Editing The Twelve Colonies of Man

{{disline|This article discusses the Twelve Colonies of the [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|Original Series]]. See [[The Twelve Colonies of Kobol]] for information on the Colonies of the [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|Re-imagined Series]].}}
{{TOS twelve colonies series}}

The '''Twelve Colonies of Man'''<ref>In the Original Series, the formal name of the unified worlds is the "Twelve Colonies of ''Man''". Its [[Re-imagined Series]] counterpart is known as the "Twelve Colonies of ''Kobol''".</ref> included the colonies of:

*[[#Aeries|Aeries]]
*[[#Caprica|Caprica]]
*[[#Gemoni|Gemoni]]
*[[#Picon|Picon]]
*[[The Twelve Colonies of Man#Sagitara|Sagitara]]
*[[#Scorpion|Scorpion]]
*[[#Taura|Taura]]
*[[#Virgon|Virgon]]

Four colonies, ostensibly similar to the astrological names of "Cancer," "Leo," "Libra" and "Aquarius," are never formally named in Original Series episodes.   However, Aquarus is mentioned in the novelization of "The Young Lords."

== Star System ==
The Twelve Colonies of Man are located in an unnamed multi-star system within the [[Cyrannus (TOS)|Cyrannus Galaxy]]. The tactical navigation display in [[Core Command]] of ''{{TOS|Galactica}}'' (below) indicates there are four local star systems surrounded by 21 planets, including a number of worlds (e.g. [[Carillon]]) that are outside the Colonial sphere on influence. Caprica orbits a close double star.<ref>See the scene in "[[Saga of a Star World]]" where Adama examines the remains of his burned out house on Caprica following the Cylon attack. Two suns are visible in the sky.</ref> 

[[File:BattleOfCimtar_map.png|left|thumb|730px| 
'''[[Battle of Cimtar]] main events and locations. ''' Cylon [[basestar (TOS)|basestar]]s within striking distance of Virgon, Sagitara and Caprica annihilate the Colonial homeworlds. Compared to [[w:Sol|Sol]] most of the planetary orbits shown are highly eccentric, producing extreme seasonal temperature variations.]]

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== History ==
The government of the Twelve Colonies first encountered the Cylons after the Colonials intervened to protect an alien race known as the [[Hasari]] from them. As a result, the Colonies have been [[Thousand Yahren War|at war]] with the alien [[Cylons (TOS)|Cylons]] for 1,000 [[yahren]]. 
[[File:SOSW - Battlestars at Cimtar.png|right|thumb|Colonial battlestars.]]
=== First Exodus ===
According to the [[Book of the Word]], a religious text of the [[Religion in the Twelve Colonies (TOS)|Kobollian faith]], humanity began on a planet called {{TOS|Kobol}}.

After an ecological disaster purported to be created by technology, the tribes of humanity fled outward to the stars.  Twelve tribes of Man eventually passed through a [[magnetic void]] and settled on a star system of 12 worlds, which would be later known as the Twelve Colonies of Man {{OS|Lost Planet of the Gods}}.

A [[Thirteenth Tribe (TOS)|thirteenth]] tribe made another exodus to a planet known as [[Earth (TOS)|Earth]] {{OS|Saga of a Star World}}.

=== War ===
[[File:Battleofcimtar.jpg|right|thumb|The destruction of the last Colonial fleet at the [[Battle of Cimtar]]. ''Galactica'' was already in alert posture, but her sister ships were not.]]
[[File:Capricaattack.jpg|thumb|left|Cylon {{TOS|Raider}}s begin their attack on Caprica. A reporter, [[Serina]], is seen in the foreground.]]
Recent battles in the [[Thousand Yahren War]] included the [[Battle of Cosmora Archipelago]] (with Commander [[Kronus]], battlestar ''[[Rycon]]'' and the [[Fourth Fleet]]), the [[Battle of Caprica]], and the [[Battle of Molecay]] (with the [[Fifth Fleet]] and battlestar ''{{TOS|Pegasus}}'').

The Thousand Yahren War brutally ended with an elaborate Cylon sneak attack at the [[Battle of Cimtar]], which destroys the last battlestar fleet, led by [[Adar (TOS)|President Adar]] {{OS|Saga of a Star World}}.

One surviving battlestar, ''{{TOS|Galactica}}'', escapes destruction and is unable to ward off a simultaneous bombardment of the Twelve Colonies and its populace. Millions, perhaps billions of humans are killed. The survivors escape their worlds to follow ''Galactica'' in search of a safer haven.
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=== Colonization ===

[[File:Paradeen.jpg|right|thumb|The planet of [[Paradeen]], one of many worlds that may have had contact with the Thirteenth Tribe.]]
Several planets, moons and asteroid colonies throughout the portion of the galaxy familiar to the Colonials boasted small croppings of Colonials.  Some who were well aware of the Colonies and the war with the Cylons {{OS|The Long Patrol|The Young Lords}},  others knew nothing of them, such as [[Sectar]] {{OS|The Magnificent Warriors}}, [[Equellus]] {{OS|The Lost Warrior}}, [[Eastern Alliance]], [[Terra]], [[Paradeen]] and [[Lunar Colonies]] {{OS|Greetings From Earth|Experiment in Terra}}.

