Were the Marquis started by the Dominion?

[Meredith]

Been watching season 7 of TNG and the whole jackassery of the Federation council in creating the conditions for the creation of the Marquis is rather suspicious.

They had federation and cardassian colonists on either side of the newly created border and they didn't expect some consequences? What the Heck!!!!

Sounds to me like a few key members of the Federation council were already replaced by then, it was six months before the "official" first contact with the Dominion in the episode "Jem Hadar" when the Marquis were first formed in the Fed Cardassian DMZ.

It seems to me that the Dominion meddling in the Alpha Quadrant came into play in Alpha Quadrant events sometime near the end of season 1 of DS9 and Middle of season 6 TNG.

I mean these are the people who tricked both the Obsidian Order and the Tal'Shiar into annihilating their main military forces. Replacing a few Federation Council members and coming up with a really stupid border plan seems like child's play to me.


​

 

[JustKate]

Nah. It's perfectly possible to do things with the best possible motives and still end up with a big ol' mess. Look at Palestine.

They had to draw a line somewhere, and wherever they drew a line, there were bound to be some Fed citizens and some Empire citizens on the wrong side of it. They were offered chances to move to other planets within Federation space, but just like people do today here on Earth, some people just weren't willing to be relocated. It seems to me that it's just that simple.

 

[Thor Damar]

^ I think that it's more a case of simple screw ups on both sides really and arrogance to boot. The Marquis were nothing more than a nuisance factor really (until the Klingon War) so I doubt the shapeshifters would bother with them. It's a very interesting theory though.
(JustKate has put it with a much better sense of eloquence than myself)

'sides the Dominion had the Klingons to play with anyway

 

[neozeks]

I agree with JustKate, but it's still an interesting theory. I seem to remember one of the writers saying something like that the Dominion knew about the Federation a long time before the Feds knew about them (something like even before the discovery of the wormhole and then that discovery forced them to change plans - could be my just my imagination, of course)

 

[Michael]

The revelation of the Dominion having a hand in the formation of the Maquis would actually cheapen this whole storyline, in my humble opinion, that is. It would (again) imply that the oh so perfect people of the Federation can't do wrong on their own; that there must have been an influence from the outside. I rather prefer humans who are flawed and quarrel from time to time.

 

[Thor Damar]

The revelation of the Dominion having a hand in the formation of the Maquis would actually cheapen this whole storyline, in my humble opinion, that is. It would (again) imply that the oh so perfect people of the Federation can't do wrong on their own; that their must have been an influence from the outside. I rather prefer humans who are flawed and quarrel from time to time.

QFT. It's a variation on that tried old notion of 'outside agitators'. If the people(s) of Cardassia or the UFP are unhappy with the current order and show it then it must be the awesome power of the Communists... I mean Founders.

 

[JustKate]

I hadn't thought about that angle, NCC, but you're right. I mean, clearly we are completely capable of screwing up all by ourselves, and it really did add a realism - not just to DS9, but to the latter years of TNG, and that was something that TNG sorely needed. I loved the show, but golly, the humans tended to be dull. The Maquis were a brilliant addition to the Trek universe.

Edit: Oh, and that's a good comparison, Thor. Because real Americ...I mean, Federation citizens would never do anything bad, right?

 

[Anthony Sabre]

The Maquis story was wrapped up too quickly. More likely just dropped once the Dominion war got underway. It was unfortunate that they killed off the Cal Hudson character so fast, but Eddington's development made Hudson obsolete anyway. No, I never viewed the Founders as the force behind the Maquis. There were legitimate problems with the Fed/Cardie treaty that gave birth to the Maquis.

 

[Thor Damar]

I hadn't thought about that angle, NCC, but you're right. I mean, clearly we are completely capable of screwing up all by ourselves, and it really did add a realism - not just to DS9, but to the latter years of TNG, and that was something that TNG sorely needed. I loved the show, but golly, the humans tended to be dull. The Maquis were a brilliant addition to the Trek universe.

