Changes: John de la Tour

Revision as of 13:16, 2 January 2020

"The people know that he is rich and that he is dangerous, but they never get a moment to question why."

―Achilles Davenport describing John de la Tour.^[src]

John de la Tour (died 1745) was a French-Canadian Assassin who was tasked by the council of the French Brotherhood to establish a network in New France from his home in Acadia. It was in this capacity that he assisted Achilles Davenport, playing a pivotal role in the Caribbean Assassin's foundation of the Colonial Brotherhood.

Biography

The first Assassin of the colonies

Hailing from a wealthy and influential family, John de la Tour was a resident of the French colony of Acadia by 1740, by which point he was also under the direct orders of the French Assassin Council to develop an intelligence network for the French Brotherhood in the region. Their primary goal was to ensure that potential threats to the colonies could be readily identified. As his work progressed, however, de la Tour began to suspect that the Americas contained invaluable Isu artifacts and sites. Correctly predicting that should even a fragment of these relics be discovered by the Templars, they would "descend upon the colonies like thunder", de la Tour made it his priority to find them first and protect them from Templar hands.^[1]

Working with Achilles

In 1740, he became acquainted with Achilles Davenport, who had been sent to the British colonies to the south by the Mentor of the Caribbean Brotherhood, Ah Tabai, in order to establish a new branch. Achilles did not hold de la Tour in high regard, initially believing him to be arrogant and reckless, but over time, the two would come to cooperate well.^[1]^[2]

In 1744, John accompanied Achilles to Quebec in order to locate Mathieu Léveillé, a slave from Martinique who had been purchased by the French government to serve as an executioner and who was believed to possess knowledge regarding the First Civilization. However, due to the weather conditions, the two were delayed on their journey, and by the time of their arrival, Mathieu had passed away from an illness related to the severe cold in September 1743.^[2]

Fortunately for the Assassins, they discovered that the government had purchased a woman, Angélique-Denise, to be Léveillé's wife. Because of his untimely death, the ceremony had to be cancelled, and Angélique-Denise was put back up for sale at a slave auction. Acting on his instincts, de la Tour bought her, and just as he expected, the woman had already learned of Léveillé's most trusted secrets. Witnessing this act finally improved Achilles' view of John, a fact helped by Achilles' affections for Angélique-Denise, who adopted the name Abigail on his advice as a symbol of her newfound freedom.^[2]

Final mission in Louisbourg

In 1745, de la Tour journeyed to Louisbourg, with Achilles and Abigail posing as his slaves, in search of a safe house owned by Nicolas Court, a Hermeticist who studied the mythology of the indigenous people of the Americas. De la Tour believed that Court held valuable information that would lead them to finding Precursor sites. Although Achilles found the disguises grossly humiliating, the illusion of status that they afforded de la Tour made it vastly easier for him to connect with the people they encountered. As a result, they were able to avoid resorting to violence throughout much of their mission.^[3]

This changed as the War of Austrian Succession reached the American colonies. Despite de la Tour's pleas to the French government, the French declined to send troops to reinforce Louisbourg, calculating that they would be able to win it back in treaty negotiations. This thereby left the city vulnerable when British forces invaded. De la Tour and Achilles helped prepare the Louisbourg fortress for the impending British attack while Abigail searched the city for the safe house.^[3]

When the siege was finally at hand, the situation for the defenders became increasingly desperate. At last, de la Tour resolved to risk his life to buy time for Achilles and Abigail to escape, recognizing that they must survive to establish the Colonial Brotherhood. With his parting words, de la Tour presented Achilles with his Assassin robes, warned him that the Templars were certainly on the way if they had not already arrived, asserted that this made forming a new branch an immediate necessity, and finally referred to him as the Mentor of the Colonial Brotherhood. These words having been spoken, de la Tour left to ward off the British soldiers against insurmountable odds, allowing Achilles and Abigail time to complete their mission and ultimately sacrificing himself in the process.^[3]

Legacy

Thanks to John de la Tour's sacrifice at Louisbourg, Achilles survived the battle and one year later officially founded the Colonial Brotherhood of Assassins, based at the Davenport Homestead in Massachusetts, becoming its first Mentor.^[4]^[5]

Three pieces of equipment owned by de la Tour eventually passed down to Ratonhnhaké:ton: the outfit he had given to Achilles,^[6] the Colonial Assassin outfit, and the Assassin Tomahawk.

