Spanish Army

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 of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile.

History

Renaissance

During the Renaissance, the soldiers of the newly unified Spain fought in the Inquisition-backed Reconquista against the Moors for control of Granada. The Italian Assassin 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 a list of their names to Grand Inquisitor Tomás de Torquemada.

Secretly a Master Templar, Torquemada manipulated King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I into giving him command of the Spanish Army. Under the leadership of Torquemada's enforcer Ojeda, the soldiers searched Spain for the pieces of the Shattered Staff of Eden and came into conflict with the Spanish Assassins led by Aguilar de Nerha, who sought to foil the Templars' schemes.

In 1492, Spanish soldiers killed a team of Assassins led by the Mentor Benedicto in a village where the Brotherhood protected Prince Ahmed, son of Sultan Muhammad XII of Granada. The surviving Assassins – Benedicto, Aguilar and María – were taken to Seville to be burned at the stake, but the latter two managed to escape. Torquemada and Ojeda later led a regiment of Spanish soldiers to Granada following Muhammad XII's surrender, in order to acquire the Sultan's Apple of Eden. However, Aguilar and María ambushed them and the former ultimately escaped with the Apple.

Ezio Auditore fighting Spanish soldiers during the Siege of Viana

In 1507, Spanish forces were engaged in a civil war, where Louis de Beaumont tried to defend Viana from an attack by Cesare Borgia, who commanded a mainly-Spanish army on behalf of King John III 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.

Age of Imperialism

During the Golden Age of Piracy, the Spanish Army was widely used in the Templars' activities in the Caribbean, as the Spanish governor of Cuba, Laureano de Torres y Ayala, was also the Grand Master of the Caribbean Templars. 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 Governor Torres when he visited the Observatory in 1722.

The Army also operated in Spain's colonies in Southeast Asia, known as the Spanish East Indies. In 1725, they were dispatched to stop a riot that had broken out in Manila, but were overwhelmed due to the revolt's leader, a monk, using the power of a Piece of Eden against them. Following the monk's death, the Spanish soldiers were able to quench the riot. That same year, another riot broke out in Cebu, where Fort San Pedro was taken over by a native resistance led by the Visayan Rajah. After Rajah's death, the Spanish Army managed to reclaim control of the fortress.

Spanish soldiers fighting the rioters in New Orleans

Following France's defeat in the Seven Years' War against the British, the Spanish Army occupied the French colony of Louisiana in North America, as per the terms of the Treaty of Paris. 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 the Templar 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.

Behind the scenes

In several trailers for Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Spanish soldiers had a much more different appearance, wearing white uniforms with a white bow in their collars. This design shared similarities to early versions of British Redcoats, but the Spanish soldiers' appearance was changed to yellow due to historical inaccuracies, since the French Army's main colors were white. These 'Whitecoats' appeared as officials that could be bribed in the final game, while white-uniformed soldiers later appeared as the French Army in Black Flag's downloadable expansion, Freedom Cry.

Gallery

ScrennshotsModels

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  Ezio fighting a Spanish guard
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  16th-century Spanish soldiers guarding Alonso Carlo
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  Spanish soldiers entering a tavern in Havana
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  Spanish soldiers in Manila
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  Spanish guards escorting Governor Antonio de Ulloa

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  Spanish soldier
  Early 18th cen.
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  Spanish grenadier
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  Spanish gunner
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  Spanish scout
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  Spanish captain
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  Spanish soldier
  Late 18th cen.
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  Spanish Dragoon
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  Spanish lieutenant
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  Spanish sergeant
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  Spanish warlord

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed II: Discovery (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
• Assassin's Creed: Revelations novel (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed III (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed III: Liberation
• Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
• Assassin's Creed film
• Assassin's Creed: The Official Movie Novelization
• Assassin's Creed: Rebellion
• Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple