Macau

Macau (澳門), alternatively Macao and formerly known as Haojiang (濠冮),Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun – The Assassin Brotherhood and The Templar Order is a city-state and autonomous territory on the southeastern coast of China. A major resort city, it lies on the west end of the across from Hong Kong, China's other city-state. It was a former colony of Portugal from 1557 to 1999, constituting the last European colony in Asia.
As the site of Portuguese incursions during the 16th century, it became a significant port for the global slave trade. Under the Ming dynasty, it also hosted the stronghold of the Chinese Templar slaver Gu Dayong. His assassination at the hands of the Chinese Assassin Shao Jun in 1526 led to the Templars venting their fury on Macau by setting it ablaze, although it would continue to prosper for centuries after.
In the early 18th century, Macau remained an important trade center and a number of merchants and trade organizations, both Chinese and foreign, vied for power and influence in the city. In 1725, the Templars influenced these companies to aid their search for the ruins of Angkor, an alleged Isu site, but faced opposition from the British Assassin Edward Kenway, who had also traveled to Macau in search of leads to Angkor's location. In time, Edward established his own organization in the city, the Zhang Wei Union, which eventually grew into a large shipping company.
==History==
===Ming dynasty===
In 1513, Portuguese explorer Jorge Álvares became the first of his people to arrive in China. Landing in what is now Macau, he laid the foundations for the area to become the main Portuguese access point into China.Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China – Database: Portuguese Sailors As a port town, it became a major site for the Portuguese slave trade.Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China – The Port
In 1526, the city fortress was commanded by Gu Dayong, a Templar and one of the eunuchs known as the Eight Tigers. There, he prodigiously oversaw the slave trade, but the Assassin Shao Jun infiltrated the stronghold one night and freed many of his slaves, including a young boy named Kotetsu and his Assassin father. However, Kotetsu's father soon succumbed to injuries he had received during his imprisonment,Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun – Port so a vengeful Shao Jun confronted Dayong in his personal chambers and killed him.Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China – The Slaver
As the Assassin made her escape, Dayong's body was discovered by Qiu Ju, another Tiger and one known for his brutality. In retaliation for his fellow Tiger's murder and to show Shao Jun the consequences of her actions, Qiu Ju ordered his men to set Macau's port ablaze, killing many innocents in the process.Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China – Consequences Although Shao Jun managed to rescue several civilians from the fire and ultimately escaped the city alongside her Mentor Wang Yangming, the incident deeply traumatized her.Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun – Consequences
===Qing dynasty===
====Edward Kenway's investigation====
In 1725, the Templars sought to find the lost city of Angkor, which they believed to be an Isu site, and dispatched one of their agents, the Japanese Templar and Shimazu clan samurai Shimazu Saito, to Macau to search for leads.Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 4 The Templars also began influencing the power struggle in Macau between the various merchants and trade companies operating there, aiding the businessmen Sun of the Hualien Trading Company, Alan Jacob of the Far East Company, and Jan van Aert of the Dutch East India Company with their plans to sabotage their mutual rival, Lee Huiyin.Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 12
At the same time, the British Assassin Edward Kenway arrived in Macau after being informed by a West Indies Assassin of a lead regarding a Piece of Eden in . Upon his arrival, Edward met John Young, a navigator for the Dutch East India Company who had heard stories about Angkor from his fellow company mate Hendrik, who had found the location of the lost city.Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 2 While Hendrik was killed by Saito and her ninja followers, who sought to silence anyone who knew about Angkor, Edward protected John and the two teamed up to find the lost city before the Templars.Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 3
During their investigation, Edward and John resided in a small village near Macau, where they were allowed to take shelter after the Assassin had saved the life of one of its inhabitants, the laborer Zhang. Edward returned to the city on several occasions, first to steal salt and sugar from a warehouse owned by Lee in order to create a remedy for an outbreak of that had hit the village.Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 7
Later, the Assassin infiltrated the mansion complex known as the Mandarin's House to steal Hendrik's sea log from Lee, who had purchased it following the navigator's death.Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 10 However, he lost the log to Saito after the Templar and her ninja attacked the Mandarin's House.Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 11
After striking a partnership with Lee, Edward investigated her business rivals, who he believed to be affiliated with the Templars, and foiled their various plots to sabotage Lee's company.Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 13 One such plot, masterminded by Alan Jacob, was to frame Lee for opium trafficking, which Edward thwarted by staging a large spectacle that exposed the Far East Company for smuggling the drugs into Macau.Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 17 After the ship carrying the opium shipment was detained by the Dutch Navy, both Lee and Sun sought to steal its cargo for their personal gain.Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 19 Edward destroyed the ship to prevent this from happening, which led to the end of his alliance with Lee.Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 20
Later, Edward and his allies came together to establish their own organization, the Zhang Wei Union, with the headquarters in the A-Ma Cultural Village.Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 23 Operating as a legitimate shipping company, Edward and his crew performed various contracts and were eventually able to secure a partnership with the Dutch East India Company after the Assassin helped Jan van Aert with a favor. This allowed the Zhang Wei Union to expand rapidly, becoming one of Macau's major trade companies.Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 30
====Shimazu clan civil war====
During this time, a civil war broke out between the ninja who had accompanied Saito to Macau, with Fuma Sukuna leading a group of pure-blooded Japanese shinobi against Saito's mixed-blood ninja. Sukuna and Saito allied themselves with Lee and Sun, respectively, and fights between members from the two factions became commonplace on the streets of Macau.
