Cardassian

Cardassians, a spacefaring race in the fictional Star Trek universe, and the Cardassian Union were introduced in the ' episode "The Wounded". Cardassians were one of the main parts of the storyline in '. The Cardassian homeworld is Cardassia Prime in the Alpha Quadrant.

History

Pre-Dominion membership

They were once a peaceful, spiritual people who collected works of art from all over the Alpha Quadrant, but their home planet Cardassia Prime lacked natural resources. The entire planet was stricken by famine and disease until the military took control of the government and expanded Cardassian borders, building fleets of warships and invading nearby worlds. Of particular note is Bajor which was occupied for fifty years, and the end of whose occupation destabilised the Cardassian government.

Related Topics:
Alpha Quadrant - Cardassia Prime - Bajor

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The date of first contact between the Cardassians and Starfleet is unknown, but is likely to have occured mid-to-late 22nd Century. A Cardassian exile, Iloja of Prim, lived on Vulcan during that time period. Sometime before 2347 the Cardassians attempted to expand into Federation territory and war broke out, lasting around twenty years. Captain Edward Jellico spearheaded successful attempts by Starfleet to negotiate a peace treaty which ended the war.

Related Topics:
Federation - Captain - Edward Jellico - Starfleet

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Shortly after the Cardassians withdrew from Bajor, a Federation presence was established aboard Terok Nor, renamed Deep Space Nine, to assist the Bajoran Provisional Government in rebuilding Bajor. However, the Federation officers discovered a wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant close to the station ("Emissary"). Roughly four months later, the Federation-Cardassian borders were redefined, with the two sides buffered by a demilitarized zone. However, the Cardassians harassed the Federation colonists in the DMZ who then retaliated by forming a resistance movement known as The Maquis.

Related Topics:
Terok Nor - Deep Space Nine - Wormhole - Gamma Quadrant - Emissary - Demilitarized zone - The Maquis

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Around the same time, the Obsidian Order (the Cardassian intelligence agency) began to gain power. However, it was destroyed when it allied with its Romulan counterpart, the Tal Shiar, in a pre-emptive strike against the Dominion, a new threat from the Gamma Quadrant ("The Die Is Cast").

Related Topics:
Obsidian Order - Romulan - Tal Shiar - The Dominion - Gamma Quadrant - The Die Is Cast

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In January of 2372 (Stardate 49011), the Klingon Empire attacked the Cardassians believing the Detapa Council of Cardassia (which had just come to power in the wake of the Central Command being overthrown, making it the first civilian government of the Cardassian Union with Gul Dukat as military advisor) had been infiltrated by the Dominion ("The Way of the Warrior"). The attack was led by General Martok who, it turned out, had been himself replaced by a shapeshifter, one of the leaders of the Dominion (first revealed in "Apocalyse Rising"; see also "In Purgatory's Shadow").

Related Topics:
Stardate - Klingon Empire - The Way of the Warrior - General Martok - Shapeshifter - Apocalyse Rising - In Purgatory's Shadow

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Dominion membership

Then, sometime between October 2373 and February 2374, with a Dominion attack on Deep Space Nine imminent, Gul Dukat announced the Cardassian Union's entry into the Dominion, shocking not only the Federation but most Cardassians as well. At the same time, Gul Dukat announced his ascension as leader of the Cardassian Union. Five days later, nearly the entire Maquis movement was slaughtered by the Dominion (except for those on the USS Voyager, that was lost in the Delta Quadrant at the time). Otherwise, nearly all the other Maquis who had not died were in Federation prisons.

Related Topics:
Gul Dukat - Cardassian Union - USS ''Voyager'' - Delta Quadrant

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The Cardassians (as members of the Dominion) captured DS9 ("Call to Arms"), but the Federation managed to block the Bajoran wormhole with self-replicating mines, preventing the Dominion from sending reinforcements from the Gamma Quadrant.

Related Topics:
Call to Arms - Bajoran wormhole

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Unfortunately for the Federation, Gul Damar discovered a way to disable the self-replication of the mines and completed the procedure and fired on the minefield seconds before Rom and Kira disabled DS9's weapons in hopes to prevent just that. The USS Defiant attacked DS9 and managed to take it back when the Bajoran Prophets destroyed an entire Dominion fleet on its way through the wormhole. Gul Dukat was captured after his daughter Ziyal was killed by Gul Damar, who was then promoted to Legate ("Sacrifice of Angels").

Related Topics:
Gul Damar - Rom - Kira - USS ''Defiant'' - Bajoran Prophets - Ziyal - Gul Damar - Sacrifice of Angels

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Under the leadership of Damar, the Cardassian Union, along with the Dominion, continued to gain ground over the Klingon-Federation alliance, and even after Benjamin Sisko and Garak tricked the Romulans into breaking their nonaggression treaty with the Dominion and joining the alliance ("In the Pale Moonlight") they still managed to keep the upper hand.

Related Topics:
Klingon - Benjamin Sisko - Garak - Romulan - In the Pale Moonlight

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Opposition to the Dominion

Damar, however, was not happy. While he had hoped that Cardassia's joining the Dominion would strengthen their power, he felt that they were no longer in control of even their own planet, having to report to the Dominion representative Weyoun and the Founders, and Cardassian troops were being sacrificed seemingly meaninglessly without his permission. For a time, Damar sank into heavy drinking. Shortly after the Breen joined the Dominion, almost guaranteeing the Dominion's victory, Damar organised a revolt but was betrayed by a man he approached in order to bring into the conspiracy. A Cardassian named Broca became Legate and puppet ruler of Cardassia after with his information, and treason within the Revolt, the Dominion crushed it and forced Damar into hiding.

Related Topics:
Weyoun - Founder - Breen

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The revolt started out as just a small legion of troops headed by Damar, but during the final assault on The Dominion over Cardassia Prime by the Federation-Klingon-Romulan alliance, Damar managed to get an open revolt started on Cardassia itself. In response to Cardassian citizens engaging in acts sabotage, the Dominion punished the Cardassians by destroying Lakarian City killing millions of men, women, and children in the process of reducing it to ashes. As a result, the Cardassian fleet switched sides during battle and assisted the alliance, opening a hole in the Dominion lines and forcing the Jem'Hadar and the Breen to establish a new defense perimeter around Cardassia Prime itself. When word of the fleet's defection reached the Dominion command center, The Female Shapeshifter ordered every Cardassian on the planet killed.

Related Topics:
Lakarian City - Jem'Hadar - Breen - Cardassia Prime - The Female Shapeshifter

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With the Cardassian fleet helping the alliance and the rebel's attack on the Dominion headquarters on Cardassia, the Dominion surrendered, ending the Dominion War.

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The Cardassian cost due to the Dominion War was the highest of all the major powers. The homeworld was severely damaged by the Dominion. Cardassia was in much worse shape than Bajor and would require years of rebuilding. The long term effect on the ecology of the planet remains to be seen. Over 800 million Cardassians had died on Cardassia alone. It remains to be seen if the Cardassian race will be able to recover from this disaster.

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