The Saint-Domingue Brotherhood of Assassins, also known as the Haitian Brotherhood of Assassins, is the guild of Assassins located in Haiti, formerly the French colony of Saint-Domingue. The organization's first incarnation was founded in the early 18th century by the Maroon leader and Assassin François Mackandal as a splinter branch from the West Indies Brotherhood.
An extremist Mentor with a radical interpretation of the Creed, Mackandal sought to secure Saint-Domingue's independence and liberate its enslaved population by eliminating all of the island's white colonists. He recruited many slaves to his cause and refused any outside interference from other Brotherhoods, due to them opposing his violent methods. Mackandal would eventually be arrested and executed in 1758, before he could succeed in his goal, leading to his guild's collapse.
Circa 1776, a second incarnation of the Haitian Brotherhood was formed by Eseosa, the grandson of Adéwalé, who recruited several like-minded individuals to organize a slave revolt against Saint-Domingue's French rulers. This revolt eventually escalated into the Haitian Revolution, which saw many Assassins like Toussaint Louverture playing central roles, commanding armies against the French forces.
However, most of the Brotherhood's members would perish during the revolution or abandon the Brotherhood because of their personal political views and alliances. By 1804, as the last surviving Haitian Assassin, Eseosa planned to rebuild the guild and depose Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Haiti's new brutal ruler. To this end, he left the country and traveled to the United States to seek the aid of the Colonial Assassins and their leader, Ratonhnhaké:ton.
History[]
First incarnation[]
Establishment[]
By the early 1730s, François Mackandal, a former West Indies Assassin and Maroon leader, had founded the Saint-Domingue Brotherhood as its first Mentor due to an ideological split with his fellow Assassins over the meaning of the Creed. Viewing the Brotherhood's willingness to compromise as a sign of weakness, Mackandal decided to form his own splinter branch, one that would do whatever he believed was necessary to achieve Saint-Domingue's independence from France and abolish slavery in the colony.[1]
In 1732, Mackandal made contact with the slaves Agaté, Baptiste and Jeanne, and occupied his time with educating them. Additionally, Mackandal taught both Agaté and Baptiste the art of creating poisons, and trained them in combat, freerunning and the rudimentary principles of the Brotherhood. However, Mackandal's very strict interpretation of the Creed led him to order his pupils to poison the white colonists of Saint-Domingue, even if they were innocent. This caused Jeanne to grow distrustful of the Mentor and decide against joining his Brotherhood.[2]
Around 1738, Agaté and Baptiste were officially inducted into the Assassin Order while Jeanne stayed behind on the plantation, refusing to ally herself with Mackandal due to his violent methods.[2] Around this time, the West Indies Assassin Antó contacted Mackandal and offered to send him reinforcements in order to succeed in his goal of liberating slaves and strengthening the Maroon cause. However, Mackandal rejected Antó's aid and belittled his Mentor, Ah Tabai, whom he referred to as too soft. He claimed to hold a greater understanding of the Creed, while also professing his intent to make full use of a Piece of Eden should he find one.[1]
1751 earthquake[]
- "Once in Haiti, I wasted no time in tracking down the Assassins. They are led by a one-armed Maroon leader named François Mackandal. A reckless tyrant if I ever have seen one."
