Haiti

Haiti, formerly known as Saint-Domingue, is a Caribbean country in the Greater Antilles. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, sharing it with the Dominican Republic.

History

Saint-Domingue had been a part of France's colonial territories in the New World since 1625, where France shared the island of Hispaniola with the Spanish colony of Santo Domingo. By the middle of the 18th century, the Assassins had established a permanent presence in the colony. Under the leadership of their Mentor François Mackandal, a revolutionary houngan, the Assassins consisted primarily of African slaves opposing the white colonists of Saint-Domingue.

Sometime prior to 1735, a Maroon movement in Saint-Domingue was established, led principally by Augustin Dieufort and supported by Bastienne Josèphe. Over the following years, the rebellion grew in strength and power thanks to the efforts of Adéwalé, a member of the West Indies Assassins. Liberated slaves from both ships and sugar plantations attacked by the Assassin joined the rebellion, though a confrontation with the Governor of Port-au-Prince, Pierre de Fayet, would put an end to this alliance, with Adéwalé leaving Port-au-Prince after assassinating de Fayet in 1737.

In 1751, François Mackandal, using a Precursor box and the Voynich manuscript in his possession, discovered the location of an Isu vault near Port-au-Prince. The Assassin Vendredi was subsequently sent to investigate it, but inadvertently triggered the site's defense mechanism, resulting in an earthquake that destroyed the vault and leveled Port-au-Prince. The Templar Lawrence Washington, who was visiting Saint-Domingue at the time, took advantage of this devastation to steal Mackandal's Pieces of Eden for the Order.

In 1758, a failed attempt at freeing the slaves in Saint-Domingue by poisoning the island's white colonists led to Mackandal's execution. With the Saint-Domingue Brotherhood effectively collapsed, Mackandal's students Agaté and Baptiste both individually fled the island and ended up in the French colony of Louisiana.

The Maroons and their Assassin allies in Saint-Domingue ultimately managed a successful slave uprising, the only one to result in the founding of a free state after a century of effort and more than one attempt. The revolution started in 1791, with the Vodou ceremony at Bois Caïman led by Dutty Boukman. By early 1801, the Maroon and Assassin Toussaint Louverture declared himself the absolute ruler of the island and freed all of its slaves. Though interference by the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, by way of his brother-in-law Charles Leclerc, deposed him, Louverture's lieutenant Jean-Jacques Dessalines ousted the French from the island, bringing the revolution to a successful conclusion. However, Dessalines' rule quickly turned tyrannical, prompting the Assassin Eseosa to make plans to remove him.

In 1957, Templar-affiliate François Duvalier was elected President of Haiti, and became responsible for more than ten years of corrupt and murderous leadership. On 21 April 1971, Duvalier was killed by the Assassins.

Behind the scenes

The names of the French colony Saint-Domingue, and the Spanish colony of Santo Domingo, which between themselves divided the island of Hispaniola, both translate to Saint Dominic, a Spanish friar of the Dominican Order.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed II (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed III: Liberation (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – Freedom Cry (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Initiates
• Assassin's Creed: Rogue (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed FCBD 2016 Edition