Silver Spiral Archives (with Meilo Thench)

The Dividing War: Seeds of the Conflict

The Dividing War is an impossibly complex and lengthy topic to discuss, so much so that over the century there have been countless texts and docs devoted to looking at the events and fallout of the conflict through any number of lenses. While I work as a journalist, my secondary studies were Galactic History and the topic of The Dividing War was always a keen interest in that regard. I am sure that some will find this crazy, and maybe a waste of time, but I believe that there is more to learn about this historical conflict that radically reshaped our galaxy. As such, I plan to devote some of my time to relay the history of The Dividing War in small essays. At first, I want to look at the causes of the war; Yes - causes, plural.

It is well known in primary education across Imperial and Federation systems that the major cause of The Dividing War was the arrival of the Terran race (humans) into the Silver Spiral Galaxy. This is merely a spark that struck a pile of tinder at the heart of the Grand Galactic Alliance.

The Dividing War is known as such because it divided, or more to the point destroyed the unified Galactic government that had made up most of the known territory in the Silver Spiral. While yes, the introduction of the Terran race was a dramatic moment, it was part of an unfortunate chain of events. The Alliance was bound to shatter; it had become a slow, bureaucratic tangle of competing interests and corruption. Bribery was common and laws and regulations were not enforced as needed. Certain races had enjoyed a level of prestige that came with being long-time members and originators of the government and newer members had taken notice of favoritism in rulings and governmental decisions and service opportunities.

So, long before the arrival of the Terrans, the foundations of the Alliance were cracked and uprooted. A great deal of blame, in certain segments of galactic historians, places the blame on the Blassnaughts, referring to them as tempestuous and prone to anger. To a degree, that is a fair criticism, as they were angry about very clear and repeated patterns of favoritism and corruption within was what supposed to be a unified government system. But to pin so much of the resulting conflict upon the Blassnaughts is unfair; while yes, post-war they established a government with their primary interests at heart, this view fails to recognize the other races that found themselves siding with the Blassnaught perspectives. It also destroyed the concept of the "core three" as the Mantoid also established a more neutral, third government that has achieved great success. The Blassnaughts are generally blamed because they are a big target. Our post-war governments reflect the failings of an imperfect system that could not regulate and adapt to changing circumstances.

Generally, the consensus among Dividing War historians is that the root causes of the conflict were sequential and are as follows: The heart of the conflict was a result of corruption in the Galactic Senate regarding the bequeathing of colonial contracts. This led to the escalating of tensions between the "core three" (Terrekin, Grey, and Mantoid), and the Blassnaughts. This tension was further exacerbated by the dramatic Alliance losses at the Battle of Sono Corridor. The Blassnaughts, having recognized the Alliance failing to combat the threat of confederated pirates, began making the call for a more independent government. As the debate raged regarding colonial rights and security, events surrounding a cargo-ship, the Birg Beam, would eventually draw the Terran race into the tensions of the rapidly disunified Alliance.

So, I turn to you, dear reader... where should we begin?

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