Personality and characteristics

"John de la Tour is brash, he draws too much attention to himself, I thought he would surely compromise the Brotherhood. But I was wrong. He misdirects with charm, he hides in plain sight behind a smile."

―Achilles Davenport^[src]

When Achilles Davenport first began working alongside John de la Tour, he was of the opinion that the French Canadian was reckless and cocky to the point that he feared he would compromise the Assassin Brotherhood at any moment. Within their first year together, Achilles came to revise this judgment to an extent, coming to recognize that de la Tour was in fact a master at deception through his natural charisma.^[1]

As a scion from an established upper-class family, de la Tour was well acquainted with the social arts, allowing him to fulfill the Assassin mantra of "hiding in plain sight" with ease. Likewise, his stratagems favoured blending in through disguise rather than brute force. To an extent, his impulsiveness owed to his reliance on his intuition, which proved correct when he swiftly bought the slave Angélique-Denise even though it was thought that her brief exposure with her ex-fiancé made the possibility that she knew his secrets slim at best.^[1]^[2]

Even so, his skill was not enough to fully dissolve Achilles' distrust of him, and the Caribbean Assassin continued to frequently describe him as arrogant four years into their partnership. It was only when de la Tour freed the slave Angélique-Denise with whom Achilles would quickly fall in love that Achilles would finally grow fond of de la Tour and respect him.^[2]

In their final mission together, de la Tour demonstrated his selflessness and dedication to his duty by sacrificing his life to entrust Achilles with the founding of the Colonial Brotherhood. Not a man after power, he saw the discovery of Isu relics as a vital goal of the Assassins but only so that they may be definitively guarded against their abuse by the Templars.^[2]

Trivia

The French surname de la Tour means "of the Tower".
Achilles referred to de la Tour as "the first Assassin to come to the colonies".^[6]
In Assassin's Creed III: Liberation, stores with the name "De La Tour" can be found.

Appearances

Assassin's Creed III (mentioned only)
Assassin's Creed: Rogue (mentioned only)

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Assassin's Creed: Rogue – War Letters: "The First Colonial Assassin"
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 ^2.4 ^2.5 Assassin's Creed: Rogue – War Letters: "Death of the Executioner"
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 Assassin's Creed: Rogue – War Letters: "The Siege of Louisbourg"
↑ Assassin's Creed III – Database: Achilles Davenport
↑ Assassin's Creed: Rogue – Database: Achilles
↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 Assassin's Creed III – Manor Mysteries, Part 1

[First_Colonial_Assassin-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Assassin's Creed: Rogue – War Letters: "The First Colonial Assassin"

[Death_of_the_Executioner-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 ^2.4 ^2.5 Assassin's Creed: Rogue – War Letters: "Death of the Executioner"

[Siege_of_Louisbourg-3] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 Assassin's Creed: Rogue – War Letters: "The Siege of Louisbourg"

