Federation history

The page details the history of the United Federation of Planets.

Roots
The roots of the Federation stretch back to mid-21st century when on April 5th, 2063 a Vulcan starship detected the warp signature of Earth's first warp ship, the [[Phoenix and conducted first contact. Humanity found it was not alone in the galaxy and soon began to spread out into local space. Earth and Vulcan maintained good, if occasionally strained, relations for the next century. In 2151 Earth launched it's first warp 5 starship the Enterprise (NX-01) and quickly became a signifcant player in local galactic politics. (TNG movie: ; ENT episode: Broken Bow)

In just the first few years of her service the Enterprise and her Captain Jonathan Archer intervenient several times in conflicts between the Vulcans and their long term adversaries the Andorians helping to decrease tensions and work towards peace and at the same time establishing Humans as a neutral and reliable party. (ENT episodes: The Andorian Incident, Shadows of P'Jem, ) In 2155 Jonathan Archer convinced ships from the Andorian, Vulcan, and Tellarite militaries to ally for the first time in history in order to help locate a Romulan drone ship which had been utilizing that holographic technology to attack ships from various states and frame other states for those attacks, thus creating extreme political instability. The Romulans in particular were attempting to provoke a war between the Andorian Empire and the Civil Union of Tellar, a war which Archer helped to avert. (ENT episodes: Babel One, United, The Aenar)

Coalition of Planets
Later in 2155, United Earth Foreign Minister Nathan Samuels and United Earth Starfleet Command hosted a conference with delegates from Earth, Vulcan, Andor, Tellar, Denobula Triaxa, Rigel, and Cordian. Samuels' goal with this conference was to create an alliance which would help promote peace and trade on the astropolitical scene; the conference was initially disrupted by the anti-alien terrorist group Terra Prime, and while there was a disturbingly large amount of xenophobic sentiment on Earth, the conference was ultimately successful. The Coalition Compact was signed by reprsentives of Earth, Vulcan, Andoria and Tellar in March 2155 and the Coalition of Planets was formed. (ENT episodes: ', '; novel: The Good That Men Do)

In the late 2150s, the ongoing Romulan incursions into local space came to a head with the start of the Earth-Romulan War. The war eventually reached Earth itself before the Romulans were finally defeated at the Battle of Charon. Following the war, United Earth and the Romulan Star Empire negotiated a peace treaty over the subspace radio that led to the creation of the Romulan Neutral Zone, which the Star Empire retreated behind for over a century. The war was officially over in 2160. (TOS episode: Balance of Terror)
 * The role that the Coalition of Planets played in the Earth-Romulus War is unknown but will presumably be revealed in the forthcoming trilogy of novels depicting the conflict.

Birth of the Federation
Following the war the already allies Coalition worlds decided to tighten relations, forming a single interplanetary state and thus on August 12th, 2161 the United Federation of Planets was founded by United Earth, the Confederacy of Vulcan, the Andorian Empire, Alpha Centauri, and Tellar. (TNG episode: The Outcast; ENT episode: Zero Hour; ST novel Articles of the Federation)

The founding ceremony was held in San Francisco on Earth, and the Articles of the Federation -- also referred to as the Federation Charter or the Federation Constitution -- were signed by representatives from all the new Member States-to-be, including Archer and Samuels of Earth, Soval and Solkar of Vulcan, Thy'lek Shran of Andor, Gral of Tellar.

Early Federation presidents of the 22nd Century included Haroun al-Rashid of Earth, Avaranthi sh'Rothress of Andor, T'Maran of Vulcan, and Jonathan Archer of Earth.

23rd Century
The Federation quickly grew and by the 23rd century includes many more worlds and races than it's initial founding quartet. However this expansion also brought increased conflict as the Federation's boarders expanded into regions near more aggressive races. (TOS movie: The Voyage Home, et al.)

Throughout the early half of the century the Federation was involved in conflicts with the Tholians due the crystalline race's expansionist programs. The conflict was a result of the differing understanding of territory by both powers. The Federation perceived the Tholians as aggressively claiming territory at a whim, however the Tholians believed they were simply enforcing their territory which they adjusted periodically to take account of stellar drift. Many of the battles in the conflict were actually fought against the Chakuun, who served as shock troops to the Tholians. The conflict was finally brought to an end in 2254 when a Starfleet nurse, Gabrielle Carlotti, and a Chakuun Cohort General encountered each other on a recently attacked Federation colony Theta Kalyb and gained an understanding of each sides motivations. When a rescue party arrived to assist the Chakuun she ordered her forces into retreat from the Federation world. (EV comic: 🇰🇲)

Klingon Hostilities
The century also saw ongoing hostilities with the Klingon Empire, Federation and Klingon forces were consistently a thorn in each other's side for a protracted period until all out war began in 2267. However the flashpoint for this conflict was the planet Organia where a non-corporeal race resided and after just a few days of the conflict the Organians stepped in and forced both sides to sign Organian Peace Treaty. The treaty demanded the two states compete for new worlds by proving their ability to best develop worlds to their agricultural and economic potential rather than simply fighting for them. (TOS episode: Errand of Mercy; comic: "Beneath the Skin")

Hostilities were finally brought to an end in 2293 with the signing of the Khitomer Accords and the formation of an alliance between the two powers. (TOS movie: The Undiscovered Country)

24th Century
The early 24th century was a reasonably peaceful time for the Federation with just a few minor conflicts with races such as the Talarians, Sheliak, Tzenkethi, Tholians and Cardassians which were all soon brought to end with the aid of Starfleet and diplomacy with treaties such as the Treaty of Armens and the Federation-Cardassian Treaty. (TNG episodes: Suddenly Human, The Ensigns of Command, The Icarus Factor, The Wounded; DS9 episode: The Adversary)

The Borg
This era of sustained peace was wretch apart in the 2360s with first contact with the Borg Collective in 2365 and the devastating Borg incursion just a year later when a Borg cube completely destroyed a fleet of forty Starfleet vessels at the Battle of Wolf 359. (TNG episodes: Q Who?, The Best of Both Worlds)

The Borg remained a consistent threat from then on with the treat of assimilation hanging over the Federation with each new encounter. (TNG novel: Vendetta; ST comic: "A Rolling Stone Gathers No Nanoprobes", at al.)

Dominion War
In the 2370s the Federation encountered the Gamma Quadrant superpower, the Dominion, relations were strained from the start eventually leading to full scale war in 2373. The Dominion War lasted for two years and brought massive devastation to the Federation and it's allies. The Federation Alliance finally succeeded in driving the Dominion back to their foothold on Cardassia and brought the war to end in 2375 with the signing of the Treaty of Bajor. (DS9 episodes: The Jem'Hadar, Call to Arms, What You Leave Behind, et al.)

Post-war Recovery
Following the conflict the Federation's resources were spread thin not just in reconstruction of member worlds but also in adding independent worlds affected by the war (seeking new allies and members in the process) and even aiding enemy worlds from the war, providing substantial assistance to help Cardassia recover from the final attacks from the Dominion. (DS9 novel: Avatar)

The Federation narrowly avoided a split due to a post-war economic bust. (TNG novel: A Time to Kill)

Later History
In at least one timeline by the 26th century the Federation membership included the Ithenites, and Xindi and even the Klingons. (ENT episode: Azati Prime)
 * This occurred in a future where the Enterprise (NX-01) failed to stop the Sphere Builders plans in the [{Delphic Expanse]] and may not occur in the main timeline.

By the year 12263 the Federation was called The Mega-Federation. (ST short story: "Our Million-Year Mission")