Do you see the Maquis differently today?

[Farscape One]

Actually, one of the main reasons the Maquis were created was because VOYAGER was getting created. Berman and such wanted to have an established group before their pilot for various reasons, including not needing a great deal of time explaining who they are in the VOYAGER pilot. If they had to start from scratch, I can see them taking a 1/4 to 1/2 of the pilot just on the Maquis, instead of getting to the real meat of that pilot.

Personally, I thought it was a smart decision. It made the universe feel larger, plus DS9 got a lot more mileage out of them than VOYAGER did, anyway. And the final TNG Ro episode likely wouldn't have happened had the Maquis not been created yet. (Or if it did, it might not be as good a farewell for her as we got.)

 

[kkt]

Too bad Voyager didn't really make any use of the Maquis being a separate group past the first couple of episodes.

 

[Relayer1]

Too bad Voyager didn't really make any use of the Maquis being a separate group past the first couple of episodes.

It was...strange.

 

[Angry Fanboy]

As some have mentioned, I get the impression the Maquis were essentially created during the development of VOY and sort of retroactively added into episodes of TNG and DS9 in order to establish them prior to Caretaker.

I can't see that I ever had an issue with their motivations - my understanding is that as part of the peace process the border between Cardassian and Federation space was shifted, meaning some worlds previously inside Federation space were now in Cardassian space resulting in the Cardassians adopting antagonising/bullying tactics against these worlds to try and drive the Federation citizens to leave and gain these planets to use themselves.

Presumably because the Cardassians were treaty-bound to let these people remain, they adopted 'unofficial' tactics similar to how employer can sometimes use a 'constructive dismissal' approach force an employee to quit by making their job unbearable because they're unable to 'sack' them.

Clearly the Federation was unable/unwilling to do anything to support these worlds, so the Maquis came into being to fight back.

Seems perfectly plausible.

 

[TimeIsAPredator]

Wow I always assumed Chuckles and the gang were written after the TNG and DS9 episodes.

Funny considering VOY kinda got the least out of the Maquis of all the shows

 

[XCV330]

Voyager is the trek show most in need of a reboot, followed by Enterprise. Neither really got to take advantage of what were both good premises

 

[Angry Fanboy]

Funny considering VOY kinda got the least out of the Maquis of all the shows

All the other shows? VOY got less out of them than TNG who used them once? Or TOS and ENT not using them at all?

I agree that VOY could have done a lot more with the whole 'Starfleet/Maquis forced together' concept but come on. That's just silly.

 

[Kor]

Per interviews with Moore et al quoted on Memory Alpha, it looks like the Maquis concept was indeed meant as a lead-up to a new show in its very early development, which would become Voyager:
https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Maquis#Background_information

Kor

 

[TimeIsAPredator]

All the other shows? VOY got less out of them than TNG who used them once? Or TOS and ENT not using them at all?

Obviously I meant the shows that the Maquis existed during. But you are kinda right about TNG as I thought the Maquis were in more than 3 episodes (actually they were in 1 as the name Maquis never comes up in "Journeys End" and "Ensign Ro" was Bajorans not Maquis)

 

[Bad Thoughts]

What precisely were the Maquis' goals?

I actually found them to be a rather opaque organization, not because we did not see the genesis of their revolt, but because most of the people whom we meet from the Maquis were not themselves settlers of these border colonies. They were joiners and opportunists who co-opted the cause:

• Michael Eddington, whom I believe was born in Canada, whose membership in the Maquis was a revolt against Federation culture/
• Cal Hudson, another Starfleet officer, who armed the settlers in order to conduct armed revolt.
• B'elanna Torres, who used the Maquis as an outlet for her general rage.
• Tom Paris, another ex-Starfleet guy with daddy issues who was looking for a fight.

Chakotay was the only border settler we got to meet, but I cannot remember that he expressed an ideology. He was clearly and genuinely driven by the loss of his father at the hands of the Cardassians.

 

[DonIago]

With regards to the OP, comparing the Maquis to the current protests is a false equivalency. People suffering today can't simply "pack up and move", and the government certainly isn't offering to help them do so.

Not only could the Maquis relocate to a different planet if they wished to, but if they really missed their old home, they could get themselves a holodeck and recreate it.

My local airport is also a National Guard base, and they recently upgraded their airplanes. The new planes are significantly louder, and as a result my quality of life has suffered, but I can't simply pack up and move because I lack the resources to do so. The airport has also expanded over time, and that's involved claiming eminent domain over houses in the vicinity. Presumably the people living in those houses knew they faced that possibility, much as the Maquis settlers must have known they were settling near a hostile power and wouldn't necessarily be able to rely on Federation protection in a worst-case scenario.

Notably, to the best of my knowledge, nobody started committing "freedom fighter" attacks against the airport when it expanded or started using the louder planes.

 

[Orphalesion]

Not really. I still find the Marquis to be dumb as bread.

They live in a post-scarcity society with many, many available, uninhabited planets to settle.

Yes, the Federation shouldn't have allowed their worlds to fall under Cardassian influence but there is NO excuse for them not to pack up and settle on a different planet,e specially if they have children.

