Kenway family

The Kenway family was a wealthy Anglo-American family who played a central role in the Assassin-Templar War during the 18th century, particularly during the Golden Age of Piracy, the Seven Years' War, and the American Revolutionary War. Notable members of the family include the Assassin Edward Kenway; his two children, Jennifer Scott and the Templar Haytham Kenway; and Haytham's son, the Assassin Ratonhnhaké:ton.

The family has a number of descendants during the modern era, including William Miles and his son Desmond, Noa Kim,^[1] and Victor Flores Castillo.^[2]

History[]

Modest beginnings[]

The oldest known member of the Kenway family was Bernard Kenway, an English sheep farmer from Manchester at the end of the 17th century. He married a Welshwoman named Linette Hopkins and settled in Swansea. They had a daughter who died during infancy, and in 1693 they had a son, Edward. In 1703, the Kenway family moved to Hatherton, near Bristol. The Kenways at this time had a reputation as honest farmers. Bernard gave the sales part of his farm to his son, but Edward passed most of his time in taverns. In 1712, Edward married Caroline Scott, the daughter of the wealthy tea merchant Emmett Scott and his wife Elizabeth.^[3]

ACI - At Home to Mister Scandal — Edward and Caroline married

The young couple lived modestly on the Kenway family's farm, as Emmett, a Templar, refused to accept that his daughter had married Edward, seeing him as beneath the Scotts.^[3] Desiring to give his wife a privileged life, Edward decided to become a privateer and sail to the West Indies, intending to earn riches and return.^[4] Caroline, who was secretly pregnant, disagreed with her husband's decision and moved back to her father's home.^[5]

To be sure that Caroline never returned to the Kenways, Emmett sent a group of Templars to burn the Kenways' farm. Edward saved his parents but his father disowned him due to all the problems he had caused. While trying to understand why his parents' home had been burned, Edward was knocked out by Wilson and woke up aboard the Emperor, which was sailing for the West Indies.^[3]

Involvement with the Assassins[]

Early in his career as a privateer, Edward met and befriended Edward Thatch and Benjamin Hornigold. When the Peace of Utrecht was signed, ending the War of the Spanish Succession and rendering Britain's privateers jobless, the three turned to piracy and, together with others,^[3] seized control of Nassau to establish an independent Pirate Republic.^[6]

Mister Walpole I Presume 6 — Edward meeting the Templars Laureano Torres, Woodes Rogers and Julien du Casse

In 1715, after a battle at Cape Bonavista, Edward, oblivious to the existence of either organization, killed the Assassin turncoat Duncan Walpole and, impersonating him, met with the Grand Master of the Caribbean Templars, Laureano de Torres y Ayala, in an effort to claim the reward that had been promised to Walpole.^[4] During the meeting, Edward gave information which jeopardized the position of the Caribbean Assassins, and was inducted into the Templar Order.^[7]

Edward's tenure with the Templars was brief,^[8] and over the course of the next seven years, he found himself embroiled in the Assassin-Templar War as it raged across the Caribbean and their race for the Observatory and the Sage Bartholomew Roberts.^[9] Eventually, following the example set by his friend and quartermaster, Adéwalé, Edward joined the Caribbean Assassins^[10] and helped them kill Roberts and most of the Caribbean Templars to prevent the Observatory from falling into the wrong hands.^[11]

Settlement in London[]

The End 10 — Edward meeting his daughter, Jennifer

After the Assassins' victory in the Caribbean, in 1722, Edward learned from a letter that his wife Caroline had died two years prior from smallpox, which she had contracted from her father.^[3] He was also informed of the existence of his daughter, Jennifer Scott, born a few months after his departure for the West Indies.^[12] Returning to England with his daughter, Edward tracked the men responsible for the burning of his family farm, who he now knew to be Templars.^[3]