[4] Assassin's Creed III – Database: Achilles Davenport

[5] Assassin's Creed: Rogue – Database: Achilles

[Manor_Mysteries-6] 6.0 ^6.1 Assassin's Creed III – Manor Mysteries, Part 1

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Era|AC3|ACRG|Assassins}}
+{{Era|Individuals|Assassins}}
-{{Quote|John de la Tour is brash, he draws too much attention to himself, I thought he would surely compromise the Brotherhood. But I was wrong. He misdirects with charm, he hides in plain sight behind a smile. The people know that he is rich and that he is dangerous, but they never get a moment to question why. Still, he is unbelievably arrogant. I like him, but I don't trust him. I wonder if we will be able to work together.|Achilles Davenport voicing his opinion of John.|Assassin's Creed: Rogue}}
+{{Quote|The people know that he is rich and that he is dangerous, but they never get a moment to question why.|Achilles Davenport describing John de la Tour.|Assassin's Creed: Rogue}}
+{{Character Infobox
-'''John de la Tour''' (unknown – 11 May 1745) was a [[France|French]]-[[Canada|Canadian]] member of the [[Assassins|Assassin Order]] who played a pivotal role in the foundation of the [[Colonial Assassins|Colonial Assassin Brotherhood]].
+|image = Wiki noimage.jpg
+|death = 1745<br />[[Louisbourg]], {{Wiki|Acadia}}, [[Canada|New France]]
+|species = [[Human]]
+|affiliates = [[Assassins]]
+*[[Parisian Brotherhood of Assassins|French Brotherhood]]
+*[[American Brotherhood of Assassins|Colonial Brotherhood]]
+}}
+'''John de la Tour''' (died 1745) was a [[France|French]]-[[Canada|Canadian]] [[Assassins|Assassin]] who was tasked by the [[Assassin Council|council]] of the [[Parisian Brotherhood of Assassins|French Brotherhood]] to establish a network in [[New France]] from his home in [[Acadia]]. It was in this capacity that he assisted [[Achilles Davenport]], playing a pivotal role in the [[West Indies Brotherhood of Assassins|Caribbean Assassin]]'s foundation of the [[American Brotherhood of Assassins|Colonial Brotherhood]].
 ==Biography==
+===The first Assassin of the colonies===
-John de la Tour resided in {{Wiki|Acadia}}, a member of a wealthy family, and operated under direct order of the [[France|French]] [[Assassin Council]]. In 1740, he became acquainted with [[Achilles Davenport]], who had been sent to the Colonies by the [[Mentor]] of the [[Caribbean Assassins|Caribbean branch]] of the Order, [[Ah Tabai]], in order to establish a new Brotherhood. Upon first meeting de la Tour, Achilles learned that he had attempted to build a network for gathering information, with the intention of easily identifying any potential threats aimed towards the colonies, and personally theorized that the New World contained several [[Isu|First Civilization]] [[Temples|sites]] and [[Pieces of Eden|artifacts]]. Achilles did not hold de la Tour in high regard, believing him arrogant.<ref name="ACRG">''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]''</ref>
+Hailing from a wealthy and influential family, John de la Tour was a resident of the [[France|French]] colony of Acadia by 1740, by which point he was also under the direct orders of the [[Parisian Brotherhood of Assassins|French Assassin]] [[Assassin Council|Council]] to develop an intelligence network for the French Brotherhood in the region. Their primary goal was to ensure that potential threats to the colonies could be readily identified. As his work progressed, however, de la Tour began to suspect that the [[Americas]] contained invaluable [[Isu]] artifacts and sites. Correctly predicting that should even a fragment of these relics be discovered by the [[Templars]], they would "descend upon the colonies like thunder", de la Tour made it his priority to find them first and protect them from Templar hands.<ref name="First Colonial Assassin">''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]'' – [[War Letters#The First Colonial Assassin|War Letters: "The First Colonial Assassin"]]</ref>
+===Working with Achilles===
-In 1744, John accompanied Achilles to [[Quebec]] in order to locate [[Mathieu Léveillé]], a [[Slavery|slave]] from [[Martinique]] who had been believed to possess certain knowledge regarding the First Civilization. However, due to the weather conditions, the two were delayed on their journey, and by the time of their arrival, Mathieu had passed away from an unknown illness in September 1743.<ref name="ACRG" />
+In 1740, he became acquainted with [[Achilles Davenport]], who had been sent to the British colonies to the south by the [[Mentor]] of the [[West Indies Brotherhood of Assassins|Caribbean Brotherhood]], [[Ah Tabai]], in order to establish a new [[Assassin Guilds|branch]]. Achilles did not hold de la Tour in high regard, initially believing him to be arrogant and reckless, but over time, the two would come to cooperate well.<ref name="First Colonial Assassin" /><ref name="Death of the Executioner">''Assassin's Creed: Rogue'' – [[War Letters#Death of the Executioner|War Letters: "Death of the Executioner"]]</ref>
