Editing Terran Exoduses

{{otheruses|the twenty-second–twenty-fourth-century migration period|other uses|Exodus}}

The '''Terran Exoduses''', known also simply as the '''Exodus''' era, were periods of mass migration during the time of the [[Terran Alliance]].<ref name=MW-1E-p3-4>''MechWarrior, First Edition'', pp. 3–4: "A History of Human Space, 2001-3025: Exodus (2102-2313)"</ref>

== Overview ==
The beginning of the Exodus period is cited as [[2102]] as that was the year the [[Deimos Project]] was put forth on the grounds that FTL travel was possible.<ref name=MW-2E-p107>''MechWarrior, Second Edition'', p. 107: "Historical Overview: Exodus (2102-2313)"</ref> Prior to this point, the only colonization attempts feasible had been sublight [[Slowboat Colonization|slowboats]], but with successful jump-tests in [[2107]], the flight of [[Raymond Bache]] in [[2108]], and the [[TAS Pathfinder|TAS ''Pathfinder'']] voyaging to [[Tau Ceti IV]], the era of Exodus was primed.<ref name=DS-JS-p9-14>''DropShips and JumpShips: ComStar Intelligence Summary'', pp. 9–14: "Space Travel in the Successor States"</ref>

The first colony would be established in [[2116]], and by [[2123]] advances in [[KF drive]] engineering and manufacturing had brought the cost of the hyperdrive down by what is said to be a factor of 100.<ref name=DS-JS-p9-14/> It is here, perhaps, that the era of Exodus - and in particular, the '''First Terran Exodus''' - begins.<ref name=Py-1E-p12-16>''The Periphery, 1st Edition'', pp. 12–16: "History: First Exodus"</ref>

Through legislature, the Alliance would attempt to control what would later be referred to as the First Terran Exodus.<ref name=ED-AoW-p8>''Era Digest: Age of War'', p. 8: "The United Hindu Collective"</ref> Their success, however, is debatable, especially in light of both the rapid advance of colonization and entrepreneurs such as [[Rudolph Ryan]]. The first [[Alliance Grand Survey]] of [[2172]] reported that within a radius of 40 light years from Terra were over one hundred colonies. By [[2235]], the sphere of colonies had swollen to more than 600 worlds.<ref name=MW-2E-p107/>

In [[2236]], the [[Outer Reaches Rebellion]] would begin, and the 18-month war would bring consequences that included the eventual fall of the [[Terran Alliance]] - as well as the start of the next migration. With expansion came the issue of clear and timely communication across an ever-expanding domain, impeding governance and allowing corruption to run amok.<ref name=MW-2E-p107/>

The Terran Alliance would lose the war without clearly conceding defeat, withdrawing most of their forces over [[2238]] where bureaucracy didn't strand units such as the [[151st Fusiliers]], and eventually, with a shift in the balance of power, the expansionists within the Alliance would be trumped by the pro-isolationist liberal party. The result would be the [[Demarcation Declaration]] - the Alliance's effective abandonment of all worlds beyond thirty light years from [[Terra]]. Thus in the wake of broken industry, shattered economies, and no support, the '''Second Terran Exodus''' begins in the year [[2242]].<ref name=Py-2E-p5-6>''The Periphery, 2nd Edition'', pp. 5–6: "The Periphery: In the Beginning"</ref><ref name=BT-25-p19>''BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction'', p. 19: "Timeline Entry, 2242"</ref><ref name=FM-Py-p7-8>''Field Manual: Periphery'', pp. 7–8: "Settling the Fringe"</ref>

The expedition that would become the [[Taurian Concordat]] launched within this era, as did the freebooter Theban Legion who would found the [[Rim Worlds Republic]].<ref name=Py-1E-p12-16/> Within the Alliance itself, in fact, was a period of instability and chaos, economic hardships within borders that had now shrunk and crowded them in. Hence, the Alliance, too, saw a massive surge of emigrants seeking a better life elsewhere.<ref name=SL-p8-12>''The Star League'', pp. 8–12: "History: Terran Alliance: Politics of Colonization"</ref>

Eventually, the [[Great Houses]] would start to emerge starting with the [[Free Worlds League]], and with Terra's transition from Alliance to [[Terran Hegemony|Hegemony]], the start of the Consolidation era would begin.<ref name=MW-2E-p107/>

== History ==
=== First Terran Exodus ===
The '''First Exodus''' marked the height of the [[Terran Alliance]]. During this era, the first off-system colonies were established.

