Ferengi history Ferengi history tells the story of a resourceful species whose development can be described with its 10th Rule of Acquisition : " " Greed is eternal " " . ( ) Early history . Ferengi history reaches back at least 10 , 000 years , which is the amount of time it took to establish the Ferengi Alliance . The most significant events of early Ferengi history were the invention of currency and the concept of profit , as well the creation of the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition by Gint , the first Grand Nagus . ( ) Although this cemented their greedy and materialistic society , Ferengi history avoided atrocities such as slavery ( at least of males ) , concentration camp s , and interstellar war s . Nevertheless , violence was not a complete stranger to Ferengi society as evidenced by Smeet , who became the only Grand Nagus ever to be assassinated while in office after a dramatic drop in the Ferengi Market Exchange during his reign . ( ) At some point in the distant past , the Ferengi diverged from the Dopterian s . Since Dopterians have displayed many characteristics similar to Ferengi , it is likely they did so after the foundations of Ferengi culture were established . ( , ) A temporal incident known on Earth as Roswell Incident caused a quasi - first contact between three Ferengi from the future and Human s of the mid - 20th century . The Ferengi ' s shuttle had accidentally performed a time warp en route to Earth and crashed on the planet in the year 1947 . The United States of America , one of the Human nation - states of that era , treated the visitors with suspicion and would keep this incident a secret after the Ferengi managed to re - acquire their shuttle and return to their own time . ( ) At some point of time , the Ferengi purchased warp drive technology and , by 2150 , had begun using it to expand their commercial interests in the galaxy . Even at this point , however , the Ferengi were a mysterious race who were often only known through rumor . ( ; ; ) By 2150 , the Ferengi had visited Valakis , the homeworld of the Menk and the Valakian s , the latter of which sought help to fight a medical crisis on their homeworld . As of 2151 , Ferengi had encountered Bolian s , but T ' Pol of the Vulcan High Command was unfamiliar with the name " Ferengi . " ( ) In 2151 , Starfleet had its first , unofficial encounter with the Ferengi . This initial encounter took place when four Ferengi marauders boarded after rendering its crew unconscious using a " Trojan Horse " device . The pirates attempted to plunder the starship of items they believed held value , but their plans were ultimately foiled by the " Enterprise " crew and the Ferengi ' s own greed . With " Enterprise " back under Starfleet control , the pirates , who never disclosed their species or allegiance , were allowed to leave with a warning not to plunder any more ships in the area . ( ) Around the mid - 24th century , the Great Monetary Collapse occurred on Ferenginar . It was described as " " rampant inflation and currency devaluation that were burning like wildfires through the lush financial foliage of Ferenginar " " . ( ) Contact with the Federation . In 2355 , while Captain Jean - Luc Picard was in command of the , Starfleet had another encounter with the Ferengi , although the latter ' s identity would not be realized until nine years later . While traveling through the Maxia Zeta system , the USS " Stargazer " ' s shields were damaged by an unidentified starship - a Ferengi vessel commanded by Bok ' s son . This forced Captain Picard to perform a maneuver in which the " Stargazer " jumped into high warp , making it appear to the attackers that the ship was in two places at once . This tactic was so highly regarded by Starfleet that it was given the designation " the Picard Maneuver " . During the ensuing confusion , the " Stargazer " was able to destroy the enemy vessel , but the damage to the " Stargazer " was substantial and the crew were forced to abandon the ship . ( ) By 2364 , the United Federation of Planets was aware of the Ferengi , but had yet to make official first contact . For this reason , Federation scholars had to rely on rumors and hearsay , likening the Ferengi to " Yankee trader s " , American sailor s of the 18th and 19th centuries who traveled Earth ' s ocean s " in search of mercantile and territorial opportunity . " Official first contact between the Federation and the Ferengi eventually occurred in 2364 in the Delphi Ardu system , where a Ferengi vessel and the were trapped in orbit by a derelict outpost of the ancient Tkon Empire . The ship had originally stolen a Federation - owned T - 9 energy converter from Gamma Tauri IV and the " Enterprise " was sent in pursuit . Despite some hostilities , the situation could be resolved