+In 1744, John accompanied Achilles to [[Quebec]] in order to locate [[Mathieu Léveillé]], a [[Slavery|slave]] from [[Martinique]] who had been purchased by the French government to serve as an executioner and who was believed to possess knowledge regarding the First Civilization. However, due to the weather conditions, the two were delayed on their journey, and by the time of their arrival, Mathieu had passed away from an illness related to the severe cold in September 1743.<ref name="Death of the Executioner" />
-Fortunately for the Assassins, they discovered that the government had arranged a marriage between Léveillé and [[Abigail Davenport|Angélique-Denise]]. However, the ceremony never took place, and the woman was put up for sale at a slave auction. Acting on impulse, de la Tour bought her, but not before Mathieu was able to share his secrets with her. Witnessing this act changed Achilles' view of John, whom the former came to respect.<ref name="ACRG" />
+Fortunately for the Assassins, they discovered that the government had purchased a woman, [[Abigail Davenport|Angélique-Denise]], to be Léveillé's wife. Because of his untimely death, the ceremony had to be cancelled, and Angélique-Denise was put back up for sale at a slave auction. Acting on his instincts, de la Tour bought her, and just as he expected, the woman had already learned of Léveillé's most trusted secrets. Witnessing this act finally improved Achilles' view of John, a fact helped by Achilles' affections for Angélique-Denise, who adopted the name Abigail on his advice as a symbol of her newfound freedom.<ref name="Death of the Executioner" />
-In 1745, John journeyed to [[Louisbourg]], with Achilles and Angélique posing as his slaves, in search of a safe house owned by [[Nicolas Court]], a [[Hermeticists|Hermeticist]] who studied the mythology of the [[Iroquois|indigenous]] people of the New World. De la Tour believed that Nicolas held valuable information that would lead them to finding First Civilization Temples. With the pair posing as slaves allowing them the benefit of drawing less suspicion and moving easily through the city, Achilles was nevertheless irritated by the charade, contrary to John.<ref name="ACRG" />
+===Final mission in Louisbourg===
-However, as the conflicts between [[Europe]]an powers had reached America, [[British Army|British]] [[Guards|troops]] appeared in the city. John and Achilles attempted to enlist the aid of the French government, but were turned away as the French decided to reclaim their lost territory through treaties and negotiations, a tactic which the Assassins were skeptical about. De la Tour and Achilles helped prepare the Louisbourg fortress for the impending British attack, while Angélique searched the city for the safe house.<ref name="ACRG" />
+In 1745, de la Tour journeyed to [[Louisbourg]], with Achilles and Abigail posing as his slaves, in search of a safe house owned by [[Nicolas Court]], a [[Hermeticists|Hermeticist]] who studied the mythology of the indigenous people of the Americas. De la Tour believed that Court held valuable information that would lead them to finding Precursor sites. Although Achilles found the disguises grossly humiliating, the illusion of status that they afforded de la Tour made it vastly easier for him to connect with the people they encountered. As a result, they were able to avoid resorting to violence throughout much of their mission.<ref name="Siege of Louisbourg">''Assassin's Creed: Rogue'' – [[War Letters#The_Siege_of_Louisbourg|War Letters: "The Siege of Louisbourg"]]</ref>
+This changed as the {{wiki|War of Austrian Succession}} reached the American colonies. Despite de la Tour's pleas to the French government, the French declined to send troops to reinforce Louisbourg, calculating that they would be able to win it back in treaty negotiations. This thereby left the city vulnerable when [[United Kingdom|British]] [[British Army|forces]] invaded. De la Tour and Achilles helped prepare the Louisbourg fortress for the impending {{Wiki|Siege of Louisbourg (1745)|British attack}} while Abigail searched the city for the safe house.<ref name="Siege of Louisbourg" />
-When the conflict between the French and the British finally erupted in the colonies, de la Tour realized the [[Templars]] would attempt to take advantage of it for their own purposes. John presented Achilles with his Assassin robes and named him as Mentor of the [[Colonial Assassins|Colonial Brotherhood]], before leaving to fight against the invading British forces, in order to buy Achilles and Angélique time to complete their mission, ultimately sacrificing himself in the process.<ref name="ACRG" />
+When the siege was finally at hand, the situation for the defenders became increasingly desperate. At last, de la Tour resolved to risk his life to buy time for Achilles and Abigail to escape, recognizing that they must survive to establish the Colonial Brotherhood. With his parting words, de la Tour presented Achilles with his Assassin robes, warned him that the Templars were certainly on the way if they had not already arrived, asserted that this made forming a new branch an immediate necessity, and finally referred to him as the Mentor of the Colonial Brotherhood. These words having been spoken, de la Tour left to ward off the British soldiers against insurmountable odds, allowing Achilles and Abigail time to complete their mission and ultimately sacrificing himself in the process.<ref name="Siege of Louisbourg" />