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== Culture ==

Each of the Twelve Colonies boasted its own race and dialect as to distinguish itself from the others.

=== Holidays ===

* [[Armament Day]]: a day for celebrating the [[Colonial Warrior|Colonial Military]] {{OS|Lost Planet of the Gods, Part I}}.

* [[Otori Sect|High Worship of the Sunstorm]]: a period where the Gemini are permitted to have contact with members of the opposite sex, which occurs every seven years as decreed by the Gemini's High Priests {{OS|Saga of a Star World}}.

== The Colonies ==

=== Aeries ===

[[Robber]] and his family are from Aeries, and there is some suggestion other prisoners on [[Proteus]] may be Aerian as well, given their raspy Irish sounding accents which mirror that of Robbers'. [[Cassiopeia]] is familiar with the [[Aerian merchant code]] as her father was a trader fluent in such things, and may perhaps have been an Aeries himself {{OS|The Long Patrol}}.<ref>This would be revisited in the [[Re-imagined Series]], where natives of [[Aerilon]] are depicted as speaking with a raspy north English Yorkshire accent.</ref>

The [[non-canon]]ical ''[[Encyclopedia Galactica]]'' describes Aeries as a small, crowded world. Due to the population surpassing the ability of the planet herself, the Aerians created orbital space stations that were capable of handling the food needs for the colony. From this, they were able to develop special crops adapted to growth in weightless space. A subsquent technology was in the form of the [[Agro Ship]]s, which were used to provide food for deep-space missions, prior to the invention of the [[lightspeed]] drives.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kraus|first=Bruce|authorlink=|authorlinkurl=|coauthors=|year=1979|title=[[Encyclopedia Galactica]]|publisher=|location=|id=|pages=11}}</ref>

=== Caprica ===
Caprica was said to be the world that led the technological renaissance among the Twelve Colonies of Man, rediscovering space flight along the way.<ref>The attack on Caprica in the first episode of the series, was filmed at California's Long Beach City Hall, which had been completed in 1976. The pyramids seen don't actually exist — they were added by special effects to appear behind the city hall building.</ref>

=== Gemoni ===

Many of the passengers about the freighter [[Gemini (TOS)|''Gemini'']] are from Gemoni<ref>This is the correct Original Series spelling. The [[Re-imagined Series]] counterpart is spelled "[[Gemenon]]".</ref>. The language of Gemoni is Gemonese (which {{TOS|Boomer}} can translate and [[Cassiopeia]] is able to speak fluently). Gemoni is home to the [[Otori Sect]] {{OS|Saga of a Star World}}.

=== Sagitara ===

Sagitara was located at coordinates 1-2-6 and was, along with Virgon and Caprica, one of the Inner Colonies, first to be attacked.   In the novelization, Adama stated that Sagitara had the most advanced defense system in the Colonies.   
President Adar hailed from Sagitara.

=== Taura ===

[[Starbuck (TOS)|Starbuck]] and {{TOS|Boomer}} run across a [[blonde Taurus]] woman.<ref>Judging by Starbuck's reaction to the Taurus' question on how he knew she was a Taurus, and from his taste in women, it can be inferred (despite the claim of recognizing "the dialect") that Taura women may be known for their beauty.</ref> {{OS|Saga of a Star World}}.

=== Virgon ===

Virgon was located at coordinates 0-3-5 and was, along with Sagitara and Caprica, one of the three Inner Colonies.   These were the first to be attacked and destroyed by the Cylon forces.   