To end the conflict, Sukuna enlisted Edward's help to assassinate Saito aboard Sun's floating gambling hall,Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 31 but the Assassin and Templar ended up striking an alliance instead and attempted to recover Hendrik's sea log, which Saito had given to Sun.Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 34
Aside from Edward and Saito, Hendrik's log was also sought by Lee, who sent Sukuna and his ninja to retrieve it, and the Chinese Brotherhood of Assassins led by Xiao Han, who hoped to use Angkor's treasure to overthrow the Qing dynasty.Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 36 The consequent fight for the sea log aboard Sun's ship resulted in the deaths of all of Saito's subordinates,Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 37 Xiao Han claiming the log after assassinating Sun,Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 38 and the ship's destruction by Jeong, an admiral hired by Lee. Edward and Saito escaped with the help of John, who also rescued Xialun Qing, a waitress working aboard the ship who was subseqently recruited into the Zhang Wei Union alongside Saito.Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 39
In the aftermath of the Shimazu civil war, Xiao Han and the Chinese Assassins allied with Lee to find Angkor and its treasure,Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 40 while the members of the Zhang Wei Union were able to find a clue directing them to the Philippines. Edward and his allies subsequently left Macau in order to investigate this lead, leaving Zhang behind to lead the Union during their absence.Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 41
===Modern times===
In 2023, after using the genetic genealogy site WhyYou developed by Abstergo Genetic Research Lab, Edward's descendant Noa Kim was lured on a vacation prize trip to Macau. There, he was abducted by agents of Abstergo Industries and brought to the Exitus research vessel, where he was forced to relive Edward's memories in the Animus to help Abstergo locate the Piece of Eden found by his ancestor.Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 1
In time, however, Noa was able to strike a deal with the scientist overseeing the operation, Doctor Shimazu Sei, being given some degree of freedom to act as he pleased in exchange for his cooperation. When Noa and Sei ran into a roadblock while exploring Edward's memories, they traveled to the A-Ma Cultural Village to follow up on a lead and the former was able to find an old ledger containing information on Edward's activities.Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 22 
During the trip to the village, members of the Zhawang Corporation, the Zhang Wei Union's modern iteration, attempted to rescue Noa and enlisted the help of the Doom Eagle criminal organization to stage a distraction. While the thugs attacked Sei and her Abstergo guards, two Corporation agents approached Noa and asked him to leave with them. However, Noa refused and went to protect Sei from the thugs before willingly returning with her to the Exitus.
After running into another roadblock later down the line, Noa and Sei, along with the Exitus personnel, left Macau and sailed to Cebu in the Philippines to investigate another lead that would permit them to continue exploring Edward's memories. As the Exitus departed the Macau harbor, it was spied on by Doom Eagle, whose leader, the Assassin Nathan Zhang, decided to follow the ship to Cebu.Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 42
==Gallery==
ACC China Macau Port Concept.jpg|Concept art of Macau's port
The Port China (2).jpg|Gu Dayong overlooking the port
The Port China (1).jpg|Wang Yangming and Shao Jun sailing into Macau
ACFT - Map of Macau.png|A map of Macau in 1725
ACFT - Macau in 1725 - 01.jpg|Macau in 1725
ACFT - Macau harbor.png|Macau's harbor in 1725
ACFT - Macau leap of faith.png|Edward Kenway at the Macau harbor
ACFT - Edward overlooking Macau 01.png|Edward overlooking Macau
ACFT - Edward overlooking Macau 02.png|Edward overlooking Macau from atop the Church of Saint Lawrence
ACFT - Modern day Macau.jpg|Macau in the modern day
==Appearances==
*Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China 
*Assassin's Creed: The Ming Storm 
*Assassin's Creed: Turbulence in the Ming Dynasty 
*Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun
*Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple
==References==
de:Macau
fr:Macao
zh:澳门
Category:Cities in China
Category:Former Portuguese colonies
Category:City-states
Category:Port cities