-After being left in exile at the [[Davenport Homestead]] by the Templars, Achilles placed the robes in a cave at the far end of the property. They would eventually be recovered by [[Ratonhnhaké:ton]], at Achilles' request.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed III]]''</ref>
+===Legacy===
+Thanks to John de la Tour's sacrifice at Louisbourg, Achilles survived the battle and one year later officially founded the [[American Brotherhood of Assassins|Colonial Brotherhood of Assassins]], based at the [[Davenport Homestead]] in [[Massachusetts]], becoming its first [[Mentor]].<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed III]]'' – [[Database: Achilles Davenport]]</ref><ref>''Assassin's Creed: Rogue'' – [[Database: Achilles]]</ref>
+Three pieces of equipment owned by de la Tour eventually passed down to [[Ratonhnhaké:ton]]: the outfit he had given to Achilles,<ref name="Manor Mysteries">''Assassin's Creed III'' – [[Manor Mysteries, Part 1]]</ref> the Colonial Assassin outfit, and the [[Assassin Tomahawk]].
+==Personality and characteristics==
+{{Quote|John de la Tour is brash, he draws too much attention to himself, I thought he would surely compromise the Brotherhood. But I was wrong. He misdirects with charm, he hides in plain sight behind a smile.|Achilles Davenport|Assassin's Creed: Rogue}}When Achilles Davenport first began working alongside John de la Tour, he was of the opinion that the French Canadian was reckless and cocky to the point that he feared he would compromise the Assassin Brotherhood at any moment. Within their first year together, Achilles came to revise this judgment to an extent, coming to recognize that de la Tour was in fact a master at deception through his natural charisma.<ref name="First Colonial Assassin" />
+As a scion from an established upper-class family, de la Tour was well acquainted with the social arts, allowing him to fulfill the [[the Creed|Assassin mantra]] of "hiding in plain sight" with ease. Likewise, his stratagems favoured blending in through disguise rather than brute force. To an extent, his impulsiveness owed to his reliance on his intuition, which proved correct when he swiftly bought the slave Angélique-Denise even though it was thought that her brief exposure with her ex-fiancé made the possibility that she knew his secrets slim at best.<ref name="First Colonial Assassin" /><ref name="Death of the Executioner" />
+Even so, his skill was not enough to fully dissolve Achilles' distrust of him, and the Caribbean Assassin continued to frequently describe him as arrogant four years into their partnership. It was only when de la Tour freed the slave Angélique-Denise with whom Achilles would quickly fall in love that Achilles would finally grow fond of de la Tour and respect him.<ref name="Death of the Executioner" />
+In their final mission together, de la Tour demonstrated his selflessness and dedication to his duty by sacrificing his life to entrust Achilles with the founding of the Colonial Brotherhood. Not a man after power, he saw the discovery of Isu relics as a vital goal of the Assassins but only so that they may be definitively guarded against their abuse by the Templars.<ref name="Death of the Executioner" />
 ==Trivia==
-*Achilles erroneously refers to de la Tour as the first Assassin to come to the colonies.
+*The {{wiki|French language|French}} surname ''de la Tour'' means "of the Tower".
+*Achilles referred to de la Tour as "the first Assassin to come to the colonies".<ref name="Manor Mysteries"></ref>
-*[[Ratonhnhaké:ton|Connor]] could wear de la Tour's [[Assassin's Creed III outfits#Colonial Assassin outfit|Colonial Assassin]] outfit, which was unlocked with the Join or Die and Digital Deluxe Editions of ''[[Assassin's Creed III]]'' or with [[The Hidden Secrets Pack]].
-*De la Tour was the initial owner of the [[Assassin Tomahawk]] which would later be passed down to Connor.
 *In ''[[Assassin's Creed III: Liberation]]'', stores with the name "De La Tour" can be found.
-==Gallery==
+==Appearances==
+*''[[Assassin's Creed III]]'' {{Mo}}
-<gallery captionalign="center" position="center" spacing="small" widths="180">
+*''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]'' {{Mo}}
-File:Colonial Assassin Render.png|Connor wearing de la Tour's outfit
-</gallery>
 ==References==
-{{Reflist}}
+{{Reflist}}{{DEFAULTSORT:Tour, John de la}}
-{{DEFAULTSORT:Tour, John de la}}
+{{ACIII}}
+[[de:John de la Tour]]
+[[es:John de la Tour]]
+[[fr:John de la Tour]]
+[[hu:John de la Tour]]
+[[it:John de la Tour]]
+[[nl:John de la Tour]]
+[[pl:John de la Tour]]
+[[ru:Джон де ла Тур]]
 [[Category:1745 deaths]]
 [[Category:Individuals]]
-[[Category:Frenchmen]]
+[[Category:French people]]
-[[Category:Canadians]]
+[[Category:Assassin Brotherhood members]]
-[[Category:Assassins]]
 [[Category:French Assassins]]
 [[Category:Colonial Assassins]]