Assassin's Creed Initiates: The Golden Age of Piracy
------------------------------------------------------
 | 25 - // Spain // 1689 - THE LADY BLACK
Lucia Marquez never knew her father, though some suspect it is the explorer Alejandro de Ortega. By the age of twelve, she was living on her own, developing the skills of a master thief in the process.
At age seventeen, she was caught stealing a horse from a high-ranking Templar, but agreed to receive training rather than go to jail.
Her life as a Templar in the West Indies was never lacking in challenge or adventure.
|
 | 26 - England // United Kingdom // 1690 - THE BASTARD SON OF CAPTAIN KIDD
Mary Read was illegitimately born in England at some point between 1685 and 1695, to the widow of a sea captain. Her mother dressed her as a boy in the hope of passing her off as another man's son.
As a teenager, Mary used her skills of disguise to secure a job aboard a ship, and eventually wound up in the British Navy. She met her first husband during the War of Spanish Succession, but after he was killed, she travelled to the West Indies and began a career as a pirate.
Mary resumed dressing as a man, and forged a false identity as James Kidd, the illegitimate son of the infamous pirate William Kidd. She soon found a new direction in life after meeting Ah Tabai, the Mentor of the Assassin Brotherhood in the West Indies.
|
 | 27 - England // United Kingdom // 1690 - A FOOL IN LOVE
Vance Travers was born in England, the younger brother of Upton Travers. The pair left home to seek their fortune in the West Indies and started a smuggling operation, before being recruited into the Assassin Brotherhood.
Compared to his more level-headed brother, Vance was passionate, creative, and gullible. He fell in love with a Templar pirate named Jing Lang, who was after the treasure the Travers brothers had stashed to fund their retirement.
|
 | 28 - Bristol // England // 1691 - CAROLINE SCOTT OF HAWKINS LANE
Caroline Scott was born in Bristol, England, to Emmett and Elizabeth Scott, part of a prosperous family of merchants and civil servants.
She was given a modest education by her father, but she supplemented it by reading as often as her household duties allowed. She grew into an intelligent and confident young woman.
Caroline first met Edward Kenway outside of the Auld Shillelagh, after the latter saved one of her servants from the clutches of some of Bristol's most notorious cads.
Although she was thankful for his kindness, and agreed to meet him again under more favorable circumstances, she never imagined, at the time, that a romance would bloom.
|
 | 29 - Kingston // Jamaica // 1692 - KINGSTON, JAMAICA
Kingston was established in 1692, following a massive earthquake that destroyed the town of Port Royal. After the tragedy, which drowned most of the land in the area, a new town was created. Kingston would later attract a number of unemployed sailors who quickly turned to piracy.
| |
|
 | 30 - // Cuba // 1695 - THE TAINO ASSASSIN
Opia Apito was raised among her mother's people, the Taino, and never knew her father, a Spaniard. There were rumors that her father was the adventurer known as Alejandro Ortega de Màrquez, but these have never been verified.
When Opia was twelve years old, her village was raided by the Spanish. Most of her community was kidnapped or killed, but Opia fought and ran. She survived in hiding for close to a decade.
In her early twenties, she was hired by an Assassin as a guide, and joined the Brotherhood soon after.
|
 | 31 - Kinsale // Ireland // 1679-03-08 - THE PIRATE BARMAID
Anne Bonny was the illegitimate daughter of an Irish attorney and his housemaid. She moved from Ireland to South Carolina with her father, who settled there as a plantation owner.
Anne married a common sailor named James Bonny and they settled in Nassau. James found work at a nearby plantation, and she worked as a waitress at the Old Avery tavern, where she caught the eye of many of its regular patrons.
Within a year of their arrival, the Bonnys' marriage was in a shambles. James disappeared into his work, while Anne started taking pirate lovers.
|
 | 32 - Nassau // The Bahamas // 1706 - UNGOVERNED ISLAND
In July 1703, during the War of the Spanish Succession, French and Spanish troops attacked the British territory of New Providence, and ultimately burnt it to the ground. By 1706, no one ruled over Nassau.
In the aftermath of the war, thousands of sailors were left without work. Many of them stayed in the Caribbean, where they had been stationed at the end of the conflict, while others headed towards Central America from Europe. Most of these seamen sought to take advantage of the ungoverned territory.
| |
|
 | 33 - Virginia // British America // 1710 - CHASING THE PIRATES
Alexander Spotswood became the governor of Virginia in 1710. He was aware of the pirate activities around his colony and grew increasingly concerned about the menace they represented to his economic transactions, both in the area and overseas.
Spotswood had supposedly received numerous complaints from North Carolina merchants and traders as well as reports of a pirate scheme to erect fortifications at Ocracoke Island. After realizing that the government of North Carolina did not have the resources or the will to hunt down the seafaring criminals, Spotswood took it upon himself to put an end to the pirate threats.