After almost a century, the hyperspace theories of [[Thomas Kearny]] and [[Takayoshi Fuchida]] had been proven correct. The Terran Parliament approved funding for the [[Deimos Project]], the development of the first faster-than-light spaceship.<ref name=SL-p8-12/>

==== The Race to Space ====
After the maiden flight of the TAS ''Pathfinder'' and its arrival in the Tau Ceti system on December 5, [[2108]], the Terran Alliance began a crash program to produce faster-than-light colony ships. The first such ship was the [[TAS Ark|TAS ''Ark'']], which in [[2116]] established its first extrasolar colony on [[New Earth|Tau Ceti IV]]. By [[2123]], corporate production of JumpShips had become feasible, and the race to space became the new, global ''Manifest Destiny''.<ref name=DS-JS-p9-14/>

During this first colonization wave, new planets were settled monthly. Eventually, disaster struck in April [[2128]], when the privately constructed and operated colony ship ''Liberator'' disappeared without trace. The Alliance Parliament quickly passed regulations, forcing colony ships to be escorted by Terran Space Navy ships, and installing planetary administrators as colonial governors.<ref name=DS-JS-p9-14/>

By [[2138]] [[Shiloh]] marked the furthest point of human habitation.<ref name=HM:FWLp51>''House Marik (The Free Worlds League)'', p. 51: "Secret Society"</ref>

The first [[Alliance Grand Survey#First Alliance Grand Survey|Grand Survey]], conducted in [[2168]], counted 108 registered colonies.<ref name=SL-p8-12/>

==== The Separatist Conflicts ====
The Terran Alliance of the early [[twenty-second century]] was still only an alliance dominated by the wealthiest states, not even uniting the entire planet. The sleeping conflict between the ''Separatist'' nations and the Terran Alliance not only fueled colonization efforts, but also created an atmosphere of constant threat.<ref name=JHST144>''Jihad Hot Spots: Terra'', pp. 144–145</ref>

After [[2177]], the [[Ryan Cartel|Ryan Cartel's]] newly developed ice shipping process became the main source of drinking water for colonies, further increasing the pace of colonization.<ref name=DS-JS-p9-14/> [[Rudolph Ryan]] himself was - after his death - revealed as a strong supporter of the colonies' independence and had often "lost" technicians or JumpShips full of colonization equipment in support of budding Separatist colonies, which his corporate subsidiaries had helped create in the first place.<ref name=Py-1E-p12-16/>

Despite Ryan's support, not all Separatists and anti-Alliance groups emigrated off-world, but radicalized in the face of increasing Alliance oppression. Terrorist organizations like Elias Liao's ''New World Disciples'' sprang up. Quickly gaining notoriety, Liao's group was responsible for the death of no less than 26 heads of states, and 14 Terran Alliance Parliament members (and at least 135 bureaucrats, scientists, and technicians), further destabilizing Terra's political system. Rudolph Ryan himself was killed by an anarchist assassin in [[2185]].<ref name=HL8>''House Liao: The Capellan Confederation'', p. 8</ref>

The simmering conflict between the Alliance and the Separatists and the constant threat of nuclear terrorism finally erupted into a series of unification wars. By the early [[twenty-third century]], Terra was finally unified under the Terran Alliance. The Alliance itself, now without external opposition, began the slow process of unifying from an alliance of independent states into an actual federal state, although more through inertia than by design.<ref name=JHST144/>

During this period of consolidation, the Alliance Parliament (stuck somewhere between a discussion chamber and an actual legislative body) polarized into two opposite political parties - the authoritarian Expansionists and the slowly radicalizing Liberals. The Expansionists had informally been in power since the development of the Hyperdrive, while the Liberals had begun imitating the tactics of their successful opponents.<ref name=SL-p8-12/>

==== Collapse and Isolation ====
The final [[Alliance Grand Survey#Fourth Alliance Grand Survey|Grand Survey]], conducted in [[2235]], listed 628 colonized worlds in a radius of 250 light years. In May of the same year, [[Denebola]] declared independence, and just a year later, the [[Outer Reaches Rebellion]] began on [[Freedom]].<ref name=HBHD19>''Handbook: House Davion'', p. 19</ref>

