Cardassians

First appeared:   Stardate 44429.6 / "The Wounded" [TNG] Type:   Humanoid

The Cardassian people are a ruthless race of humanoids in a military dictatorship, which rules their empire with a fist of iron. They have been involved in a bitter, extended conflict with the United Federation of Planets. An uneasy truce between the two adversaries was finally reached in 2366. Then in 2367, a historic peace treaty established a fragile armistice between the Federation and the Cardassian Union. Among other things, the treaty provided that captives of either government would be allowed to see a representative from a neutral planet following their incarceration.

Around 2328, the Cardassians annexed the planet Bajor and over the next several decades systematically stripped the planet of its valuable resources, and forced most Bajorans to resettle on other worlds.

Cardassian Military Officer	Cardassian Civilian

In 2369, the Bajoran resistance movement had forced the Cardassians from Bajor after years of terrorist activity. In their retreat, they abandoned an old Cardassian mining station orbiting Bajor, which was taken over by the Bajoran Provisional Government. The station was then "given" to the United Federation to run, and renamed to Space Station Deep Space Nine.

This proved to be a major miss-step for the Cardassians, as the space station became of a major strategic, scientific, and commercial value when the Bajoran Wormhole was discovered shortly thereafter.

In the past, the Cardassian people were a peaceful and spiritual race. But because their planet was resource-poor, starvation and disease were rampant, and people died in millions. With the rise of the military, new territories and technology were acquired by violence, at the cost of millions of lives sacrificed to the war effort. Their Homeworld Cardassia, used to hold in ancient times a splendid civilization whose legendary ruins are still considered as some of the most remarkable in the galaxy. Most of the archaeological treasure was however plundered by starving Cardassians, as well as by the Cardassian military, which sought funds for their war against the Federation.

The Cardassian criminal Justice system is used by the military to enforce cultural norms, by reassuring the public with the comforting notion that good always triumphs over evil (Good is of course the military). Accordingly, no criminal is ever brought to trial until authorities have already found the defendant guilty. The trial is merely a show broadcast for viewing by the public, and thus serving as a dramatic demonstration of the deadly outcome of violating Cardassian Laws.