Yeah, yeah I know "Muh Grandfather bult thiz house!" blahablablahblah. Don't care. Pick another planet. I'm pretty sure the Federation could provide all of them with planets that are to their liking.

And in my opinion they have nothing at all in common with what is currently happening. Since well, again, post-scarcity society with a huge number of planets to settle. The Marquis are such a non-issue that's so far removed from anything that resembles our reality that they can't be compared to anything in our society or history.

 

[TimeIsAPredator]

What precisely were the Maquis' goals?

I actually found them to be a rather opaque organization, not because we did not see the genesis of their revolt, but because most of the people whom we meet from the Maquis were not themselves settlers of these border colonies. They were joiners and opportunists who co-opted the cause:

• Michael Eddington, whom I believe was born in Canada, whose membership in the Maquis was a revolt against Federation culture/
• Cal Hudson, another Starfleet officer, who armed the settlers in order to conduct armed revolt.
• B'elanna Torres, who used the Maquis as an outlet for her general rage.
• Tom Paris, another ex-Starfleet guy with daddy issues who was looking for a fight.

Chakotay was the only border settler we got to meet, but I cannot remember that he expressed an ideology. He was clearly and genuinely driven by the loss of his father at the hands of the Cardassians.

I imagine plenty were out to settle scores or due to a mistrust of Cardassia like Benjamin Maxwell. The Im not moving thing just doesnt hold up unless its purely driven by not wanting to give in to the "spoonheads"

 

[DonIago]

The ironic part is that if war had broken out because the Maquis were refusing to honor the treaty...guess which planets likely would have been attacked first?

Or, in fact, were, once Cardassia allied with the Dominion and they no longer reaped any benefit from the treaty.

This seems to be a case of people reaping what they've sown.

I agree with the poster who was confused by the goals of the Maquis.

 

[diankra]

As some have mentioned, I get the impression the Maquis were essentially created during the development of VOY and sort of retroactively added into episodes of TNG and DS9 in order to establish them prior to Caretaker.

I can't see that I ever had an issue with their motivations - my understanding is that as part of the peace process the border between Cardassian and Federation space was shifted, meaning some worlds previously inside Federation space were now in Cardassian space resulting in the Cardassians adopting antagonising/bullying tactics against these worlds to try and drive the Federation citizens to leave and gain these planets to use themselves.

Presumably because the Cardassians were treaty-bound to let these people remain, they adopted 'unofficial' tactics similar to how employer can sometimes use a 'constructive dismissal' approach force an employee to quit by making their job unbearable because they're unable to 'sack' them.

Clearly the Federation was unable/unwilling to do anything to support these worlds, so the Maquis came into being to fight back.

Seems perfectly plausible.

It's that the treaty established a DMZ between the two, which was supposed to be evacuated, with anyone who insisted on remaining losing support and protection from their government/military.

The Federation honours the treaty in letter and spirit, moving to disarm the Maquis. Cardassia provides military supplies clandestinely, while looking for technicalities and loopholes.

 

[Tenacity]

They live in a post-scarcity society with many, many available, uninhabited planets to settle.

Okay, so why did not the Federation make those planets availible to the Caradassians, so the Settlers wouldn't have to leave what they built?

 

[Nyotarules]

The Maquis can move to another planet, they left Paradise to live on the frontier. The BLM is about cultural racial discrimination, police brutality etc entrenched 400 years in society, how does that compare to I left semi perfect Earth to live near to someone else's backyard that happens to be a space Nazi state?

 

[Bad Thoughts]

The Maquis can move to another planet, they left Paradise to live on the frontier. The BLM is about cultural racial discrimination, police brutality etc entrenched 400 years in society, how does that compare to I left semi perfect Earth to live near to someone else's backyard that happens to be a space Nazi state?

I don't think the OP is suggesting a 1:1 analogy, rather one that is based on selective issues. In this case, the question of whether the state uses its monopoly on force for the benefit of society at large or only in its self-interest.

BTW, I think it is rather presumptuous to assume that people could just move. Historically speaking, force relocation has been the direct cause of immeseration and death. It was often a precursor to genocidal actions and forced assimilation. I would prefer that we not speak of it so lightly.

 

[Nyotarules]

BTW, I think it is rather presumptuous to assume that people could just move. Historically speaking, force relocation has been the direct cause of immeseration and death. It was often a precursor to genocidal actions and forced assimilation. I would prefer that we not speak of it so lightly.

The Maquis were the UFP version of 17th century European settlers to the 'New World', if said indigneous people had a stalemate peace treaty with the colonisers but still chose to try to drive them back to Europe no one would call that 'forced relocation'. The majority of the Maquis were not First Nations people, so your moral equivalency does not exist.

 

[DonIago]

How is it presumptuous to assume that people can just move in the 24th century, when it's shown not only that they can but that the Federation government was willing to help them do so and that there were plenty of other planets available?

I agree in our current times anyone saying "Why don't you just move?" is being incredibly naive to the realities of such an undertaking.