Monkey Island
|
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. |
Monkey Island, as it was called by its inhabitants in the 18th century, is an island in the Philippines, situated northwest of Cebu.
History
Japanese-Filipino conflict
At some point before the early 18th century, a number of Japanese people came into contact with the island's natives and began trading with them. In time, many of these Japanese foreigners chose to remain and established a settlement, living among the natives. However, differences in culture between the two groups eventually led to conflict and bloodshed, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides.[1]
In the end, the Japanese settlers chose to end the conflict by isolating themselves, avoiding contact with the natives as much as possible and rarely leaving their settlement. However, this changed when the Japanese caught wind of the presence of a valuable artifact – a Piece of Eden – on Monkey Island. Many of their warriors subsequently left the village and began sacking neighboring settlements and islands in search of the treasure.[1]
Occupation by the Visayan resistance
- "One day, the island was suddenly taken over by resistance fighters at war with the Spanish. They forced all the local men into their militia and built a fortress here. That's why you see more women, children and elderly than grown men in the village."
- ―Xialun Qing on the native villagers' plight, 1725.[src]-[m]
In 1725, Monkey Island was further consumed by conflict when it was occupied by a Visayan resistance at war with the Spanish colonists in the Philippines. Led by Rajah, who wielded the Piece of Eden desired by the Japanese – a crescent amulet – the native warriors built a fort on the island and began forcefully recruiting many villagers to their ranks, leaving behind only women, children, and the elderly.[2]
Most of the warriors conscripted this way were placed under the amulet's control, leaving them in a berserk-like state, and were sent to roam the island's jungles in search of "foreign trespassers" to eliminate. Sometimes, these warriors would be dressed as beasts of Filipino mythology to intimidate anyone who sighted them.[2]
This led to Monkey Island becoming the subject of unsettling rumors, especially after its inhabitants stopped trading with their neighbors and numerous Spanish ships went missing near its shores. Some of these legends included a strange noise that drew sailors to the island, and vampires who fed on any man and animal that set foot on the island.[3]
Arrival of the Zhang Wei Union
While en route to Cebu, the Zhang Wei Union members passed by Monkey Island and their ship, the Fenghuang, was bombarded with mortar fire by Rajah's warriors, using their fort's cannons. After taking cover behind some rocks, Xialun Qing told her fellow crew members about a hot air balloon, the Celestial Chariot, that she had built alongside Yun Pyeong-Gyu, which would allow them to survey the island and determine the locations of enemy encampments.[4] Qing subsequently volunteered to pilot the balloon, though the Celestial Chariot soon suffered a malfunction and caught fire.[5]
After Qing parachuted to safety and landed on Monkey Island, her fellow Union members went looking for her. As they approached the island's fort, the Fenghuang engaged it as a distraction to allow Edward Kenway, John Young, and several other crew members to reach the island via rowboat. Afterwards, the Fenghuang retreated and went back into hiding while Edward and the others explored the island in search of Qing.[6]
They eventually found her in a village, where she treated the natives after they had rescued her from the island's jungles.[7] The Union members were allowed to stay in the village as guests and were informed by its chief of the natives' plight brought about by Rajah. They subsequently decided to bring all the missing villagers back to their families, and Edward devised a plan to capture the brainwashed warriors who roamed the island's jungles.[2]
The plan was successful and the Union members were able to capture a number of berserk warriors, whom they subsequently used to storm the resistance's fort. Shortly before the assault, Rajah and most of his men had left Monkey Island and sailed to Cebu, so the fort's defenses were weaker than usual. As a result, the Union members and the villagers were victorious and captured the fort, rescuing all the prisoners from its dungeon before John planted explosives to destroy the stronghold.[1]
Meanwhile, on the other side of the island, several of Rajah's men found the Fenghuang hiding in a swamp and took advantage of a downpour of rain to board the ship. Despite their Manananggal disguises, which scared some of the crew members, the native warriors were ultimately defeated when the crew used multi-barreled muskets built by Yun against them.[7] However, when another wave of warriors attempted to board the Fenghuang, the crew members decided to flee and sailed into the open sea.[2]
Behind the scenes
Although never identified by any name other than Monkey Island in Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple, there is a real-life island situated near the Philippines called Angaur, which is also known by this nickname. However, the island only gained this nickname in the 20th century, making it unlikely that it would be called that in 1725.[8] Judging by its shape and positioning on the map, the Monkey Island featured in Forgotten Temple appears to correspond to the real-life Sibuyan Island instead.[9]
The island's name could also be an allusion to the video game series Secrets of Monkey Island, which has been alluded to before in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.
Gallery
-
Map of Monkey Island -
The Celestial Chariot flying over the island -
The Fenghuang engaging the island's fort -
One of the island's villages -
Japanese settlers arriving on the island -
The Japanese attacking a native village
Appearances
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 64
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 63
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 58
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 59
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 60
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 61
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 62
- ↑
Angaur on Wikipedia
- ↑ Sibuyan Island on Wikipedia