United Martian Coalition

The United Martian Colonies were the principal nation on Mars, fourth planet in the Sol system.

## History

### Early Colonization

Mars was first colonized by an Imperial Russian venture on May 1, 2027, forming the colony of Stremlenod. In July of that year, the Chinese colony of Fazhan was set up. The Soviet Union and the European Union both formed colonies in 2028. These early colonies were small, and could not be as closely supported as the Lunar colonies. They primarily served as scientific stations, and had small crews. The United States established their station, Underhill, in 2036.

These four stations grew slowly over time, with Fazhan reaching a population of 38 in 2039. A joint Cascadian-Canadian venture established Tharsis Caverns in 2039. Ermesa and Raruboth were established in 2040. Moreover, a rail line was built connecting Caelum, Stremlenod, Underhill, and Fazhan Station. In 2041, to feed the growing colonies, Thompson Integrated Systems launched the *Plato* Class of interplanetary shuttles, with the early models seating 300. Four were manufactured originally, and began a schedule of 4-month round trips when Earth and Mars were closest.

By the mid-2050s, numerous other colonies had been established, and Ermesa was the de facto capital of the planet.

#### The Colony Period

With the continued growth of the major colonies, the shuttle system had greatly expanded, and hundreds of thousands could emigrate to Mars per year. A growing independence movement began during this period, especially as scientists began to develop automatic terraforming techniques. With continued immigration, major cities grew even faster. In addition to the cities, numerous small craters and canyons were tented as tenting fell in price.

To support the growing fleet of vessels both public and private going to, from, and around Mars, Deimos' smaller preexisting factories and facilities skyrocketed in importance. In 2070, the first of a new series of 700-person VASIMR-powered craft was completed by Tai Orbital Systems. Tai contracted Leemhuis Technologies to build two microwave power stations, one on Luna and one on Deimos. With the new craft and power stations, the Earth-Mars trip was lowered to a four-month average round trip when Earth and Mars were farthest apart.

Independence movements officially began in the 2080s, with numerous publications and public organizations arising to champion the cause. Charles Fisahaye began teaching at Xavier University in 2086, with his *Glorious Future* being published in 2103.

#### Independence

70 colonies of varying sizes, as a unified body, lobbied their respective home governments for independence in 2118. Knowing Mars' valuable position in the Asteroid Trade, all 70 colonies were granted independence in 2123. They formed the United Martian Colonies. Another 38 colonies, most strongly corporate, petitioned for independence in 2122, and they were granted independence in 2128. They formed the Martian Union, which was controlled almost entirely by major corporations.

The government was organized as a unicameral democratic republic, with the Colonial Assembly forming and passing legislature, which was then passed on to the Chancellor and Executive Court for approval. A planetary Environmental Court handled all court cases and set standards for terraforming and decided resource and business disputes.