- ―Lawrence Washington in a letter to Christopher Gist, 1751.[src]-[m]
By 1751, Mackandal had come into possession of two Isu artifacts: a Precursor box, previously possessed by Bastienne Josèphe, and the Voynich manuscript. With them, the Saint-Domingue Brotherhood was able to discover the locations of several Isu temples, including one located in Port-au-Prince. Mackandal dispatched one of his Assassins, a Maroon named Vendredi, to the temple in search of the Pieces of Eden he believed the site contained.[3]
However, Vendredi unknowingly triggered the temple's defenses when he attempted to remove the artifact from its pedestal. This subsequently caused a massive earthquake which leveled the city, and caused Vendredi to be caught under the debris in the collapsing temple. Lawrence Washington, a Templar who had followed the Assassin into the temple, offered to help him in exchange for Mackandal's location. Vendredi agreed, but was killed shortly after by Washington. Some time afterward, Washington sneaked into Mackandal's camp and stole the Precursor box and the Voynich manuscript, claiming the artifacts for the Templar Order.[4]
After the earthquake, Adéwalé, a West Indies Assassin, arrived at Port-au-Prince[5] and discovered the Saint-Domingue Brotherhood.[6] There, he reunited with Bastienne Josèphe and met his son, Babatunde. Adéwalé inducted Babatunde and trained him as an Assassin of the Saint-Domingue Brotherhood.[5] Worried by Mackandal's extreme methods and increasing instability, he also instructed his son to keep an eye on the Mentor. Before leaving, he vowed to reform the Brotherhood and Saint-Domingue.[6]
Sometime afterward, Adéwalé pursued Washington at sea, in the hope of reclaiming the stolen Precursor artifacts. He ultimately lost the trail upon reaching New York and, at the suggestion of his son, traveled to the Davenport Homestead in 1752, in order to collect supplies for the survivors of the earthquake. Upon reuniting with Achilles Davenport, the Mentor of the Colonial Brotherhood, the two discussed Mackandal's progress and the effects of the Precursor site.[7]
Collapse[]
- "He calls himself François Mackandal, my own mentor – the leader, the priest, the Brother, to whose cause I devoted my life. He was put to death by fire. I failed to prevent it."
- ―Agaté to Aveline de Grandpré, on Mackandal's execution, 1766.[src]-[m]
By 1758, Mackandal's plan to poison several colonists in Saint-Domingue had failed and he was captured by the authorities.[8] The Master Templar Madeleine de L'Isle ensured that he was executed,[9] and on 20 January, the Saint-Domingue Mentor was put to death by fire. Agaté attempted to save Mackandal, but his efforts were futile. Agaté subsequently retreated to Louisiana and hid around the bayou in his personal hideout.[8] Baptiste, meanwhile, felt betrayed by Agaté and began forming his own Brotherhood, keeping true to Mackandal's teachings, which ultimately led him to become an ally of the Templar Order.[10]
In the meantime, Adéwalé was assassinated by Shay Cormac during the Templars' purge of the Colonial Brotherhood. With the death of the legendary Assassin and the lack of Mackandal's leadship, the Saint-Domingue Brotherhood soon fell apart.[11]
Second incarnation[]
Early activities[]
Eseosa
Around 1776, Babatunde's son Eseosa began plotting the Haitian Revolution and rebuilding the Brotherhood, sharing his father and grandfather's wish of creating a Saint-Domingue in which black and white citizens lived equally. He considered Mackandal a disgrace to the Brotherhood, and was disgusted by his brutality. Buying Toussaint Bréda out of slavery, he recruited Dutty Boukman, Georges Biassou, Jean-François Papillon and Jeannot Bullet into the Brotherhood. Following a Vodou ceremony by Boukman, the revolution ignited, secretly led by the Assassins.[5]
In 1791, Toussaint took command of Biassou's troops and attempted to negotiate a treaty between the rebels and the French troops, but was unsuccessful. Meanwhile, Bullet broke the Creed's tenents by overseeing the massacre of white and mulatto civilians, leading Eseosa to sentence him to death.[5]
That same year, Boukman was captured by French forces during a battle near Acul and was executed in the public square of Cap Français.[5] His fellow Assassin Elsie hoped to save him and recover a book in his possession, but was stopped from doing so by Fabien, who believed Boukman's sacrifice would further their cause.[12]
Haitian Revolution[]
- "My Brotherhood, rebels and madmen all, is gone. Boukman and Toussaint are dead. I killed the madman Jeannot. Biassou and Jean-François are gone, most likely to Florida. I received word that Toussaint died in prison, but no word on what happened to his body thereafter.[...] I have liberated Saint-Domingue. But at what cost?"