Spotswood targeted Blackbeard as the main pirate menace. He gave orders to keep track of the movements and activities of Blackbeard's ship, Queen Anne's Revenge. On November 24, 1718, he issued a proclamation offering rewards for the capture, conviction, or killing of pirates.
| |
|
 | 34 - Nassau // The Bahamas // 1713 - THE BEACHES OF NASSAU
Duncan Walpole is the second cousin of Robert Walpole, who is widely considered to be Britain's “first prime minister.”
He left the relative comfort of his family life at age 18 when he joined the Royal Navy as a mid-shipman with dreams of becoming an officer. However, his hot temper and impulsiveness impeded a swift ascension through the ranks.
After three years, Duncan left the navy for the East India Company and met a sailor who introduced him to the Assassin Brotherhood and its teachings.
Although he was initially hesitant, Duncan quickly learned the skills of a Master Assassin. However his temper and arrogance were still present, which led to clashes with the leadership of the British Brotherhood.
In 1714, his Mentor asked him to sail to the West Indies to rendezvous with the Brotherhood there and meet with their Mentor Ah Tabai. Duncan eagerly accepted the mission, and the British Brotherhood never heard from him again.
| |
|
 | 35 - Kingston // Jamaica // 1714 - UNEMPLOYED SEAMEN
After the War of the Spanish Succession, Kingston was filled with unemployed sailors. The town became a place where several former sailors joined pirate groups.
Charles Vane was one of many seamen seeking employment around the docks of Kingston in search of employment. He was hired by Captain Henry Jennings, and they both later became successful pirates.
|
|
 | 36 - Utrecht // Netherlands // 1714-06-26 - BEFORE THE GOLDEN AGE
The Peace of Utrecht was a series of treaties between many European powers, including France, Great Britain, and Spain, that ended the War of the Spanish Succession. Aside from resolving many territorial disputes, it also settled the question of the Spanish Succession, establishing Philip V, from the House of Bourbon, as the King of Spain. The Treaties of Utrecht, however, did not resolve the problem of the unprotected coastline in the Caribbean.
The end of the War of the Spanish Succession forced Great Britain to demobilize a large part of its navy. Several thousand sailors were released and a great number of them, including Edward Thatch, headed to the Caribbean, searching for new opportunities.
Jobs were scarce and the Caribbean was soon filled with angry, bitter sailors. Taking advantage of the lack of authority in the region, several men regrouped and formed crews to attack Spanish ships. They not only wanted revenge for what they suffered during the war, but also hoped to get rich. Soon, gangs of pirates flourished in the Bahamas, and thus began the Golden Age of piracy in the Caribbean.
| |
|
 | 37 - // Florida Coast // 1715 - THE WRECK OF THE SPANISH TREASURE FLEET
Following the War of the Spanish Succession, King Philip V of Spain, the grandson of Louis XIV of France, was in dire need of financial relief. Since Spain had accumulated a vast amount of wealth in the Americas during the war, the King ordered that his treasure be brought back to Spain. On July 13, 1715, a fleet under the command of Captain-General Don Juan Esteban de Ubila left Havana.
The galleons and their extremely valuable haul were bound for Cádiz, Spain, but they encountered a storm on July 19, while in the Straits of Florida. All ships were lost. The wrecked Spanish treasure fleet attracted many pirates, and changed the fortunes of William Jennings, Benjamin Hornigold, Edward Thatch, and Charles Vane, among others.
| |
|
 | 38 - Nassau // The Bahamas // 1715 - THE FLYING GANG
Around 1715, Nassau was the refuge for hundreds of pirates. Benjamin Hornigold emerged as the unofficial leader of the pirate groups evolving around the island. Hornigold and another pirate named Edward Thatch often organized their raids on European ships. The Bahamas then transformed into a republic of pirates, with Nassau a stronghold filled by outlaws.
| |
|
 | 39 - Havana // Cuba // 1716 - THE FORTIDIED CITY
Established in 1514, Havana was a place where many merchant ships heading for Europe or Central America sought refuge before continuing their journey.
During the early part of the eighteen century, the city caught the attention of many pirate gangs. Pirates had been able to infiltrate Havana and contributed to the rise of corruption. Consequently, the harbor and the town became increasingly fortified, but this did not prevent further attacks from privateers and pirates.
| |
|
 | 40 - Nassau // The Bahamas // 1716 - THE REPUBLIC OF PIRATES UNDER SCRUTINY
Reports of the pirates located around Nassau were quickly transmitted across the colonies and in Europe. The emergence of the republic of pirates was disrupting trade in the region and destabilizing the slave societies near the Bahamian islands. Consequently, by the end of winter 1714, there were persistent rumors that said the Spanish authorities were preparing an assault on the pirate base.
|
 | 41 - Port-au-Prince // Saint-Domingue // 1717 - BUCCANEER HIDEOUT
Neglected by the Spanish authorities, the region of what is known today as Port-au-Prince was encroached by French boucaniers around 1670. Even when the western part of Hispaniola was officially transferred to the French, the region did not immediately emerge as an important part of Saint-Domingue. The port of the town was not as developed as other ports in the colony. Not being the main focus of the island, the town attracted pirates who were passing through while on the run from authorities who were chasing them.
| |
|
 | 42 - Cape Cod // British America // 1717-04-26 - FROM SLAVERS TO PIRATES
In February 1717, the pirate Sam Bellamy captured the Whydah, a British ship named after a trading post on the West African Gold Coast. Built in England in 1716, the Whydah was a massive galley with three masts that weighed three hundred tons. It was used to carry slaves across the Atlantic.
