Rajah with his Visayan warriors
The Visayans are an ethnolinguistic group native to the southernmost islands of the Philippines. They are composed of numerous distinct ethnic groups, many unrelated to each other. While the Visayans originally spoke their own language, they have since adopted Tagalog and English as secondary languages.[1]
History[]
Battle of Mactan[]
In April 1521, Ferdinand Magellan's Spanish expedition traveled to Mactan Island after retrieving a crescent amulet—a Piece of Eden—from Cebu. There, they clashed with the native Visayans led by Lapu-Lapu, who possessed another artifact also desired by Magellan. Using his Piece of Eden's powers, Lapu-Lapu gained the upper hand in the battle and led his men to victory, killing most of the Spanish expedition and Magellan himself. The Spanish Empire's expansionist aims were stymied and they remained unable to colonize the Philippines until 1565.[2]
Rajah's rebellion[]
By 1725, an individual known as Rajah had formed a Visayan resistance opposing Spain's colonial rule over the Philippines. Inspired by Lapu-Lapu's actions two centuries prior,[3] and despising the Spanish for their invasion of his land and enslavement of his people,[4] Rajah vowed to acquire the crescent amulet and the two other Pieces of Eden from the same set, believing they rightfully belonged to his people.[5]
Rajah and his men killing the monk
During a riot in Manila, Rajah and his men learned that a monk had acquired the amulet and infiltrated the city in order to confront him and recover the artifact.[6] Before long, they found the monk fighting against the British Assassin Edward Kenway, and Rajah took the opportunity to kill the monk and seize the amulet. Besting the injured Assassin, Rajah nearly killed him but Kenway escaped with the help of his ally Shimazu Saito, a Japanese Templar.[5]
Rajah and his fellow Visayans subsequently took their crusade to Cebu, but first made a stop at Monkey Island, where they took over the local fort.[7] During their occupation of the island, the Visayan resistance forcibly recruited to their cause many natives who Rajah brainwashed into servitude using the amulet.[7] However, they faced opposition from Kenway, his crew, and the Zhang Wei Union, who helped the island's native inhabitants, freeing many of them from the amulet's control.[8]
Rajah's subsequent plan of taking over the Union's flagship, the Fenghuang, backfired when his men were defeated by the crew.[9] His occupation of Monkey Island's fort was also short-lived, as Kenway and his crew stormed the stronghold and freed all the prisoners held there. Fortunately, the rebels had acquired ships from a group of Japanese mercenaries, who tried to take the amulet but were unsuccessful.[8] Arriving in Cebu, Rajah and his men infiltrated the Basilica del Santo Niño, where they killed all the priests and acquired a sea log containing clues about the whereabouts of two other Pieces of Eden.[10]
The rebellion's downfall[]
While Rajah sent several of his warriors to infiltrate Fort San Pedro, the remaining Visayans were confronted by the Spanish Army, Kenway, and Saito. Rajah used the amulet to force the Spanish soldiers to kill each other,[10] but his plan to escape from the Cebu harbor was foiled by Kenway's allies John Young and Rupiya, who sank the rebels' ships.[11] Left to fend off Spanish soldiers, the Visayans soon saw their comrades send a signal indicating their successful takeover of Fort San Pedro, and escaped from the harbor.[12]
Rajah's defeat
Inside the fort, the Visayans began executing the surrendering Spanish soldiers, against the protests of the civilians who had helped them infiltrate the citadel. When Rajah arrived at the fort, he ordered his men to execute the civilians as well, viewing them as traitors to the resistance's cause. After they refused, Rajah, driven mad by his losses and the amulet's corrupting influence, killed them all in a blind rage.[13]
Rajah was soon found by Kenway and Saito, the latter of whom left to find the sea log, which the rebels had hidden nearby. Rajah subsequently fought against Kenway,[14] but despite his use of the amulet, he was ultimately defeated and lost the artifact.[4]
When Kenway took the Piece of Eden, he saw a glimpse into Rajah's childhood and understood his cause, but did not excuse his actions. Rajah stated that all he had ever desired was for his people to be safe and free, but at that moment he was killed by the Chinese Assassins' Mentor Xiao Han, who had come to retrieve the amulet in Kenway's possession. With its leader and most of its members' deaths, the Visayan resistance fell apart shortly after.[4]
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑
Visayans on Wikipedia
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 41
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 52
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 71
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 56
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 53
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 59
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 64
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 63
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 66
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 67
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 68
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 69
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 70
