Massachusetts
Massachusetts is a state in the northeastern region of the United States, bordered by New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, and New Hampshire. It was one of the thirteen colonies that claimed independence from Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War.
Massachusetts was the location of the Davenport Homestead, the base of the Colonial Assassins for much of the 18th century, as well as the cities of Salem and Boston.
History[edit | edit source]
Salem witch trials[edit | edit source]
In the early 17th century, the British monarchy gave a charter to the Puritans, granting them the right of free rule to practice their beliefs. In 1626, a small group of Puritans traveled to North America and founded the town of Salem on the mouth of the Naumkeag river. A village of the same name was also founded near the town, which would later be renamed to Danvers.[1]
With the civil war taking place in Britain, the Massachusetts colonies were subjected to numerous changes in government. In addition to this, the Massachusetts Bay Colony underwent devastating cold winters, resulting in poor crop yields. The Native Americans on British settlements along the East Coast also frequently led attacks against the colonists.[2]
In 1692, the Templar Samuel Parris and his family arrived in Salem Village, where Parris accepted the position of Village Minister. However, under his leadership, Salem's town and village experienced extreme social and economic upheaval.[1] Tensions rose between the townsfolk, and they refused to support Parris and his family, which is said to have contributed to the latter's role in the infamous Salem witch trials that occurred in the town.[2]
On 2 June 1692, the Massachusetts governor William Phips created a Court of Oyer and Terminer comprised of seven members of the community, including the Templar William Stoughton. Here, nineteen people from Salem were condemned to death under accusation of witchcraft, while five more were imprisoned.[3]
Secretly, the witch trials were a pretext for Parris and Stoughton to search for an alleged Piece of Eden, which they believed to be responsible for making numerous women "ill". The Assassins also sought to find the supposed artifact, and sent Thomas Stoddard and Jennifer Querry to Salem to search for it. Through their investigation, the two Assassins discovered that the "artifact" was a young girl, Dorothy Osborne, who had inexplicably become bonded with the Isu Consus.[1]
After Stoddard, Querry, Osborne, and a young boy named David were captured by Puritans—who were manipulated by Stoughton—while attempting to flee Salem,[2] they were imprisoned by the Templars, who tortured the two Assassins. Querry managed to free herself but was killed by Stoughton, while Osborne took her own life to prevent the Templars from using her to create more "oracles". Parris, disagreeing with Stoughton's methods and believing there had been enough bloodshed, stopped his Templar brother from killing Stoddard and allowed the Assassin and David to leave Salem.[3]
American Revolutionary War[edit | edit source]
In 1754, Haytham Kenway came to Boston to commence his search for the Grand Temple,[4] and established the Colonial Templars,[5] a formidable group which destroyed the Colonial Assassins by 1763.[6] Over the next decade, the Templars maintained dominance in Massachusetts and the other British colonies, and tried to steer the American Revolution towards a favorable conclusion.[7]
In 1770, Haytham and Charles Lee instigated the Boston Massacre, hoping to increase the colonists' resentment towards the British Crown.[8] They also recruited Nicholas Biddle to terrorize Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket,[9][10] as part of a ploy to rally support for a Continental Navy.[11] Their ultimate goal was to secure the colonies' independence from the United Kingdom, so that they could secretly rule them in accordance with their own vision.[12]
However, the young Kanien'kehá:ka Ratonhnhaké:ton journeyed to the Davenport Homestead to receive training from Achilles Davenport, the Mentor of the Colonial Assassins, who had been spared by the Templars.[13] Becoming the Assassin Connor, he worked to oppose the Templars' plans.[14] In 1773, he aided the Sons of Liberty in staging the Boston Tea Party, depriving the Templars of certain funds,[15] and used the Aquila to wipe out the Templar fleet that had reoccupied Fort Phoenix.[9]
The Templar John Pitcairn was ordered by his superiors in the British Army to seize Patriot weapons and supplies from the town of Concord. He planned to use this opportunity to travel through Lexington and negotiate with the Patriots Samuel Adams and John Hancock. However, Connor and Paul Revere believed Pitcairn intended to kill them and rode the night before to warn them to flee.[16] When Pitcairn arrived, he was greeted by the town militia instead of Adams and Hancock. The subsequent Battles of Lexington and Concord heralded the start of the American Revolutionary War.[17]
Over the following year, the Continental Army under Israel Putnam laid siege to the British in Boston from Charlestown. Connor arrived at the Battle of Bunker Hill to assassinate Pitcairn,[18] while the Aquila was deployed during the Battle of Gloucester.[19] Connor also contracted his recruits Stephane Chapheau, Duncan Little, and Clipper Wilkinson to aid civilian suffering food shortages in the city,[20] and to aid Henry Knox in transporting cannons to fortify Dorchester Heights,[21] thereby lifting the Siege of Boston and securing the state's independence.[22]
The state was still subject to a few British raids for the rest of the war, including an incursion into the Davenport Homestead to capture the deserter David Walston. After stopping the regiment, Connor correctly surmised that the British would not undertake another attempt on his Mentor's land.[23]
Modern times[edit | edit source]
In 2020, the Assassin cell consisting of Layla Hassan, Shaun Hastings, and Rebecca Crane rented a cabin near the town of Concord while they searched for a solution to a series of global anomalies. Discovering the buried remains of the Viking Eivor Varinsdottir, Layla relived her genetic memories in the Animus to find the location of the Yggdrasil Chamber in Norway, which contained the technology that could be used to save the planet.[24]
Appearances[edit | edit source]
- Assassin's Creed III (first appearance)
- Assassin's Creed: Forsaken
- Assassin's Creed: Rogue
- Assassin's Creed (comic)
- Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
- Assassin's Creed: Nexus VR
- Echoes of History (mentioned only)
References[edit | edit source]
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