Philippines

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The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is a archipelagic sovereign state in Southeast Asia composed of 7,641 islands that are situated in the South China Sea. The nation was formed after the indigenous states were conquered by the Spanish Empire and merged into a single colony, a united identity they retained after achieving independence from the Spanish and the Americans who replaced them.

History

Spanish colonial rule

In 1521, the Portuguese-born Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan arrived on the island of Cebu in the Philippines to search for an artifact created by the Isu which he had managed to track to the region. Magellan met with the island's leader King Rajah Humabon and converted him and the local indigenous population to Catholicism with the idea of turning Cebu into a colony of the Spanish Empire. The explorer was eventually able to locate the artifact on Cebu, but Humabon revealed to him that it was merely a fragment of a larger artifact which had been seized by Lapu-Lapu, the chieftain of the neighboring Mactan Island. Magellan and his men fought against the artifact-empowered Lapu-Lapu, resulting in the Spanish's defeat and Magellan's death.

At some point in the early 18th century, the Dutch explorer Hendrik, who had come to follow up on Magellan's search, visited the Basilica del Santo Niño in Cebu. There, he met a monk who reluctantly told him of Magellan's attempt to recover the Isu artifact and his fate. The monk made no mention of what happened to the artifact later on, leading Hendrik to leave in order to continue his quest for the treasure, which was allegedly located in the lost Khmer city of Angkor.

In 1725, the British Assassin Edward Kenway, who had also traveled to Southeast Asia in search of Angkor, was hired by a merchant to escort his trading vessel from Macau to Manila. Alongside his recently-established organization, the Zhang Wei Union, Edward traveled to the Filipino capital to fulfill the contract. While in the city, Edward's friend John Young found evidence that the Templars were close to locating Angkor and were influencing companies such as the East India Company and Far East Company to organize an expedition in the jungles of Southeast Asia to find the lost city and its treasure.

After deciphiring the contents of Hendrik's sea log and learning of the explorer's investigation into Magellan's story, the members of the Zhang Wei Union set sail for the Philippines to follow up on Magellan's trail and find Angkor.

Modern times

In 2013, interim Mentor of the Assassin Order Gavin Banks decided to buy firearms from Emmanuel Barraza's contact, a weapon supplier in Philippines near the Sulu Sea, to be prepared for the worst once they arrived in Osaka to help the Japanese Assassins.

In 2023, an Abstergo Industries team including Doctor Shimazu Sei and her bodyguard Yuki traveled to Cebu via the Exitus to follow in Edward Kenway's footsteps as part of the Templars' efforts to locate Angkor and acquire its treasure. Alongside Noa Kim, a descendant of Edward who had been abducted and forced to relive his ancestor's memories in the Animus, Sei and Yuki traveled around Cebu looking for leads until they were ambushed by members of the Doom Eagle, a criminal organization working with the Zhawang Corporation to rescue Noa.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Initiates (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple (first appearance)