Monkey Island

Monkey Island, as it was called by its inhabitants in the 18th century, is an island in the Philippines, situated northwest of Cebu.

History[]

Japanese-Filipino conflict[]

"The vast differences between our cultures were at times impossible to bridge... which led to countless squabbles and even some that resulted in bloodshed."

―The village chief to Edward Kenway, on the conflict between the natives and the Japanese settlers, 1725.^[src]^-[m]

At some point before the early 18th century, a number of Japanese people came into contact with the island's natives and began trading with them. In time, many of these Japanese foreigners chose to remain and established a settlement, living among the natives. However, differences in culture between the two groups eventually led to conflict and bloodshed, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides.^[1]

In the end, the Japanese settlers chose to end the conflict by isolating themselves, avoiding contact with the natives as much as possible and rarely leaving their settlement. However, this changed when the Japanese caught wind of the presence of a valuable artifact – a Piece of Eden – on Monkey Island. Many of their warriors subsequently left the village and began sacking neighboring settlements and islands in search of the treasure.^[1]

Occupation by the Visayan resistance[]

"One day, the island was suddenly taken over by resistance fighters at war with the Spanish. They forced all the local men into their militia and built a fortress here. That's why you see more women, children and elderly than grown men in the village."

―Xialun Qing on the native villagers' plight, 1725.^[src]^-[m]

ACFT - Monkey Island fort — The resistance's fort

In 1725, Monkey Island was further consumed by violence when it was occupied by a Visayan resistance at war with the Spanish colonists in the Philippines. Led by Rajah, who wielded the Piece of Eden desired by the Japanese – a crescent amulet – the native warriors built a fort on the island and began forcefully recruiting many villagers to their ranks, leaving behind only women, children, and the elderly.^[2]

Most of the warriors conscripted this way were placed under the amulet's control, leaving them in a berserk-like state, and were sent to roam the island's jungles in search of "foreign trespassers" to eliminate. Sometimes, these warriors would be dressed as beasts of Filipino mythology to intimidate anyone who sighted them.^[2]

This led to Monkey Island becoming the subject of unsettling rumors, especially after its inhabitants stopped trading with their neighbors and numerous Spanish ships went missing near its shores. Some of these legends included a strange noise that drew sailors to the island, and vampires who fed on any man and animal that set foot on it.^[3]

Arrival of the Zhang Wei Union[]

"There's no justice in blind rage that hurts the innocent against their will. We'll make them see there's a better way"

―Edward Kenway to his fellow Union members, regarding the resistance's cause, 1725.^[src]^-[m]

While en route to Cebu, the Zhang Wei Union members passed by Monkey Island and their ship, the Fenghuang, was bombarded with mortar fire by Rajah's warriors, using their fort's cannons. After taking cover behind some rocks, Xialun Qing told her fellow crew members about a hot air balloon, the Celestial Chariot, that she had built alongside Yun Pyeong-Gyu, which would allow them to survey the island and determine the locations of enemy encampments.^[4] Qing subsequently volunteered to pilot the balloon, though the Celestial Chariot suffered a malfunction and caught fire.^[5]

After Qing parachuted to safety and landed on Monkey Island, her fellow Union members went looking for her. As they approached the island's fort, the Fenghuang engaged it as a distraction to allow Edward Kenway, John Young, and several other crew members to reach the island via rowboat. Afterwards, the Fenghuang retreated and went back into hiding while Edward and the others explored the island in search of Qing.^[6]

ACFT - Edward leading the expedition — The Union members searching for Xialun Qing

They eventually found her in a village, where she treated the natives after they had rescued her from the island's jungles.^[7] The Union members were allowed to stay in the village as guests and were informed by its chief of the natives' plight brought about by Rajah. They subsequently decided to bring all the missing villagers back to their families, and Edward devised a plan to capture the brainwashed warriors who roamed the island's jungles.^[2]

The plan was successful and the Union members were able to capture a number of berserk warriors, whom they subsequently used to storm the resistance's fort. Shortly before the assault, Rajah and most of his men had left Monkey Island and sailed to Cebu, so the fort's defenses were weaker than usual. As a result, the Union members and the villagers were victorious and captured the fort, rescuing all the prisoners from its dungeon before John planted explosives to destroy the stronghold.^[1]

Meanwhile, on the other side of the island, several of Rajah's men found the Fenghuang hiding in a swamp and took advantage of a downpour of rain to board the ship. Despite their Manananggal disguises, which scared some of the crew members, the native warriors were ultimately defeated when the crew used multi-barreled muskets built by Yun against them.^[7] However, when another wave of warriors attempted to board the Fenghuang, the crew members decided to flee and sailed into the open sea.^[2]

Drawn by the destruction of the resistance's fort, the Fenghuang arrived to pick up Edward, John, Qing and the others, after which the Union members decided to leave Monkey Island and resume their voyage to Cebu. They bid farewell to the villagers, who thanked them for all their help and promised that their kindness would never be forgotten.^[8]

Shimazu clan attack[]

"Those people were innocent villagers leaving in peace. They couldn't have possibly posed any threat to our grand cause--""

―Xue Yan, on the massacre of the native villagers, 1725.^[src]^-[m]

ACFT - Monkey Island ablaze — The island's villages burning in the aftermath of the attack

Shortly after the Zhang Wei Union's departure, Monkey Island was ravaged by members of the Shimazu clan led by Fuma Sukuna, who were searching for the crescent amulet in Rajah's possession. Unaware that the Viasayan chief and his men had already left the island, the ninja massacred entire villages while making their way towards the resistance's former stronghold.^[8]

Upon finding the fort in ruins, Sukuna and his allies – the Chinese Assassins Xiao Han, Liu Qing and Xue Yan – realized that they had arrived too late, and the Assassins decided to leave the island and follow Rajah's trail to Cebu. Sukuna and his men stayed behind to deal with the remaining villagers and recruited several of the Japanese settlers, who were promised a place in the Shimazu clan by Sukuna if they proved their loyalty and skills.^[8]

Behind the scenes[]

Although never identified by any name other than Monkey Island in Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple, there is a real-life island situated near the Philippines called Angaur, which is also known by this nickname. However, the island only gained this nickname in the 20th century, making it unlikely that it would be called that in 1725.^[9] Judging by its shape and positioning on the map, the Monkey Island featured in Forgotten Temple appears to correspond to the real-life Sibuyan Island instead.^[10]

The island's name could also be a reference to the video game series Secrets of Monkey Island, which has been alluded to before in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.