=== Tie-in Material Information ===
* ''According to ''[[Encyclopedia Galactica]]'' (a non-canonical piece of merchandise published in 1979):''
** '''2705:''' The [[Exodus]] from Kobol occurs. <ref>{{cite book|last=Kraus|first=Bruce|authorlink=|authorlinkurl=|coauthors=|year=1979|title=[[Encyclopedia Galactica]]|publisher=|location=|id=|pages=59}}</ref>
** '''2710:''' The [[Colonies]] are founded, marking the beginning of the [[Era of Darkness]]. <ref>{{cite book|last=Kraus|first=Bruce|authorlink=|authorlinkurl=|coauthors=|year=1979|title=[[Encyclopedia Galactica]]|publisher=|location=|id=|pages=59}}</ref>
** After the exodus, the settlers settled on twelve worlds, using their technology to prepare the land and provide "the basic necessities of life". However, once this was done, the settlers shunned their technology as it was blamed for the destruction of {{TOS|Kobol}}. This leads to the [[Era of Darkness]], where technology was forgotten and the Colonials regressed to a non-high technological period, where religion led and influenced the lives of the Colonials. <ref>{{cite book|last=Kraus|first=Bruce|authorlink=|authorlinkurl=|coauthors=|year=1979|title=[[Encyclopedia Galactica]]|publisher=|location=|id=|pages=27}}</ref>
** Being separated for two millennia, the Colonies developed their own cultural identities. <ref>{{cite book|last=Kraus|first=Bruce|authorlink=|authorlinkurl=|coauthors=|year=1979|title=[[Encyclopedia Galactica]]|publisher=|location=|id=|pages=27}}</ref>
** The Aerians are said to have "quickly separated into a number of hostile groups," tearing the colony apart by "petty wars among them for hundreds of [[yahren]]". <ref>{{cite book|last=Kraus|first=Bruce|authorlink=|authorlinkurl=|coauthors=|year=1979|title=[[Encyclopedia Galactica]]|publisher=|location=|id=|pages=27}}</ref>
** The Capricans were "practical" people, retaining much of the science predating the exodus than the other colonies, thus leading the rest of the Colonials to a scientific renaissance in the [[Fifth Millennium]]. <ref>{{cite book|last=Kraus|first=Bruce|authorlink=|authorlinkurl=|coauthors=|year=1979|title=[[Encyclopedia Galactica]]|publisher=|location=|id=|pages=27}}</ref>
** The Gemonese, who settled the "cold" planet, they condemned pleasure as a "temptation to evil," with the [[Otori Sect]] carrying this "ethic to extremes, permitting contact between the sexes" only once during the [[High Worship of the Sunstorm]]. <ref>{{cite book|last=Kraus|first=Bruce|authorlink=|authorlinkurl=|coauthors=|year=1979|title=[[Encyclopedia Galactica]]|publisher=|location=|id=|pages=27}}</ref>
** The Sagittarians "became a contemplative people," producing philosophers throughout the modern era. <ref>{{cite book|last=Kraus|first=Bruce|authorlink=|authorlinkurl=|coauthors=|year=1979|title=[[Encyclopedia Galactica]]|publisher=|location=|id=|pages=27}}</ref>
** The Scorpios were "blessed with a fertile planet and a gentile climate" devoting "their lives to pursuit of art, music and pleasure". <ref>{{cite book|last=Kraus|first=Bruce|authorlink=|authorlinkurl=|coauthors=|year=1979|title=[[Encyclopedia Galactica]]|publisher=|location=|id=|pages=27}}</ref>
** After the rediscovery of interstellar travel, each of the colonies joined together and conjoined their efforts to the development of interstellar spacecrafts, bringing 500 yahren of "unparalleled prosperity," establishing settlements on other planets and asteroids, as well as making peaceful contact with intelligent species of other worlds. <ref>{{cite book|last=Kraus|first=Bruce|authorlink=|authorlinkurl=|coauthors=|year=1979|title=[[Encyclopedia Galactica]]|publisher=|location=|id=|pages=28}}</ref>
** It is said that by the time of first contact with the [[Cylons (TOS)|Cylons]], the Colonials technology "had advanced beyond that of their ancestors of Kobol". <ref>{{cite book|last=Kraus|first=Bruce|authorlink=|authorlinkurl=|coauthors=|year=1979|title=[[Encyclopedia Galactica]]|publisher=|location=|id=|pages=28}}</ref>

== Notes ==

* In ''[[Galactica 1980]]'', it is indicated that Colonials do not have fingerprints (and presumably, no hand prints either) and that gravity on the Colonies is higher than on [[Earth (1980)|Earth]]'s ("[[Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I]]"; "[[The Super Scouts, Part I]]"). While the lack of fingerprints is also noted<ref>{{cite book|last=Resnick|first=Michael|authorlink=Michael Resnick|authorlinkurl=|year=1981|title=[[Battlestar Galactica 5: Galactica Discovers Earth]]|publisher=Berkley Books|location=|id=|pages=47}}</ref> in the ''[[Galactica Discovers Earth (Book)|Galactica Discovers Earth]]'' novelization, there is no mention of the gravity differential—as this is introduced in the following episodes—but the Warriors have speed, agility and mental abilities (such as the ability to learn, retain and use languages with the aid of [[language educator|technology]]) greater than their Earth brothers.<ref>''Ibid.'', pgs. 106-108</ref> 

* In the ''[[Galactica Discovers Earth (Book)|Galactica Discovers Earth]]'' novelization, specially trained Galacticans (e.g. [[Warrior]]s) can use their body's fat deposits as a source of energy for their bodies, in much the same way a [[w:bear|bear]] is able to use its fatty deposits during hibernation. This allows Galacticans the ability to go without eating for weeks at a time during missions or [[Viper (1980)|Viper]] patrols and the system is fully efficient, thus leaving no waste products.<ref>''Ibid.'', pgs. 151-152</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Ascalon Control]]

== References ==
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