In 1723, during a meeting with his mother, Edward revealed his new intentions, but she refused to accept him back due to his infamy as the last of the pirates. Nevertheless, Edward killed Emmett Scott and was about to burn Matthew Hague before Robert Walpole, a cousin of Duncan Walpole, gave him a pardon from his former life as a pirate.^[3]

Moving to London, Edward married Tessa Stephenson-Oakley, the daughter of a wealthy landowner, and together they purchased a mansion in the city.^[13] Edward soon joined the British Assassins and, alongside Miko, came to lead the branch.^[14] Under the guise of his commercial enterprises, Edward traveled across the globe for the Assassins, visiting numerous Isu sites, including some in Italy, as well as the Alamut Temple.^[15] On one of his travels, he retrieved a Shroud of Eden, a Piece of Eden which could heal fatal injuries, and placed it within a locked box that he hid in the Tower of London^[16] while the key to the box was moved to a secret room in St. Paul's Cathedral.^[17]

In December 1725, Edward and Tessa had a son, Haytham. On his son's eighth birthday, Edward began to train him as an Assassin, though took pains to keep the nature of the training secret. In parallel, Edward searched for the Grand Temple and, though he was ultimately unsuccessful in his investigations, made prestigious notes in his journal on the investigation's progress. Reginald Birch, an employee of Edward's and, unbeknownst to him, the Grand Master of the British Rite of the Templar Order, also sought the Grand Temple and so took steps to ingratiate himself with the Kenway family.^[13]

Attack on Kenway House — The death of Edward Kenway

Birch began his plan by courting Jennifer in the hopes of accessing the journal's location that way. He also sought to trick Edward's young son Haytham into revealing the journal's location, a route that proved successful. On the night before Haytham's tenth birthday, Birch sent several masked men to the Kenway Mansion. They burned it, kidnapped Jennifer, killed Edward, and stole his journal. Birch then sold Jennifer as a slave to Turkish merchants and she became a concubine at Topkapı Palace.^[13]

Since nobody knew of Birch's involvement in the attack, the Grand Master took Haytham on as his ward with Tessa's permission and begun to indoctrinate him in the Templar ways, promising the young Kenway that he would help to find his sister.^[13]

Prodigal son[]

In 1747, Haytham, now an invested and deadly member of the Templar Order, killed Juan Vedomir, a Templar turncoat who had stolen Edward's journal from Birch. Giving it back to Birch, the Grand Master informed Haytham of the death of his mother, who had suffered a fall. Later, Haytham continued his search for the men who had burned his family mansion, going to Germany to find Jack Digweed, a servant of Edward who was accused of the attack. Haytham and Birch found Digweed had been tortured by the men who had attacked the mansion, and the former left to pursue one of them while Birch killed Digweed to ensure his part in the attack remained a secret.^[13]

The Black Forest — Haytham and Tom Smith arrested by British soldiers

Mortally wounding his target, Haytham learned that his father had been an Assassin and that he had been killed protecting something. On the man's body, Haytham found a document that proved he served the Templar and general Edward Braddock. Arriving in the Dutch Republic, Haytham found the other man, Tom Smith, but they were both arrested by British soldiers. Smith was later executed by Braddock, allegedly for desertion, but in reality the general had also played a role in the attack on the Kenway Mansion and eliminated Smith to keep his involvement secret.^[13]

With his only lead dead, Haytham decided to continue investigating among Braddock's troops, which the general allowed him to do on the condition that Haytham serve with him during the war against the French. While serving with Braddock at the Siege of Bergen op Zoom, Haytham witnessed the cruelty of his fellow Templar and realized that Braddock was abandoning the Order. Ultimately, he decided to leave the British Army alongside Jim Holden, a young soldier he had befriended.^[13]

