Pierre, Marquis de Fayet

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"I could not raise a hand to hurt a fly. But the Overseers have every right to discipline as they see fit. "

―Pierre de Fayet to Bastienne Josephe.

Pierre, Marquis de Fayet (1675 – July 1737) was a French aristocrat and Governor-General of Saint-Domingue from 1732 to his death.

Biography

After a long and distinguished naval career, de Fayet became the seventh Governor-General of Saint-Domingue on October 8, 1732. He quickly became an acquaintance of Bastienne Josèphe, frequenting her brothel and occasionally supplying information to her secret intelligence network.

When the Assassin Adéwalé arrived in Port-au-Prince in 1735, de Fayet is attempting to use Bastienne as a go-between to negotiate a deal with Maroon resistance leader Augustin Dieufort to keep violence down, giving her a letter which outlines conditions for which they can sue for peace. Bastienne, in turn, directs Adéwalé to deliver the Governor's letter to Dieufort. Adéwalé's arrival at the Maroon hideout is coincided by an ambush by Overseers, leading both men to suspect that the Governor is a two-faced liar.

Not long after this, de Fayet hosts a soirée with several guests from the French Geodesic Mission, including scientist and smuggler Louis Godin. Godin tells de Fayet that the expedition will cost more than what will be initially calculated. Though de Fayet accuses Godin of misappropriating funds, he agrees after Godin convinces him that the expedition will make it easier for him to import slaves. He also warns Godin not to offend his Spanish chaperones, as they need Spain as an ally against the British Empire.

After the Experto Crede sinks a British Man O' War and liberates the Wellington plantation, de Fayet begins dealing out harsher punishments to rebellious slaves, and issuing strict military curfews every night. Abandoning all pretense of diplomacy, he tells Bastienne that any act of violence by the Maroon resistance will be responded to in kind. When Adéwalé and Augustin dismiss this warning, the French Navy scuttles a slave ship that the Maroons were about to liberate. Ultimately, this has the opposite effect of what de Fayet intended, instead of breaking the spirit of the rebels, it instead outrages him, and prompts Adéwalé to mark him for assassination.

After his troops capture a Maroon rebel, de Fayet brutally tortures the man for information on the location of the Maroon Hideout, burning him with the branding iron when he refuses to talk. It is this moment that Adéwalé, who has infiltrated the Governor's Mansion, fires his blunderbuss, killing five guards. This prompts de Fayet to flee to a guard post, where he makes a final stand accompanied by his best troops. Adéwalé's rage, coupled with his ferocious fighting style, enabled him to cut down the soldiers. de Fayet proceeded to attack Adéwalé with the branding iron. After being disarmed, he picked up a sword to defend himself, but Adéwalé was ultimately able to overpower him and kill him with the branding iron. However, the historic record would ascribe his death to natural causes.

Personality and Traits

Though he appeared on the surface to be a stuffy diplomat, de Fayet was a sadistic man who viewed his slaves as little more than animals, referring to them as "beasts" during everyday conversation. In his final words to Adéwalé, he showed no remorse for the way he treated his slaves, insisting that they were animals who, without guidance from their masters, would resort to murder and rebellion. Infuriated by his words, Adéwalé said that in his case, he wished that were true.

Reference

• Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – Freedom Cry