United Federation of Planets/History/22nd Century
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To New WorldsAlthough each of the five founding members overcame its conflicts in its own manner, they all gained an appreciation of the same ideals and concepts. Each world had fallen to the edge of self-destruction and pulled itself back from the brink. These ideals would see their ultimate expression in the founding of the United Federation of Planets. However, before the five worlds could join in the Federation, they had to venture into space alone. The Centaurans had the least experience with spaceflight, having only traveled to their next closest in-system neighbor a mere hundred years before they encountered Earth’s starships. The Andorians developed spaceflight around the Earth year 1800. Ranx, the first Tellarite to design, build, and fly a rocket ship, did so in Earth year 1867. The Vulcans achieved spaceflight in their very distant past. The Romulans are believed to have exiled themselves from Vulcan over two thousand years ago, supporting the theory of ancient Vulcan interstellar travel. United Earth ships encountered the Andorians and followed the Centaurans to Tellar, and their resourceful crews made fast alliances with these newly discovered races. Earth founded colonies and expanded its influence across space; many human groups dissatisfied with the United Earth left to found their own, more isolated, colonies as well. When Earth encountered the Romulans in 2156, she commanded the respect of her allies and had the most powerful fleet of any Federation founding member. The dangers faced by Earth forces made the people of Earth realize how important their interstellar allies were to human destiny, and, before the war ended, politicians were carefully considering the merits of a galactic government. The Earth-Romulan WarIn 2156 United Earth forces fought in their first interstellar conflict against the Romulan Star Empire. Vessels armed with atomic weapons dueled in space, mostly in empty systems between the Romulan and Earth borders. No two combatants ever came face to face in the four years of the war. Both Earth and the Romulans suffered terrible losses in the initial stages. Earth’s warp engines proved to be a tactical advantage over the Romulans’ one-way primitive quantum singularity drives. In addition, Earth’s allies provided valuable support. After the Romulans suffered a humiliating defeat four years after the war had begun, both sides negotiated a peace over subspace radio. Like the war, the peace was conducted by remote control. The Romulans agreed to the Treaty of Cheron in 2160, which ended hostilities and established the Romulan Neutral Zone, violation of which would be considered an act of war. At the end of the Romulan war neither side had yet seen its opponents. The Earth-Romulan War’s lasting impact was to remind Earth and her allies of the dangers that space could hold. Earth added defensive protocols to her exploration guidelines. The allied planets held numerous meetings and conferences to work out defensive measures in case of another encounter with hostile aliens. Every race was uncomfortably aware that although it was no longer in danger of destroying itself, it was still in danger of destruction by others. Founding of the FederationThe five founding members of the Federation spent all of 2160 hammering out the Article of Federation. The Articles of Federation established an economic structure as well as a government, and, most importantly, they protected the rights of every Federation citizen. They were a testament to peace and the vision of all five founding worlds. Once the Terran Conventions of 2160 ended, the only step left for incorporation was ratification of the Articles by the member planets. Each of the five founding member worlds had their own reaction to the Articles. Tellar, Alpha Centauri and Vulcan all agreed rather quickly. Political factions dueling on Andoria slowed the process somewhat, but eventually they agreed as well. Earth was the last to agree, and isolationist groups that did not want it took this opportunity to leave Earth. But finally, all agreed and met in Paris and San Francisco for a signing ceremony. Unlike the Terran Conferences, this meeting was a smooth and festive occasion. Delegations from five worlds signed the Articles of Federation on February 22, 2161, in the San Francisco Opera House, officially ratifying them as the Constitution of the United Federation of Planets. The anniversary is still celebrated as Federation Day. In its first burst of exploration, Starfleet discovered dozens of new worlds and new civilizations. Many of them shared the ideals of the Federation and petitioned for membership. Within the first decade, the founding members were outnumbered on the Federation Council. Each new member world contributed its technology and culture towards strengthening the Federation. By the end of the 22nd century, almost fifty worlds belonged to the Federation.
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