While local protection treaties, such as the [[Chesterton Trade League]] had already been established for decades, the Alliance-appointed colonial governor's demand for extensive regulative rights was - in the face of the Alliance's overall benign neglect - the driving force behind an independence movement that rose to power in several loosely aligned colonies. When Terran troops first fought the well-entrenched insurrectionists, they were soundly defeated, to the shock of the Expansionists on Terra.<ref name=HL9>''House Liao: The Capellan Confederation'', pp. 9–10</ref>

The conflict continued well into [[2237]], with more and more declarations of independence reaching the Terran Alliance Parliament. Saddled with passive resistance and refusal of support from other colonies, the Terran forces finally realized the futility of their situation and returned home.<ref name=HL9/>

Following this first defeat and with others soon following, the political situation on Terra turned into chaos, allowing the Liberal Party to oust the Expansionists in [[2240]]. Unfortunately, the Liberals had become as radicalized as the Expansionists, and acted accordingly. For a while, even mentioning Terran offworld colonies was treated as a criminal act. Finally, the Liberals passed the [[Demarcation Declaration]]: from [[2242]] onward, all Alliance colonies beyond 30 lightyears of Terra granted independence, whether they desired it or not. The age of the First Exodus was over.<ref name=JHST144/>

Amidst inexperience, shattered industry, and mangled economies, many would leave the post-rebellion colonies on the Second Terran Exodus.<ref name=Py-1E-p12-16/>

=== Second Terran Exodus ===

With the [[Demarcation Declaration]] ending the First Exodus, the '''Second Exodus''' marks the transition of the [[Terran Alliance]] into the [[Terran Hegemony]], the rise of the [[Great Houses]], and emergence of most [[Periphery]] nations.<ref name=Py-1E-p12-16/>

With the damage inflicted during the [[Outer Reaches Rebellion]] left unhealed - broken industry, ravaged economies, and wounded populations - many felt that there was nothing to rebuild from. When the Demarcation Declaration then cut off all colonies beyond 30 lightyears of Terra, many of the dispossessed felt the only viable action was another migration - another exodus.<ref name=Py-1E-p12-16/>

The Calderon expedition, for example, would take 25 [[JumpShip|JumpShips]] and over 2300 volunteers from [[Aix-la-Chapelle]], and over a 22-month journey would reach the edge of the [[Hyades Cluster]]. By January 23, [[2253]], [[Samantha Calderon]] would christen the planet [[Taurus]], blossoming eventually into the [[Taurian Concordat]].<ref name=Py-1E-p12-16/> Elsewhere, the [[Rim Worlds Republic|Theban Legion of Hector Rowe]] would flee for six years through the [[Dark Nebula]], and the freebooter squadron would found the [[Rim Worlds Republic]] on September 8, [[2250]].<ref name=Py-1E-p12-16/>

Even within the more crowded worlds within the [[Terran Alliance]] there was a massive flood of emigration, as disgruntled citizens fled perceived instability and chaos.<ref name=SL-p8-12/>

The Second Exodus, and the exodus overall as an [[Eras|era]], would eventually come to an end in the [[Age of War]].

== Notes ==
* ''This page is not currently complete!''
* The Exodus Era is said in some cases to end by [[2314]] with the start of "Consolidation", and in other cases with the era of the [[Terran Hegemony]]. Both encompass the same major historical points.
* In ''[[BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction]]'', the Terran Exodus is stated to begin in [[2242]], whereas many earlier sources indicate that there was the First Exodus in the twenty-second century, with the Second Exodus - or at least, a second mass migration in the [[Inner Sphere]] - occurring due to the [[Demarcation Declaration]].

== References ==
<references/>

==Bibliography==
* ''[[BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction]]''
* ''[[DropShips and JumpShips]]''
* ''[[Era Digest: Age of War]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Periphery]]''
* ''[[Handbook: House Davion]]''
* ''[[Handbook: Major Periphery States]]''
* ''[[House Liao (The Capellan Confederation)]]''
* ''[[House Marik (The Free Worlds League)]]''
* ''[[Jihad Hot Spots: Terra]]''
* ''[[MechWarrior: The BattleTech Role Playing Game|MechWarrior]]''
* ''[[MechWarrior, Second Edition]]''
* ''[[The Periphery (sourcebook)|The Periphery]]''
* ''[[The Periphery, 2nd Edition]]''
* ''[[The Star League]]''

[[Category:Time Periods]]