Java

Java on a map of Southeast Asia

Java is an island of Indonesia, bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. Jakarta, the capital and largest city of Indonesia, is located in the northwestern part of the island.

History

Golden Age of Piracy

From at least the 1600s, the Dutch had a foothold in Java and held influence over the local sultanates. In 1619, the Dutch East India Company occupied Jayakarta, a major port city on the island, following a power struggle against the British East India Company. The city was subsequently renamed to Batavia and became the de facto capital of the Dutch East Indies.

By the early 18th century, Java's inhabitants were renowned for their usage of petroleum to waterproof their ships. In 1725, this led the Zhang Wei Union's members to consider making a stop in Java en route to the Philippines, in order to acquire large quantities of petroleum necessary for the production of Greek fire. However, the trip became unnecessary after they stumbled upon a warehouse filled with barrels of petroleum while in Manila.

Later that year, the Union members traveled to Batavia after Jan van Aert, the Dutch East India Company's chief navigator, saved them from an ambush by the East India Company's and Admiral Zheng's fleets. While in the city, Edward Kenway agreed to work together with Jan to stop their mutual enemies, who were in possession of two Pieces of Eden, and recruited additional allies to the Union's cause from among Batavia's pirates and privateers.

Seven Years' War

During the Seven Years' War in the 1750s, the Colonial Templar Shay Cormac sent spies to Java to aid the British Empire in undermining the Dutch's influence over the island. Successful in this attempt, Shay sent additional spies to continue pressuring the Dutch.

Modern times

By the 21st century, the Zhawang Corporation, the Zhang Wei Union's modern incarnation, had its headquarters in Jakarta. In 2023, the company's director Claire Zhang, her brother Nathan, and Noa Kim met with a team of Assassins and the DedSec hacker group at the Corporation's headquarters, where they formed an alliance to save Shimazu Sei from Abstergo Industries' captivity and stop Abstergo's plans to enslave humanity using a set of three Pieces of Eden.

After Noa rescued Sei from the Abstergo Genetic Research Lab in Osaka, Japan, they returned to Jakarta, where Noa used the Brahman 3.0, an Animus model developed by the Zhawang Corporation, to relive Edward Kenway's memories in search of the Forgotten Temple. Meanwhile, Sei provided DedSec with a backdoor code to access Abstergo's network, discovering that the Templars had already found the temple in Cambodia.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Rogue (first mentioned)
• Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Shadows – Story Drops (mentioned in Database entry only)