In 1753, Haytham, acting on Birch's orders, kidnapped Lucio Albertine in Corsica so that he could decipher Edward's journal. Fighting the Assassin Miko, who acted as Lucio's bodyguard, Haytham lost his family sword but gained Miko's Hidden Blade.^[13] The following year, Haytham assassinated Miko at the Theatre Royal in London and took the Grand Temple Key from him. Birch subsequently sent Haytham to the British colonies in America to find the Grand Temple and access it using the key, as well as build up the Templars' presence in the New World.^[18]

ACIII-BraddockExpedition 6 — Haytham with Kaniehtí:io

With the help of several other Templars already in the colonies, and a Kanien'kehá:ka guide named Kaniehtí:io, Haytham stopped the expedition led by Edward Braddock as part of the French and Indian War, and mortally wounded the former Templar for turning his back on the Order. Following this, Kaniehtí:io led Haytham to the Grand Temple's entrance, but he was unable to access the site.^[19]

Despite his failure to access the Grand Temple, Haytham succeeded in his goal to increase Templar influence in the colonies, founding the Colonial Rite. He also began a brief relationship with Kaniehtí:io.^[19] After several weeks, Charles Lee gave Haytham a letter from Jim Holden informing that they had discovered Jennifer's location. Lee also told Haytham that Braddock died from his wounds. Overhearing the conversation, Kaniehtí:io realized that Haytham had lied about his allegiances and asked him to leave. Haytham left America in search of his sister, unknowing of the fact that Kaniehtí:io was pregnant with their son.^[13]

In 1757, Haytham and Holden traveled to Constantinople and discovered that Jennifer had been sent to the Qasr al-Azm in Damascus. After they rescued her, they fled the palace but Holden was captured. Haytham later saved Holden in Egypt, at the Abou Gerbe monastery on Mount Ghebel Eter, but not before he had been forcefully castrated. Haytham burned the monastery in retaliation. Afterward, Jennifer revealed the truth about Edward's death and Birch's part in it. The siblings and Holden attacked Birch's chateau in Troyes and killed the Templar Grand Master.^[13]

With Birch dead, Haytham proceeded to free the prisoners he had been keeping, Lucio Albertine and his mother Monica. However, Lucio vengefully impaled Haytham with a sword for his role in their predicament. Subsequently, Jennifer and Holden tended to Haytham as he recovered from his injury over the course of several months. Once Haytham had fully recovered in January 1758, Holden committed suicide due to his trauma, and was buried by Haytham and Jennifer. Following this, the siblings parted ways but decided to stay in contact; Jennifer settled into the Kenway Mansion while Haytham returned to America.^[13]

Family war[]

Non Nobis Domine 18 — Haytham and Shay Cormac with a crippled Achilles Davenport

Following his return to America in 1758, Haytham bought a plantation in Virginia to expand the Colonial Rite's influence.^[13] During this time, he also inducted the former Assassin Shay Cormac into the Templar Order,^[20] and with his help, the Templars largely destroyed the Colonial Assassins in the New World, with Haytham personally crippling the Assassin Mentor, Achilles Davenport, to ensure he could never again return to the field.^[21]

In 1760, Haytham's son, Ratonhnhaké:ton, was assaulted by a group of Templars led by Charles Lee, none of whom were aware of the boy's familial connection to the Grand Master. Asking for a meeting with the Kanatahséton's leaders, the boy refused to give the village's location. Knocked out, Ratonhnhaké:ton woke up to see his village being burned by the British troops. His mother died in the flames and Ratonhnhaké:ton, believing the Templars were responsible for the attack, vowed revenge against them, in particular against Lee.^[22]

ACIII-BoorishMan 3 — Ratonhnhaké:ton meeting Achilles

In 1763,^[23] Haytham led an attack against a resurgent Assassin presence at the Davenport Homestead, killing the remaining Assassins but again sparing Achilles, who remained in exile at the homestead.^[24] In 1769, a now-teenage Ratonhnhaké:ton used his tribe's Crystal Ball to come into contact with Juno, who tasked him with joining the Assassins so that he could protect his village and the Grand Temple from the Templars.^[25] After an initially ruthless rejection,^[26] Ratonhnhaké:ton finally became an Assassin under the watch of Achilles and began to recruit new apprentices, slowly rebuilding the Colonial Brotherhood.^[27]

