Philippines

He who increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow. This article contains spoilers, meaning it has information and facts concerning Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple. If you do not want to know about these events, it is recommended to read on with caution, or not at all. This template should be removed from the article 30 July 2024.

The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an 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

Early Spanish expeditions

Ferdinand Magellan arriving on Cebu

In 1521, the European explorer Ferdinand Magellan arrived on the island of Cebu in the Philippines to search for an Isu artifact 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 hidden on Cebu – a Crescent amulet – but Humabon informed him that it was just a piece of a larger artifact, with another fragment in the possession of Lapu-Lapu, the chieftain of Mactan Island. Magellan and his men subsequently fought against the artifact-empowered Lapu-Lapu, but were defeated and Magellan perished during the battle.

Spanish colonial rule

Golden Age of Piracy

At some point in the early 18th century, the Dutch navigator Hendrik, who was investigating Magellan's legend, visited the Basilica del Santo Niño in Cebu and met a monk who told him of Magellan's search for the Isu artifacts and his fate. The monk made no mention of what happened to the artifacts after Magellan's death, so Hendrik resolved to continue investigating by himself. The navigator was eventually able to find the artifacts in the lost Khmer city of Angkor and left behind clues in his personal sea log before he was killed in Macau.

In 1719, the Governor-General of the Philippines, Fernando Manuel de Bustillo Bustamante y Rueda, was killed in a riot by supporters of the Archbishop of Manila, Francisco de la Cuesta, who had been imprisoned on the Governor-General's orders.

The Zhang Wei Union's ship leaving Manila

In 1725, the British Assassin Edward Kenway, who had travelled 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 travelled 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 the Far East Company to organize an expedition in the jungles of Indochina to find the lost city.

After deciphiring the contents of Hendrik's sea log and learning of the navigator's investigation into Ferdinand 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. As they approached Manila, their ship, the Fenghuang, came under attack by the fleet of Admiral Jeong, a mercenary hired by the businesswoman Lee Huiyin, who also sought Angkor's treasure. The crew managed to defeat Jeong's fleet, as well as the Chinese Assassins Xiao Han, Liu Qing and Xue Yan who were accompanying the admiral, and lost their pursuers by sailing into a storm.

Afterwards, the Union members unexpectedly ran into their ally Jan van Aert, the Chief Navigator of the Dutch East India Company, who had decided to join them on their expedition. Before long, however, both the Fenghuang and Jan's ship were attacked by Spanish Men O' War and were forced to surrender. Brought to Manila, the crews of the two ships were arrested by the Spanish authorities due to Jan's alleged involvement in the assassination of Governor Bustamante six years prior.

Manila during the 1725 riot

The Union members were subsequently forced to remain aboard the Fenghuang, under the watch of several guards. After escaping, Edward took advantage of an ongoing protest in the streets to infiltrate Fort Santiago, where Jan and his men had been imprisoned. Upon rescuing the crew, he witnessed the protest turn into a violent riot, led by a monk who wielded the Crescent amulet.

Together with Shimazu Saito, Edward decided to face the monk and take the amulet from him. They cornered him in an alley but the monk used the amulet's powers against them, including resurrecting his followers after they had been killed by the Assassin and samurai, and conjuring apparitions of himself and an oni. In the end, while Saito was defeated, Edward was able to overcome the artifact's powers and confronted the monk.

Seven Years' War

In 1742, the Templar John Harrison was stationed in Manila to look for Isu sites throughout Asia. Although unsuccessful in his search, the time there allowed Harrison to pick up the trail of the Precursor box once held by the Assassin Shao Jun and trace its journey out of China and into the West Indies.

During the Seven Years' War between Britain and France, the Templars sent agents to Manila to disrupt the interests of the Spanish presence in the city. As a result, Manila was conquered by the British, though it was returned to Spain a year after the war.

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.

Cebu in the modern day

In 2023, an Abstergo Industries team including Doctor Shimazu Sei and her bodyguard Yuki travelled to Cebu via the Exitus ship to track Edward Kenway's footsteps and locate the Piece of Eden he had found. 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 travelled around Cebu looking for leads until they were ambushed by Doom Eagle, a criminal organization led by the Assassin Nathan Zhang who sought to rescue Noa.

Despite managing to escape the ambush and head to a shopping mall, Noa, Sei and Yuki were again attacked by Doom Eagle, who injureed Yuki in a shootout, forcing Noa and Sei to flee into the mall. There, the former fought Nathan, who informed him of the truth regarding his father's Assassin affiliations. With Abstergo's Sigma Team closing in, Nathan was ultimately forced to abort the rescue mission, though not before giving Noa the sea log of the Zhang Wei Union's captain Mustafa. Noa and Sei would subsequently use the information from the sea log to explore Edward's memories of his time in the Philippines.

Appearances

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