Philippines
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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. |
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.[1]
History
Early Spanish expeditions
In 1521, the Portuguese 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 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.[2]
The explorer was eventually located 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.[2]
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.[2] 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.[3]
In 1719, the supporters of the Archbishop of Manila Francisco de la Cuesta, enraged at Governor-General Fernando Manuel de Bustillo Bustamante y Rueda's orders to imprison him, stormed Bustamante's mansion and killed him in the streets.[4]
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.[5]
After deciphering the contents of Hendrik's sea log and learning of the navigator's investigation into Magellan's story, the Zhang Wei Union's members boarded the Fenghuang and sailed for the Philippines to follow Magellan's trail and find Angkor.[2] Along the way, they fended off an attack by Admiral Jeong's fleet and the Chinese Assassins Xiao Han, Liu Qing and Xue Yan,[6] and ran into their ally Jan van Aert, the Dutch East India Company's Chief Navigor who wanted to accompany them on their expedition.[7]
However, the Spanish authorities soon arrested the Union members and Jan's crew, then brought them to Manila due to Jan's alleged involvement in Governor Bustamante's assassination six years prior.[7] The Union members were subsequently confined aboard their ship under the watch of several guards but managed to escape not long after.[4]
Taking advantage of a protest in the streets to infiltrate Fort Santiago, Edward rescued Jan and his men from captivity, only to then witness the protest turn into a violent riot, led by a monk who wielded the crescent amulet previously found by Ferdinand Magellan.[4] 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 against them,[8] and Saito was eventually defeated.[9] Edward was able to overcome the amulet's powers and confronted the monk,[10] but he used the artifact to make the Assassin experience several surreal visions while he attempted to kill him.[11]
Fortunately, the monk was stopped by Rajah, the leader of a Visayan resistance against the Spanish occupation of the Philippines. Killing the monk, Rajah took his amulet, intending to use it to further the resistance's cause, while Spanish troops arrived in Manila to put an end to the riot, forcing the members of the Zhang Wei Union to escape without the amulet.[11]
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.[12]
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.[13]
Modern times
In 2013, the Assassins' interim Mentor Gavin Banks decided to buy firearms from Emmanuel Barraza's contact, a weapon supplier in the Philippines near the Sulu Sea, to be prepared for the worst once they arrived in Osaka to help the Japanese Assassins.[14]
In 2023, an Abstergo Industries team including Doctor Shimazu Sei and her bodyguard Yuki travelled to Cebu via the ship Exitus to track Edward Kenway's footsteps and locate the Piece of Eden he had found.[15] 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.[16]
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.[17] 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.[18] Noa and Sei subsequently used the information from the sea log to explore Edward's memories of his time in the Philippines.[19]
Appearances
- Assassin's Creed: Initiates (first mentioned)
- Assassin's Creed: Rogue (indirect mention only)
- Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple (first appearance)
References
- ↑
Philippines on Wikipedia
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 41
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 12
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 51
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 24
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 49
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 50
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 52
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 54
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 55
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 56
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Rogue – War Letters
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Rogue
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Initiates – Surveillance: "To the Teeth"
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 42
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 43
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 44
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 46
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 47
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