Macau

"Macau, by day a bustling port, by night a hub for the Templars to trade those who oppose them into slavery."

―Wang Yangming, 1526.^[src]^-[m]

Macau (澳門), alternatively Macao and formerly known as Haojiang (濠冮),^[1] is a city-state and autonomous territory on the southeastern coast of China. A major resort city, it lies on the west end of the Pearl River Delta across from Hong Kong, China's other city-state. It was a former colony of Portugal from 1557 to 1999, constituting the last European colony in Asia.

As the site of Portuguese incursions during the 16th century, it became a significant port for the global slave trade. Under the Ming dynasty, it also hosted the stronghold of the Chinese Templar slaver Gu Dayong. His assassination at the hands of the Chinese Assassin Shao Jun in 1526 led to the Templars venting their fury on Macau by setting it ablaze, although it would continue to prosper for centuries after.

In the early 18th century, Macau remained an important trade center and a number of merchants and trade organizations, both Chinese and foreign, vied for power and influence in the city. In 1725, the Templars influenced these companies to aid their search for the ruins of Angkor, an alleged Isu site, but faced opposition from the British Assassin Edward Kenway, who had also traveled to Macau in search of leads to Angkor's location. In time, Edward established his own organization in the city, the Zhang Wei Union, which eventually grew into a large shipping company.

History[edit | edit source]

Ming dynasty[edit | edit source]

In 1513, the Portuguese explorer Jorge Álvares became the first of his people to arrive in China. Landing in what is now Macau, he laid the foundations for the area to become the main Portuguese access point into China.^[2] As a port town, it became a major site for the Portuguese slave trade.^[3]

In 1526, the city fortress was commanded by Gu Dayong, a Templar and one of the eunuchs known as the Eight Tigers. There, he prodigiously oversaw the slave trade, but the Assassin Shao Jun infiltrated his stronghold one night and freed many of his slaves,^[3] including a young boy named Kotetsu and his Assassin father. However, Kotetsu's father succumbed to injuries he had received during his imprisonment,^[4] so a vengeful Shao Jun assassinated Dayong in his personal chambers.^[5]

As the Assassin made her escape, Dayong's body was discovered by Qiu Ju, another Tiger and one known for his brutality. In retaliation for his fellow Tiger's murder and to show Shao Jun the consequences of her actions, Qiu Ju ordered his men to set Macau's port ablaze, killing many innocents in the process.^[6] Although Shao Jun managed to rescue several civilians from the fire and ultimately escaped the city alongside her Mentor Wang Yangming, the incident deeply traumatized her.^[7]

In 1549, the excommunicated Spanish Assassin Alvaro Catarribera journeyed to Macau, where he overheard a conversation between two Templars regarding the Order's plans to spread their influence to Japan. Determined to stop their efforts, Catarribera followed them and traveled to Nagasaki, using the arrival of the Jesuit and Templar Francis Xavier's delegation as cover and access.^[8]

Qing dynasty[edit | edit source]

Edward Kenway's investigation[edit | edit source]

In 1725, the Templars sought to find the lost city of Angkor, which they believed to be an Isu site, and dispatched one of their agents, the Japanese Templar and Shimazu clan samurai Shimazu Saito, to Macau to search for leads.^[9] The Templars also began influencing the power struggle in Macau between the various merchants and trade companies operating there, aiding the businessmen Sun of the Hualien Trading Company, Alan Jacob of the Far East Company, and Jan van Aert of the Dutch East India Company with their plans to sabotage their mutual rival, Madam Lee.^[10]

At the same time, the British Assassin Edward Kenway arrived in Macau after being informed by a West Indies Assassin of a lead regarding a Piece of Eden in Indochina. Upon his arrival, Edward met John Young, a navigator for the Dutch East India Company who had heard stories about Angkor from his friend Hendrik, who had discovered the location of the lost city.^[11] While Hendrik was killed by Saito and her ninja followers, who sought to silence anyone who knew about Angkor, Edward protected John and the two teamed up to find the lost city before the Templars.^[12]

During their investigation, Edward and John resided in a small village near Macau, where they were allowed to take shelter after the Assassin had saved the life of one of its inhabitants, the laborer Zhang.^[9] Edward returned to the city on several occasions, first to steal salt and sugar from a warehouse owned by Madam Lee in order to create a remedy for an outbreak of cholera in the village.^[13]

Later, the Assassin infiltrated the mansion complex known as the Mandarin's House to steal Hendrik's sea log from Lee, who had purchased it following the navigator's death.^[14] However, he lost the sea log to Saito after the Templar and her ninja attacked the Mandarin's House.^[15]