During the early stages of the American Revolution, Haytham and the Templars sought to secure the colonies' independence from the United Kingdom and transform them into a Templar state. Ratonhnhaké:ton, who by this point had renamed himself "Connor",^[28] fought to decrease the Templar influence on the conflict. The action of the two factions led to a more violent conflict.^[29]

In 1776, Haytham ordered the assassination of George Washington to allow Charles Lee to take his place as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army.^[30] Connor tried to foil this plot but was captured and condemned to death by Lee.^[31] During the execution, Haytham, having learned that Connor was his son, secretly decided to save him by cutting the rope,^[13] which led to the assassination of the Templar Thomas Hickey.^[32]

Assassins-Templars truce[]

ACIII-Fatherandson 1 — Father and son working together to find Church

In 1778, Benjamin Church, one of Connor's targets, betrayed his Templar brothers and sided with the British, stealing a significant amount of Continental supplies in the process. Connor tracked Church to New York, where he came into contact with his father, who also sought to kill Church for his treachery. Realizing that, for now, their goals were aligned, the two formed a truce and pursued Church together.^[33]

After assassinating Church,^[34] the father and son discovered that the British would attack from New York.^[35] While Connor wanted to give the information to Washington, Haytham wanted to pass it on to Charles Lee. At Valley Forge, Haytham exposed to his son the truth around his mother's death and Washington's role in it, in an attempt to sway Connor to the Templar cause. However, Connor, angered that his father had withheld this information, broke all ties with him.^[36]

ACIII-Laststand 18 — Connor killing Haytham

In 1781, Achilles passed away from an illness, bequeathing both the Homestead and leadership of the Colonial Assassins to Connor.^[37] That same year, Connor planned to infiltrate Fort George in order to eliminate Lee and to try and convince his father to abandon the Templars.^[38] Knowing his son would come for Lee, Haytham gave the Grand Temple Key to the latter and decided to fight his son and give Lee time to escape so that he could continue the Templars' work.^[13] During their duel, Haytham knew he coult not kill his own son and thus he forced Connor to reluctantly kill him.^[39]

In 1782, Connor obtained the Grand Temple Key after tracking down and eliminating Lee. He then returned to his now-abandoned village, where he used the Crystal Ball to contact Juno again. The Isu instructed Connor to hide the key where no one would find it,^[40] and Connor proceeded to bury it in the grave of his mentor's son, Connor Davenport.^[41] After the end of the Revolutionary War, Connor decided to continue the Assassins' struggle for liberty, partially agreeing with Haytham's belief that humanity was flawed, but resolving to fight for a better future nonetheless.^[13]

Jennifer and Elise — Jennifer giving her brother's letters to Élise

In 1788, Jennifer received a visit from Élise de la Serre, a French Templar who had come to retrieve her correspondence with Haytham on behalf of the Carroll family. Jennifer, who had learned about Haytham's dreams to unite the Assassins and Templars towards a common goal from his letters, agreed to give them to Élise on the condition that she would use them to try and reduce the gap between the two orders. She also gave to the young Templar a pendant, a gift she had received from Haytham.^[42]

In 1805, Jennifer passed away in London and the Kenway Mansion was purchased by the Templars, who sought to uncover its secrets.^[43]

Legacy[]

The actions of the Kenway family impacted the Assassin-Templar War in many ways. Edward nearly destroyed the Caribbean Assassins by giving the locations of their bureaus to the Templars, only to later turn the tide and help the Brotherhood wipe out the Caribbean Rite upon joining the Assassins. This was such a devastating blow to the Templars that they would be unable to rebuild their presence in the West Indies for decades to come.^[15]

