Assassin's Creed IV: The History Behind Black Flag Whether you're a pirate, a privateer, or something in between, 1713 and Assassin's Creed IV go together like peanut butter and jelly. But why?

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is real, and it’s coming down the pipeline very quickly: it’ll be out in late 2013, only a year separated from Assassin’s Creed III. And while Assassin’s Creed III concentrated on early American history – and in particular on the American Revolution – Assassin’s Creed IV is opting to go a little further back, this time to the early 18th century.
The year 1713 will play prominently in Assassin’s Creed IV, and as such a whole new cast of real-life characters and events wholly removed from Assassin’s Creed III’s Revolutionary War motif must be established. But before we jump into the who and where of Assassin’s Creed IV, let’s first take the time to establish the what. In short, what’s so special about 1713, and why would an Assassin’s Creed game take place in and around that year?

 

Several events of consequence occurred in 1713 that pertain to the New World – including the Treaty of Portsmouth and the peak of the Tuscarora War – but the real standouts that year are the two Treaties of Utrecht. While the Treaty of Portsmouth and the Tuscarora War both have to do with North American-based colonial interests held by western European powers (Great Britain in particular), the Treaties of Utrecht stand out as a likely point of gravity in Assassin’s Creed IV’s story for multiple reasons.
Utrecht ended the War of Spanish Succession, which in itself involved the great titans of European exploration and colonialism: the British, the French, the Portuguese and the Dutch. However, it’s important to note that specific theaters of the war – much like the French and Indian War that set the stage for Assassin’s Creed III – actually took place in the New World. The Caribbean, which is the primary setting of Assassin’s Creed IV, held much of the New World-centered conflict derived from the War of Spanish Succession. Privateers – in essence state-backed pirates – ran amok in the West Indies around this time, taking aim at enemy ships and their cargo while their home countries scrounged for territory and did their best to protect the economic interests they’ve already established.
Now, the Caribbean – still widely known even today as the West Indies, a persistent misnomer derived from Christopher Columbus’s explorations in the late 15th century – was wildly important in the 18th century. It was economically exploited from the day Columbus accidentally ran into the islands until the 20th century, split up between ever-warring European powers that wanted exceptionally valuable cash crops like sugar and control of at least a portion of the infamous Triangle Trade that helped transport slaves all around the known world. But in the 18th century, pirates and privateers alike (often indistinguishable from one another) helped stymie shipments and trade of all manner of products, both for their own good and for the good of their sponsor state.

 

It just so happens that the period of the War of Spanish Succession, 1713’s Treaties of Utrecht and the pirates that the conflict spawns are all intimately interconnected. Four pirates of some renown – Benjamin Hornigold, Charles Vane, Calico Jack and Edward Teach (you may know him as Blackbeard) – are all confirmed for Assassin’s Creed IV. Each of them was British by birthright and either had a specific association with the War of Spanish Succession as privateers or were effectively caught up in the displacement and subsequent organization of state-sponsored pirates once Utrecht ended European hostilities (or both). Remember: pirate culture in the Caribbean was at an all-time high at the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century. Taken in context, the date, setting and characters involved in Assassin’s Creed IV almost have to revolve around the buzz of piracy in the Caribbean during this time.
Assassin’s Creed IV also has three confirmed “major” locations, similar to Boston and New York City in Assassin’s Creed III: Kingston, Havana and Nassau. All three locations were integral, vital parts of the Caribbean trade; privateer ships could originate from these ports, and more importantly, ships aiming for or leaving these seaside cities could be and oftentimes were the targets of pirate bands led by the likes of Hornigold, Vane and Blackbeard.
At the time of Assassin’s Creed IV, Kingston, Jamaica was held by the British, while Havana, Cuba was held by the Spanish. Their importance as hubs of economic activity vital to their home countries cannot be understated, but it’s actually the third, seemingly most innocuous city – Nassau, The Bahamas – that is almost certainly the most important city in Assassin’s Creed IV. This is because the four aforementioned pirates and the War of Spanish Succession ended by the Treaties of Utrecht can all be intimately connected with Nassau.

 

Nassau found itself overrun by ex-privateers and outright illegal pirates in the years following Utrecht. Hornigold, Jack, Vane and Blackbeard were all part of the scene during those outlaw years; pirate rule on the island was effectively squashed a few years later when the British decided that it was more important to make the Bahamas safe for commerce than refusing to risk aggravating British-born buccaneers. And thus, piracy began to decline, and the four aforementioned pirates slowly slipped into history.
Assassin’s Creed IV’s developers insist that the creation of a “pirate republic” on Nassau rests near the heart of their game’s story; as such, it’s almost certain that gamers will get to see Nassau during these lawless times in particular, not necessarily through the eyes of such prolific pirates, but possibly through the eyes of a character that knew them, interacted with them, and perhaps were even friendly with them. Either way, by 1718, any hope of such a republic was destroyed.
If there’s one thing for certain, it’s that Ubisoft’s concentration on the year 1713, their focus on the Caribbean during that time, and the inclusion of such prolific privateers and pirates is of absolutely no coincidence. What remains to be seen, however, is how much real history plays through with Assassin’s Creed slant on alternate history. Regardless, the setting, the characters and the time period all sound incredibly exciting, and above all else, are markedly different from the territory tread by other games.