After striking a partnership with Lee,^[10] Edward investigated her business rivals, who he believed to be affiliated with the Templars, and foiled their plans to sabotage Lee's company.^[16] One such plot, masterminded by Alan Jacob, was to frame Lee's company for opium trafficking, which Edward thwarted by staging a large spectacle that exposed the Far East Company for smuggling the drugs into Macau.^[17] After the opium shipment was confiscated by the Dutch Navy, both Lee and Sun sought to steal it for their personal gain.^[18] Edward destroyed the shipment to prevent this from happening, which led to the end of his alliance with Lee.^[19]

Later, Edward and his allies came together to establish their own organization, the Zhang Wei Union, headquartered in the A-Ma Cultural Village.^[20] Operating as a legitimate shipping company, Edward and his crew performed various contracts and were eventually able to secure a partnership with the Dutch East India Company after the Assassin helped Jan van Aert with a favor. This allowed the Zhang Wei Union to expand rapidly, becoming one of Macau's major trade companies.^[21]

Shimazu clan civil war[edit | edit source]

During this time, a civil war broke out between the ninja who had accompanied Saito to Macau, with Fuma Sukuna leading a group of pure-blooded Japanese ninja against Saito's mixed-blood followers. Sukuna and Saito allied themselves with Madam Lee and Sun, respectively, and fights between members from the two factions became commonplace on the streets of Macau.^[21]

To end the conflict, Sukuna enlisted Edward's help to assassinate Saito aboard Sun's floating gambling hall,^[22] but the Assassin and the Templar ended up striking an alliance instead and attempted to recover Hendrik's sea log, which Saito had given to Sun.^[23] Aside from Edward and Saito, Hendrik's sea log was also sought by Lee, who sent Sukuna and his ninja to retrieve it, and the Chinese Brotherhood of Assassins led by Xiao Han, who hoped to use Angkor's Piece of Eden to overthrow the Qing dynasty.^[24]

The subsequent fight for the sea log aboard Sun's ship resulted in the deaths of all of Saito's subordinates,^[25] Xiao Han claiming the sea log after assassinating Sun,^[26] and the ship's destruction by Zheng, an admiral hired by Lee. Edward and Saito escaped with the help of John, who also rescued Xialun Qing, a waitress working aboard the ship who was subseqently recruited into the Zhang Wei Union alongside Saito.^[27]

In the aftermath of the Shimazu civil war, Xiao Han and the Chinese Assassins allied with Lee to find Angkor and its Piece of Eden,^[28] while the members of the Zhang Wei Union found a clue directing them to the Philippines. Edward and his allies subsequently left Macau to investigate this lead, leaving Zhang behind to oversee the Union during their absence.^[29] However, Zhang would later depart the city as well to join the others in their quest, as the Union's business was running smoothly even without his supervision.^[30]

Modern times[edit | edit source]

In 2023, after using the genetic genealogy site WhyYou developed by the Abstergo Genetic Research Lab, Edward's descendant Noa Kim was lured on a vacation prize trip to Macau. There, he was abducted by agents of Abstergo Industries and brought to the Exitus research vessel, where he was forced to relive Edward's genetic memories in the Animus to help Abstergo locate a Piece of Eden found by his ancestor.^[31]

In time, Noa was able to strike a deal with the scientist overseeing the operation, Doctor Shimazu Sei, being given some degree of freedom to act as he pleased in exchange for his cooperation.^[13] When Noa and Sei ran into a roadblock while exploring Edward's memories, they traveled to the A-Ma Cultural Village to follow up on a lead, and the former found an old ledger containing information on Edward's activities.^[32]

During the trip to the village, members of the Zhawang Corporation, the Zhang Wei Union's modern incarnation, attempted to rescue Noa and enlisted the help of the Doom Eagle criminal organization to stage a distraction. While the thugs attacked Sei and her Abstergo guards, two Corporation agents approached Noa and asked him to leave with them. However, Noa refused and went to protect Sei from the thugs before willingly returning with her to the Exitus.^[20]

After running into another roadblock later down the line, Noa and Sei, along with the Exitus' personnel, left Macau and sailed to Cebu to investigate another lead that would allow them to continue exploring Edward's memories. As the Exitus departed the Macau harbor, it was spied on by members of Doom Eagle, whose leader, the Assassin Nathan Zhang, decided to follow the ship to the Philippines.^[33]