- ―Eseosa, 1804.[src]-[m]
By 1793, as the Haitian Revolution evolved into a full-scale war, Toussaint's role became much more prominent as he began to develop an autonomy from Biassou, having soldiers that answered only to him. Meanwhile, Eseosa secretly trained Toussaint's men and instigated uprisings for him to subdue in order to boost his reputation.[5]
Toussaint Louverture
The following year, the French government abolished slavery, prompting Toussaint to forego his alliance with the Spanish in exchange for one with the French. Becoming a French commander, he soon defended the island from the invading British, who attempted to take Haiti.[5]
Eventually, Toussaint began to establish his own government and laws, operating alongside the ones put in place by the French. During this time, Biassou and Papillon lost their fate in the rebellion and joined the Spanish, leaving Haiti and the Brotherhood.[5]
In 1801, Eseosa and Toussaint deposed the Templar Jean-Louis Villatte, who had declared himself governor, though in doing so Toussaint became the absolute ruler of Haiti. Toussaint later received a warning from Napoleon Bonaparte, the First Consul of France, not to overstep his bounds, but the Assassin ignored him and conquered the Spanish colony of Santo Domingo, liberating all of its slaves. Consequently, in October 1801, Napoleon decided to remove Toussaint from power, seeing him as a threat, and sent his brother-in-law, General Charles Leclerc, to Haiti.[5]
After months of fighting, Toussaint eventually signed a treaty with the French in May 1802, agreeing to be arrested and sent to France while Haiti was turned back into a French colony. However, Leclerc failed to consolidate his victory by disarming Toussaint's old soldiers and they rose up again.[5]
Eseosa arriving at the Davenport Homestead
In November 1802, Leclerc was poisoned by Eseosa while Jean-Jacques Dessalines, one of Toussaint's former lieutenants, led the rebels to victory, proclaiming himself the new leader of Haiti in January 1804. However, Dessalines quickly proved to be a ruthless tyrant, prompting Eseosa to travel to the Davenport Homestead to receive additional training from the Colonial Assassin Ratonhnhaké:ton, so that he could one day return to Haiti, depose Dessalines and rebuild his Brotherhood.[5]
Modern times[]
In 1971, the Assassins eliminated François Duvalier, the President of Haiti and a Templar puppet, for his tyrannical rule over the country.[13]
Members[]
- Maroon Rebellion
- Agaté
- Baptiste (defected)
- Dakodonou
- Babatunde Josèphe
- François Mackandal (Mentor; until 1758)
- Vendredi
- Haitian Revolution
- Georges Biassou (defected)
- Dutty Boukman
- Jeannot Bullet (defected)
- Elsie
- Eseosa (leader; c. 1776)
- Fabien
- Toussaint Louverture
- Jean-François Papillon (defected)
Allies[]
- Maroon Rebellion
- Haitian Revolution
- Guillaume Beylier (French Brotherhood)
- Ratonhnhaké:ton (Colonial Brotherhood)
Appearances[]
- Assassin's Creed II (first mentioned) (indirect mention only)
- Assassin's Creed III: Liberation (indirect mention only)
- Assassin's Creed: Initiates (mentioned in Database entry only)
- Assassin's Creed: Rogue (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed FCBD 2016 Edition
- Assassin's Creed: The Official Movie Novelization
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Assassin's Creed: Rogue – War Letters: "My Faithful Acolytes"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Assassin's Creed III: Liberation – Jeanne's diary pages
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Rogue – War Letters: "Family Reunion"
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Rogue – War Letters: "Family Vacation"
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 Assassin's Creed: Initiates – Eseosa's Codex
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Assassin's Creed: Rogue – Database: Adéwalé
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Rogue – Lessons and Revelations
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Assassin's Creed III: Liberation – The False Mackandal
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Rogue – Numbskull's personal files: "Berg's Inspiration – Baptiste"
- ↑ Assassin's Creed III: Liberation – Eve of Saint John
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Rogue – Bravado
- ↑ Assassin's Creed FCBD 2016 Edition
- ↑ Assassin's Creed II – Glyph 15: "Guardians"
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