Edit: Oh, and that's a good comparison, Thor. Because real Americ...I mean, Federation citizens would never do anything bad, right?

That's just it, we're all struck in a mode of thinking that requires us to believe that what 'our' side does is good and true which drives us to make some terrible mistakes hence the Federation's failure in the DMZ and the blind aggression of the corrupt Central Command only served to exacerbate the entire situation. My Country right or wrong sod that for a game of soldiers (literally).

 

[Jaespol]

Why do people always spell it "Marquis"?
Maquis and Marquis have very different pronunciations.

 

[JustKate]

People don't "always" spell it Marquis, Jaespol. You'll find it spelled correctly several times in this thread. Spellcheck is simply not your friend when you're trying to spell Maquis.

 

[Braxton]

Considering what the Jem'Hadar solider said to Sisko in the episode "The Jem'Hadar", going so far as to say "seems a tactical error", I think it's safe to say that the Founders had no involvement in the creation of the Maquis.

 

[Jbarney]

^ I think that it's more a case of simple screw ups on both sides really and arrogance to boot. The Marquis were nothing more than a nuisance factor really (until the Klingon War) so I doubt the shapeshifters would bother with them. It's a very interesting theory though.
(JustKate has put it with a much better sense of eloquence than myself)

'sides the Dominion had the Klingons to play with anyway

The comment about the Maquis being a nuisance certainly describes it about right, and I have always thought the writers at the end of TNG and during the run of DS9 really missed some awesome opportunities with this story line. I know we had our fair share of the Maquis, they were mentioned in all three series during the 1990s and some of the major story archs dealt with them. I just never thought the writers took it far enough though.

If colony worlds were capable of having entire cells willing to give of UFP citizenship, Starfleet was starting to have officers leaving (Ro, Tom Riker, Cal Hudson, Eddington) and indy traders like Cassidy Yates were willing to aid the Maquis, isn't it logical to assume some UFP members along the DMZ would have become so rattled by the violence, flow of events, and sitauation they would have considered leaving the UFP?

I'm not saying any world actually got to that point, but it would have been interesting to cast the actions of the Maquis in a much more intense reality. Rather than the limited problems they presented every once in a while.

 

[Freman]

marquis: A nobleman in England, France, and Germany, of a rank next below that of duke. Originally, the marquis was an officer whose duty was to guard the marches or frontiers of the kingdom. The office has ceased, and the name is now a mere title conferred by patent.

 

[Michael]

marquis: A nobleman in England, France, and Germany, of a rank next below that of duke. Originally, the marquis was an officer whose duty was to guard the marches or frontiers of the kingdom. The office has ceased, and the name is now a mere title conferred by patent.

But, Marquis ≠ Maquis.

 

[Captrek]

They had federation and cardassian colonists on either side of the newly created border and they didn't expect some consequences? What the Heck!!!!​

It’s not like that doesn’t happen in the real world. The most prominent example is Jewish settlements in areas in the West Bank that have been ceded by Israel to the Palestinian Authority. It is a common event for the Israeli government to bulldoze such settlements, provoking vehement protests, and occasionally physical resistance, from the Jewish settlers. I suspect it was this example that inspired the Star Trek writers to create a similar situation in Star Trek.

 

[Jono]

Considering what the Jem'Hadar solider said to Sisko in the episode "The Jem'Hadar", going so far as to say "seems a tactical error", I think it's safe to say that the Founders had no involvement in the creation of the Maquis.

I doubt the Jem'Hadar would have had any idea if the Dominion had a hand in the creation of the Maquis. Your run-of-the-mill soldiers often aren't aware of the larger strategic plans of their leaders, especially when you're dealing with covert operations. Just like how a Federation soldier might comment that the Dominion was stupid for letting the Romulan's steal highly classified invasion plans from them has no baring on the reality of the situation that led to the Star Empire joining the conflict.