Spain
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Spain was a country located in Western Europe.
History
Spanish Inquisition
As of the late 15th century, an Assassins Guild was located in the Spanish city of Barcelona. The Spanish Assassins had close connections to the Spanish royal house - namely King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I - and kept a close eye on them, making sure that the Borgia and the Templars didn't have too big of an influence on them.[1]
In 1491, Rodrigo Borgia, the Grand Master of the Templar Order, was able to fool the Spanish Inquisitor General Tomás de Torquemada that the Assassins where heretics, and ordered them to be caught and executed. Torquemada, believing Rodrigo was a true follower of the church like him, followed Rodrigo's orders and had several Assassins across the country captured.[1]
The same year, Luis de Santángel, the finance minister of Ferdinand II and an Assassin, travelled with his friend Christoffa Corombo to Venice, where Corombo was to have a meeting with Rodrigo Borgia, the Grand Master of the Templar Order. He was saved from a Templar trap by Ezio Auditore da Firenze, and Luis and Christoffa asked Ezio to retrieve Christoffa's stolen atlas. After having done so, Luis informed Ezio of the capture and execution of Spanish Assassins. Luis and Christoffa returned to Spain, and were followed shortly afterwards by Ezio, who felt obliged to help the Spanish Assassins.[1]
Poisoning of Queen Isabella
- "Queen Isabella has chosen to secretly serve the Borgia rather than rebel, and even now, her power over Manuel I of Portugal threatens to further spread her vile Inquisition. Her reign must come to an end."
- ―An Italian Assassin apprentice after having researched Isabella.[src]
In 1498, Luis died. With his death, the Assassins lost their eyes on the Spanish royal house. In the early 1500s, Ezio Auditore sent a group of Assassin apprentices to retrieve Luis' journal. After having successfully retrieved the journal, the apprentices found out that Luis was slowly poisoning Queen Isabella. Suspecting Luis' motives were partly retalation for the Inquisition and slaughter of his Jewish family, the apprentices studied the queen's behaviour to find out more.[1]
Following Isabella via the rooftops, they concluded that Isabella easily allowed herself to be influenced by priests and other religious figures. Additionally, the queen received various letters from the Borgia; threats from Cesare Borgia - the leader of the Papal armies - backed by the power of his father's status as Pope, which resulted in Isabella secretly deciding to serve the Borgia. The apprentices contacted one of Luis' close associates, one of Isabella's servants, who agreed to poison the queen after having earned her trust.[2][3]
Cesare Borgia's escape
In 1504, Cesare Borgia had escaped from imprisonment in the Castel Sant'Angelo. Pope Julius II contacted King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I, who both agreed to have Cesare imprisoned in the Castillo de la Mota in Valencia.[4] However, Isabella was still poisoned and died later that year.[2][3]
In 1506, Cesare's right-hand man Micheletto Corella was able to bribe one of the prison guards, who gave Cesare a rope to escape. Meeting with Micheletto outside the castle, Cesare rode off into Valencia. There, Cesare began to rebuild his forces, eventually having set up a large military encampment and operating from the Lone Wolf Inn. However, the encampment and twelve of Cesare's ships were destroyed by the Assassins Ezio Auditore and Niccolò Machiavelli, using some of the hand-held bombs given to them by Leonardo da Vinci.[4]
Cesare blamed Micheletto for the attack, and Micheletto, realizing his service to Cesare was never rewarded, attacked Cesare. However, during the struggle, Cesare was able to shoot Micheletto in the head, killing him. Ezio and Machiavelli, spying from the roof, made a noise, making their presence known to Cesare. Cesare shot the roof, severely wounding Machiavelli, and made his escape to Navarre; the land owned by his brother-in-law, King John III of Navarre.[4]
Uniting with John III, Cesare was given control of the Navarre army and led them to attack Viana, hoping to regain his lost status. However, Ezio Auditore joined the battle, making an unsuccessful assassination attempt on Cesare. Cesare fled further towards Viana, with Ezio following him while fighting his way through Navarre and Viana soldiers.[5][4]
Whilst Cesare was fighting on the outer walls of Viana castle, Ezio met up with him and the two men engaged in a fight. Slowly removing pieces of Cesare's armor, Ezio was able to defeat Cesare and throw him off the castle walls, killing him and ending his ambitions to conquer Italy and Spain.[5][4]