Game story · The Assassin's Creed timeline

Assassin's Creed III

Ratonhnhaké:ton, known as Connor, joins the Assassins to defend his people as the American Revolution reshapes the colonies.

20121754–1783 · Colonial AmericaCanon status: Fixed main story

What happens in the game

Connor's father Haytham is a Templar, making the ideological conflict a family relationship rather than a simple national divide.

The Patriots speak of liberty while indigenous land remains threatened, forcing Connor to see the limits of the revolution he assists.

The story, step by step

  1. Haytham's revelation

    The opening follows Haytham Kenway before revealing that his colonial allies are Templars. His son Ratonhnhaké:ton, later called Connor, trains as an Assassin after his Kanien'kehá:ka village is threatened.

  2. Revolution and contradiction

    Connor aids Patriot leaders while hunting Charles Lee's network, yet enslaved people remain unfreed and settler expansion endangers his community. Haytham's cooperation exposes real shared threats without resolving their opposing beliefs.

  3. Victory without deliverance

    Connor kills Haytham and Lee, but returns to find his village displaced despite the revolution's language of liberty. In the present, Desmond sacrifices himself to stop the solar catastrophe and releases Juno into the global network.

What the story is really about

National freedom is not universal freedom

The revolution's principles are measured against indigenous dispossession and slavery, separating patriotic victory from justice.

Inheritance across enemies

Connor receives truth and harm from both Assassin mentors and a Templar father; neither lineage gives him a complete political home.

How it ends

Connor defeats the colonial Templar leadership but cannot prevent his village's displacement; in the present, Desmond sacrifices himself to stop a solar catastrophe and releases Juno.

What changes afterward

  • The new United States does not fulfill Connor's hope for equal freedom.
  • Desmond's death ends one modern arc while freeing Juno into the network.

How it connects forward

Black Flag moves backward to Edward Kenway, Haytham's father, and explains the family legacy before Connor.

Places in this game

Characters in this game

Sources:

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