Macau

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Macau (澳門), alternatively Macao and formerly known as Haojiang (濠冮), is a city-state and autonomous territory on the southeastern coast of China. A major resort city, it lies on the west end of the Pearl River Delta across from Hong Kong, China's other city-state. It was a former colony of Portugal from 1557 to 1999, constituting the last European colony in Asia.

As the site of Portuguese incursions during the 16th century, it became a significant port for the global slave trade. Under the Ming dynasty, it also hosted the stronghold of the Chinese Templar slaver Yu Dayong. His assassination at the hands of the Chinese Assassin Shao Jun in 1526 led to the Templars venting their fury on Macau by setting it ablaze, although it would continue to prosper for centuries after.

In the early 18th century, Macau remained an important trade center and a number of merchants and trade organizations, both Chinese and foreign, vied for power and influence in the city, including the Dutch East India Company, the Far East Company and the Hualien Trading Company. In 1725, the Templars influenced these companies to aid their search for the ruins of Angkor, an alleged Isu site, but faced opposition from the British Assassin Edward Kenway, who had also traveled to Macau in search of leads to Angkor's location. In time, Edward established his own organization in the city, the Zhang Wei Union, which eventually grew into a large shipping company.

History

Ming dynasty

In 1513, Portuguese explorer Jorge Álvares became the first of his people to arrive in China. Landing in what is now Macau, he laid the foundations for the area to become the main Portuguese access point into China. As a port town, it became a major site for the Portuguese slave trade.

The port of Macau ablaze in 1526

In 1526, the city fortress was commanded by Yu Dayong, a Templar and one of the eunuchs known as the Eight Tigers. There, he prodigiously oversaw the slave trade, but the vengeful Assassin Shao Jun infiltrated the stronghold one night and assassinated the Templar. As the Assassin made her escape, Yu's corpse was discovered by Qiu Ju, another Tiger and one known for his brutality. In retaliation for his fellow Tiger's murder and to show Jun the consequences of her actions, Qiu ordered his men to set the port ablaze, killing many innocents in the process.

Qing dynasty

In 1725, the Templars sought to find the lost city of Angkor, which they believed to be an Isu site, and dispatched one of their agents, the Japanese Templar and Shimazu clan samurai Shimazu Saito, to Macau to search for leads. The Templars also began influencing the power struggle in Macau between the various merchants and trade companies operating there, aiding the businessmen Sun of the Hualien Trading Company, Alan Jacob of the Far East Company and Jan van Aert of the Dutch East India Company with their plans to sabotage their mutual rival, Lee Huiyin.

In February of that year, the British Assassin Edward Kenway arrived in Macau after being informed by a West Indies Assassin of a lead regarding a Piece of Eden in Indochina. Upon his arrival, Edward met John Young, a navigator for the Dutch East India Company who had heard stories about Angkor from his fellow company mate Hendrik, who had discovered the lost city during an expedition to Indochina. While Hendrik was killed by Saito and her ninja followers, who sought to silence anyone who knew about Angkor, Edward protected John and the two teamed up to find the lost city before the Templars.

Macau in 1725

During their investigation, Edward and John resided in a small village near Macau, where they were allowed to take shelter after the Assassin had saved the life of one of its inhabitants, the laborer Zhang. Edward returned to the city on several occasions, first to steal salt and sugar from a warehouse owned by Lee in order to create a remedy for an outbreak of cholera that had hit the village. Later, the Assassin infiltrated the mansion complex known as the Mandarin's House to steal Hendrik's sea log from Lee, who had purchased it following the navigator's death. However, he lost the log to Saito after the Templar and her ninja attacked the Mandarin's House.

After striking a partnership with Lee, Edward investigated her business rivals, who he believed to be affiliated with the Templars, and foiled their various plots to sabotage Lee's company. One such plot, masterminded by Alan Jacob, was to frame Lee for opium trafficking, which Edward thwarted by staging a large spectacle that exposed the Far East Company for smuggling the drugs into Macau. After the ship carrying the opium shipment was detained by the Dutch Navy, both Lee and Sun sought to steal its cargo for their personal gain. Edward destroyed the ship to prevent this from happening, having another encounter with Saito and ending his alliance with Lee in the process.

Later, Edward and his allies came together to establish their own organization, the Zhang Wei Union, with the headquarters in the A-Ma Cultural Village. Operating as a legitimate shipping company, Edward and his crew performed various contracts and were eventually able to secure a partnership with the Dutch East India Company after the Assassin helped Jan van Aert with a favor. This allowed the Zhang Wei Union to expand rapidly, becoming one of the major trade companies operating in Macau.

During this time, a civil war broke out between the ninja who had accompanied Saito to Macau, with Fuma Sukuna leading a group of pure-blooded Japanese shinobi against Saito's mixed-blood ninja. Sukuna and Saito allied themselves with Lee and Sun, respectively, and fights between members from the two factions became commonplace in the streets of Macau. To end the conflict, Sukuna enlisted Edward's help to assassinate Saito aboard Sun's floating gambling hall.

Modern times

In 2023, after using the genetic genealogy site WhyYou developed by Abstergo Genetic Research Lab, Edward's descendant Noa Kim was lured on a vacation prize trip to Macau. There, he was abducted by agents of Abstergo Industries and brought to their facility in the city, where he was forced to relive Edwar's memories in the Animus to help Abstergo locate the Piece of Eden found by his ancestor.

Gallery

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  Concept art of Macau's port
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  Concept art of Yu Dayong overlooking the port
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  Wang Yangming and Shao Jun sailing into Macau
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  A collapsing structure due to the fire, 1526.
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  A map of Macau in the 1720s
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  Macau in 1725
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  Macau in the modern day

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun
• Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple

Non-canonical appearances

• Assassin's Creed: The Ming Storm
• Assassin's Creed: Turbulence in the Ming Dynasty