The Fundamental Declarations of the Martian Colonies were important legal documents drafted on the planet Mars. The declarations were one of the foundational documents outlining Human rights. (TOS episode: "Court Martial")
- They have been referred to in the singular and plural by various sources.
Specifics[]
Because Mars colonists were still citizens of Earth, the document proclaimed that they deserved to have the same legal and political rights as those on Earth. (Decipher RPG module: Worlds)
It was a precedent-setting document in that it not only insisted that the Martian government was autonomous, but so were the governments of all the other Earth colonies. (FASA RPG module: The Romulan War)
While granting colonies control of internal affairs, it affirmed that Earth retained top-level authority. (TOS reference: Spaceflight Chronology)
It further asserted that contentment was a right of all sentient creatures. (TOS novel: Shadow Lord)
The text set aside portions of the Sol asteroid belt in a trust for future mining because Mars did not have the capability to exploit that resource at the time. It set a precedent for resource allocation that has expanded over time to represent the overall right of any society to colonize. (TOS novel: Prime Directive)
In its proclamation of universal rights, it was inspired by documents such as the Theorems of Governance and the Constitution of the United States of America. (LUG RPG module: Star Trek: The Original Series Core Game Book)
Declaration[]
- When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for Planets to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected Them with their Home Planet Earth, and to assume with the Earth a separate and autonomous status, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that They should declare the causes which impel Them to the Separation.
- We contend that the great distances and differing Planetary realities among Planets and the Earth have given rise to numerous inequities and misunderstandings.
- We further contend that the representation afforded Planets in any Earth-centered Political Forum cannot provide a sufficient voice for our Needs and Aspirations.
- We, therefore, the Representatives of all Inhabited Regions of the Solar System, met here at the Martian Colonies, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of the Regions, solemnly Publish and Declare, that these Regions are, and of Right ought to be, FREE AND AUTONOMOUS.
- This Declaration implies no malice nor animosity toward the Planet Earth. It recognizes the Authority of the Earth over interplanetary affairs and pledges Full Participation in the Maintenance and Security of the Solar System.
- However, the FREEDOM AND AUTONOMY of these Regions must be considered an inviolable principle, which hereafter, must be honored by all peaceful Governments and will be Defended by these Regions with the full weight of their Honor, their Fortunes, and their Lives.
- SIGNED at these MARTIAN COLONIES, 2062. JOHN HAMMERLICH, GOVERNOR OF THE MARTIAN COLONIES (TOS reference: Spaceflight Chronology)
History[]
On reference stardate 0/6201, representatives met on Mars from each inhabited area of the Sol system to draft the documents in order to declare the need for a decentralization of government. (TOS reference: Spaceflight Chronology)
Micah Brack was rumored to have helped draft the Declarations. (TOS novel: Federation)
The documents were written in the Gundersdotter's Dome, overlooking — from a distance — Fort Lincoln. (TOS novel: Preserver)
By some accounts, it was written after the War of Martian Independence against Earth. (ENT - The Romulan War novel: Beneath the Raptor's Wing, STO novel: The Needs of the Many)
By another account, the document was written in 2152, a few years prior to the start of the Romulan War, by a group of political activists on Mars as part of their movement towards independence, without the governor's participation and without bloodshed. (Decipher RPG module: Worlds)
Legacy[]
In 2155, an elderly man in Canyontown attempted to reinterpret the declarations in a manifesto. He described his intentions to reporter Gannet Brooks, but a friend lamented that he'd been writing for decades. (ENT - The Romulan War novel: Beneath the Raptor's Wing)
The document was considered an early achievement during the colonization of Earth's solar system. (TOS comic: "From Sputnik to Warp Drive")
It is cited along with the Statutes of Alpha III as being among the most important political documents in history. (TOS reference: Star Trek Maps)
The principles set a significant precedent for freedom that was applied to future settlements when humanity expanded outward into the galaxy. (TOS reference: Spaceflight Chronology)
The document helped form the underlying principles of the Articles of the Federation. (FASA RPG module: The Federation)
In 2267, as a cornerstone for the establishment of human rights, Samuel Cogley noted it along with the Bible and the Magna Carta during a court martial of James T. Kirk. (TOS episode: "Court Martial")
In 2269, when Spock addressed the Federation Council on behalf of Talin IV, he noted that 48 planets within a 25 parsec sphere around Talin IV had been set aside by the Federation in trust for future Talin colonies, under their rights as stated in the Declarations. He contended that as a result of granting Talin IV Federation rights, they had made Talin IV a de facto member of the Federation, and therefore the Prime Directive did not apply to its citizens. He then introduced Talin ambassadors Seerl ti'La and Orr ni'Li who formally requested aid to rebuild their world. (TOS novel: Prime Directive)
In 2366, in an alternate reality in which Lal and Noonian Soong survived, Admiral Anthony Haftel contended that Lal was Starfleet property and he took her without Data's approval to Galor IV. Data resigned his commission and retained an attorney to fight for Lal. Data reviewed a large amount of case law, but started with the Declarations, the Statutes of Alpha III and the Vulcan Bill of Rights. (TNG - Shattered Light novella: The Embrace of Cold Architects)
In 2374, Kathryn Janeway provided the new government of Om a variety of documents to help guide them. Among them were the Declarations, the Articles of the Federation, the Bill of Rights, and others. (VOY - The Captain's Table novel: Fire Ship)
Appendices[]
References[]
- TOS episode: "Court Martial"
- TOS novel: Shadow Lord
- TOS novel: Prime Directive
- TOS novel: Federation
- TOS novel: Preserver
- TOS comic: "From Sputnik to Warp Drive"
- TNG - Shattered Light novella: The Embrace of Cold Architects
- VOY - The Captain's Table novel: Fire Ship
- STO novel: The Needs of the Many
- ST reference: Star Trek Maps
- ST reference: Spaceflight Chronology
- FASA RPG module: The Federation
- FASA RPG module: The Romulan War
- FASA RPG module: Star Trek III Sourcebook Update
- Decipher RPG module: Worlds
- LUG RPG module: Star Trek: The Original Series Core Game Book
External link[]
- Fundamental Declarations of the Martian Colonies article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.