peacefully and the Ferengi returned the converter . ( ) Upon first official contact with the Ferengi , Starfleet personnel observed the species to speak with broken English , often gasping and hissing , and moving in a cat - like " slinking " manner . Within the space of two years , however , the Ferengi had adapted to Federation mannerisms and later encounters had the Ferengi speaking perfect English and moving as a normal Human would . A carry - over which was ( and still is ) common among all Ferengi is to call Humans by the name " Hew - mons " instead of the correct pronunciation . ( ; ) In general , Ferengi values were fundamentally incompatible with those of the Federation and a few aggressive incursions against Starfleet would occur over the years following 2364 . In most cases these were provoked by overambitious DaiMon s , e . g . , Bractor , Nunk , and Prak , who acted without sanction by the Ferengi Alliance and who did not shy away from aggressive moves against the Federation in their pursuits for profit or , in Bok ' s case , personal revenge for the death of his son back in 2355 . ( ; ) Despite such incursions , both sides maintained sufficient relations for Ferengi representatives to participate in Federation - hosted events , e . g . , the negotiations for the Barzan wormhole and the biennial Trade Agreements Conference on Betazed in 2366 , or for Starfleet ships to answer Ferengi distress calls . ( ) Developments under Grand Nagus Zek . A few months after the ( re - ) discovery of the Bajoran wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant in early 2369 , Grand Nagus Zek convened a conference at Quark ' s Bar on Deep Space 9 in order to discuss how the Ferengi Alliance can exploit the wormhole . He pointed out that their reputation has suffered in the Alpha Quadrant , but in the Gamma Quadrant the Ferengi ' s word would still be trusted . Surprisingly , Zek declined to lead the new venture himself due to his advanced age and instead appointed Quark as the new Nagus . However , this move turned out to be but a ploy to reveal that Zek ' s son was unsuited as a successor which prompted him to remain in office . ( ) Soon after this , Zek made contact with a species from the Gamma Quadrant , the Dosi . In early 2370 , he invited them to Deep Space 9 for a business meeting in order to discuss the purchase of large quantities of tulaberry wine . Although he claimed this to be the " greatest deal in Ferengi history " as it would help the Ferengi Alliance to get a foot in the Gamma Quadrant , Zek ' s plans reached beyond that . As Zek ' s chief negotiator , Quark was able to purchase 10 , 000 vat s of wine , only to be subsequently dispatched to the Dosi homeworld in order to procure 10 times that quantity . By artificially exaggerating the demanded volume , Zek accomplished his goal of making the Dosi refer the Ferengi to an even more powerful business partner in the Gamma Quadrant , the Karemma . They were described as an important member of something called " the Dominion " , thereby making the Ferengi the first Alpha Quadrant power to have ever learned of its existence . ( ) . Appendices . Background information . The Borg identify the Ferengi as Species 180 - the fourth - lowest , canon Borg designation . Interestingly , the three lower designations , as well as the next higher number , species 218 ( Talaxian s ) , are all species from the Delta Quadrant . Other than the Ferengi , the lowest Alpha / Beta Quadrant species designation by the Borg that was ever given on screen is 3259 ( Vulcan s ) . It remains unknown , whether this is an indication for an unusually early Borg - Ferengi contact . ( ) Some fans of " Star Trek " were ( at least initially ) disgruntled about the Ferengi being encountered by Starfleet as early as the 22nd century in , as the earlier - produced seemed to involve the first contact between the two groups occurring later . Mike Sussman characterized the encounter in " Acquisition " as " probably one of the more controversial choices " in ENT Season 1 . Responding to the fan complaints , Brannon Braga stated , " " The crew [ of " Enterprise " ] never finds out what this species is called . We may even deal with that as we go along . But I think the [ upset fans ] perceived it as a ' screw you . " " Sussman concurred , " " I think we structured the show in a way that preserves Picard ' s first contact with [ the Ferengi ] [ . . . ] Besides , every fan knows Earth ' s real first contact with the Ferengi was in Roswell in 1947 ! " " ( ) Quark actor Armin Shimerman commented , " " What I found really interesting [ . . . ] was that it was the Ferengi who made the first contact with the major power in the Gamma Quadrant . It was the Ferengi who discovered the Dominion , which I think is wonderful . " " ( " " , p . 97 )