At the time of its capture, the Whydah was armed with ten guns, but Bellamy and his pirate crew converted the ship into a twenty-eight gun galley. After plundering a number of ships near Virginia, the Whydah, along with Bellamy's other ships, attempted to reach Block Island, off the coast of Rhode Island. However, the weather rapidly deteriorated and the ships lost contact with each other. The weather intensified near Cape Cod and the Whydah was destroyed in the storm.
| |
|
 | 43 - Charleston // British America // 1718-05-22 - MEDICINAL HOSTAGES
Desperately seeking medical supplies, Blackbeard and his fleet entered the Charleston harbor bay in South Carolina. For several days, he blockaded the harbor and terrorized the town. The crew took hostages and sought to exchange them for medical supplies.
|
 | 44 - Port Royal // Jamaica // 1721-03-29 - PIRATES HANGED
In the seventeenth century, Port Royal, a harbor town on the southern coast of Jamaica, was a refuge for slave traders. It also became a place where semi-legal piratical activities took place. In the 1660s, British buccaneers and privateers were tacitly encouraged by the British authorities to attack Spanish ships in order to prevent Spain from retaking the island. The buccaneer Henry Morgan established his headquarters in Port Royal. When the British authorities sought to properly administer the island, the buccaneers' rule was eradicated, but Morgan was nonetheless appointed governor of Jamaica and commanded to bring order to the town.
On June 7, 1692, an earthquake hit Port Royal. Around 2,000 people were killed and several thousand others died of subsequent disease and fever. A considerable area of land sank.
Despite this, privateering continued in the region. After the War of the Spanish Succession, the streets and taverns of Port Royal were filled with bitter, unemployed sailors, among them Benjamin Hornigold and Edward Thatch. These broke seamen began to attack and plunder Spanish ships.
During the Golden Age of Piracy, Port Royal became notorious as the location where pirates were hanged after being captured by British authorities. Charles Vane and Jack Rackam were two pirates who were found guilty of piracy and were then hanged at Gallows Point.
| |
|
 | 45 - // Okhotsk Sea // 1728 - EXPLORER OF THE NORTH
Vitus Bering was a navigator and an explorer who was working for the Russian Navy. In 1724, he was appointed to explore the territory between Asia and North America, and to determine whether the continents were connected by land. The Russians wished to find a northeast passage to North America. Bering was the first European to thoroughly explore the region and in 1728, he navigated the sea between the two land masses. His explorations paved the way for Russian involvement in North America.
|
 | 46 - Port-au-Prince // Saint-Domingue // 1730 - OVERSHADOWED BY SLAVERY
At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the area of today's Port-au-Prince was more town than city. The mountains surrounding the town prevented the population from spreading through the region. Living conditions were particularly difficult and the expansion of slavery affected the nature and development of the city.
By the middle of the eighteenth century, the town was characterized by a brutal slavery system. During the eighteenth century, African slaves outnumbered the European population by a large margin and the conditions on the plantations were particularly harsh. The plantations were close to each other and the density of the population was far greater than that of other colonial towns on the island of Saint-Domingue. Apart from some large plantations, the buildings were remote and rudimentary, highlighting the omnipresence of slaves in the town and the importance of slavery in the region.
| |
|
 | 47 - Port-au-Prince // Saint-Domingue // 1749 - A RESILIENT COLONY
The city of Port-au-Prince is located at the heart of the Gulf of Gonâve. The area had been part of the Spanish empire before being transferred to the French in 1697. The western part of the island of Hispaniola never reached its economic potential and had been progressively left on its own by the Spanish authorities. The Spaniards relinquished sovereignty over the territory and handed it over to France through the 1697 Treaty of Ryswick.
The French had begun to colonize the island even before it was officially under their possession. The Mentor of the Assassin Brotherhood, François Mackandal, was active in Saint-Domingue during the early part of the eighteenth century. In Saint-Domingue, Mackandal taught his pupils Baptiste and Agaté the rudimentary principles of the Assassin Brotherhood.
In the early 1700s, the territory now known as Port-au-Prince was a remote region. The area, which was called L'Hôpital at the time, substantially developed after 1749. The emerging city suffered from major earthquakes in 1751 and 1770 that destroyed large parts of its territory. However, these crises did not prevent Port-au-Prince from replacing Cap-Haïtien, originally named Cap François, and later Cap Français, as the capital of the French colony of Saint-Domingue.
|
|
|
FOLLOW US ON