Edward also gave his hideout in Great Inagua to the Assassins as replacement for the ones he had compromised, which permitted them to live and work among the people they protected.^[12] With the discovery of the Observatory, the Assassins were able protect the site by burying it, preventing the Templars from finding it for almost three centuries.^[44]

Kenway Mansion 01 — The Kenway Mansion during the 19th century

In London, Edward joined the British Assassins and became their co-leader with Miko. While Miko traveled throughout the world to aid other brotherhoods and find Pieces of Eden, Edward used his charm to make connections in the city, in both high society and the criminal underworld. Thanks to their efforts, the British Brotherhood became stronger than ever. Following Edward and Miko's deaths, the British Assassins entered a long period of decline and lost control of London to the Templars for over a century.^[14]

During his travels in Southeast Asia, Edward established the Zhang Wei Union, which by the 21st century would grow into a large international company that often worked alongside the Assassins.^[45]

In America, Haytham established the Colonial Rite, which would become one of the most powerful and influential Templar Rites. During the French and Indian War, Haytham and the Templars supported the British Crown against the French and almost wiped out the Colonial Assassins, changing the balance of power in the New World.^[46]

Ratonhnhaké:ton was directly responsible for the reconstruction of the Davenport Homestead and the Colonial Assassins. Liberating Boston and New York from Templar influence, he recruited new apprentices for the Brotherhood, sending them through the Colonies to help the Patriots and to prevent casualties during the Revolutionary War. During the war, Ratonhnhaké:ton sided with the Continental Army and participated in numerous conflicts such as the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the Battle of Bunker Hill and the Battle of the Chesapeake. His efforts greatly decreased the Templars' grip on the war.^[27]

The truce between Haytham and his son made the Grand Master believe in peace between the Assassins and the Templars, and he wrote letters about his dream to his half-sister. After his death, Jennifer wanted to stop the conflict which had claimed most of her family, and she gave Haytham's letters to Élise de la Serre, believing the young Templar had a chance to secure peace with the Assassins. Following Élise's death in 1794, her lover, the Assassin Arno Dorian, inherited Haytham's letters and promised to reduce the gap between the Assassins and Templars.^[42]

ACS Playing It by Ear 5 — Evie Frye and Henry Green exploring the Kenway Mansion

In 1868, with the clues left by Edward in his journal and his mansion, the British Assassin Evie Frye and the British Templar Lucy Thorne raced against each other to find the Shroud of Eden hidden by Edward in London.^[47]

At some point during the 1780s, Ratonhnhaké:ton married and had three children, continuing the Kenway bloodline.^[48] During the following centuries, the Kenways prospered and intermingled with other Assassin bloodlines, such as the House of Auditore. The Kenway lineage extended to William Miles, an Assassin who rose to become Mentor of the Assassins Brotherhood during the early 21st century. William had a son, Desmond, who, by reliving the memories of Haytham and Ratonhnhaké:ton, found the Grand Temple Key and accessed the temple, where he sacrificed himself to save the world from the 2012 coronal mass ejection.^[49]

Other members of the Kenway bloodline included Ratonhnhaké:ton's descendant Victor Flores Castillo, an Assassin operating in London around 2016,^[2] and Edward's descendant Noa Kim, who was used by the Templars to search for a Piece of Eden found by Edward in Southeast Asia.^[1]

In 2013, Abstergo Entertainment used Edward's memories through the Sample 17 Project to find the location of the Observatory, though they were unable to access the site. They also used the footage of his memories to create two entertainment products: the movie Devils of the Caribbean and the video game Pirates of Nightmares.^[44] By 2014, an additional two games, The Lone Eagle and Washington and the Wolf, based on Haytham and Ratonhnhaké:ton's genetic memories, respectively, were produced and distrubted through Abstergo's Helix software.^[50]

Members[]

Family tree[]

Bernard Kenway

Linette Kenway

Unknown daughter

Caroline Scott-Kenway

Unknown woman