them, the Assassin Giovanni Borgia served Hernán Cortés under an assumed name during the conquest of Mexico. Whereas the conquistadors mostly used this as an opportunity to loot gold from the Aztecs, Giovanni obtained a Crystal Skull.

Around the Golden Age of Piracy onward, the Spanish Army enforced control of the country's colonies, such as Havana in the Caribbean, and later Louisiana in North America after the French and Indian War, as the French were unwilling to surrender it to the British in a peace treaty.

The Spanish Army was widely used in the Templars' activities in the Caribbean, mainly because the Grand Master of the Caribbean Templars was a Spanish governor. The Templars sent both Spanish and British soldiers to frequently attack the Assassin hideout of Tulum. They were also assigned to guard Templars and accompanied Laureano Torres when he visited the Observatory.

However, the Spanish were unpopular with the Louisianan citizens, causing a rebellion when they were blamed for people disappearing. The Assassin Aveline de Grandpré antagonized them to draw the attention of governor Antonio de Ulloa, from whom she learned that the disappearances were a Templar plot to divert slaves for Rafael Joaquín de Ferrer, in order to excavate ruins in Chichen Itza.

Some Spanish soldiers were later bribed by Diego Vázquez to occupy the Louisiana Bayou in an effort to eliminate the Assassin Mentor Agaté, and to seize control of smuggling operations in the region. Later, he used his rogue soldiers to attempt to block Spanish supplies for the Patriots in British America, but this did not deter governor Bernardo de Gálvez from siding with the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.

Gallery

• 
  Concept art of 15th century soldiers
• 
  Ezio Auditore da Firenze fighting Spanish soldiers
• 16th century colonial soldiers guarding Alonso Carlo
  16th century colonial soldiers guarding Alonso Carlo
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  Spanish soldiers entering a tavern in Havana
• 
  Spanish soldiers fighting the rioters in New Orleans
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  Spanish guards escorting governor Ulloa