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           Cardassians: The Occupation of Bajor



     In 2328 the Cardassians claimed Bajor as their territory,
establishing sovereignty in the Bajoran system. It was formally
annexed in 2339, and occupied until 2369, when Bajoran resistance
fighters presumably subverted their control and drove them from
the system.
     There have been several theories put forth to explain the
Cardassian occupation of Bajor in which some have some validity,
however, none have given a cogent explanation for the invasion.
Bajoran archivists have chronicled events in their beliefs, which
suffice to say, is prejudice to the diverse basis of warfare. The
most common factor is the tendency toward aggression and
domination of other worlds. Nevertheless, no one could
comprehensively substantiate that this applied to the occupation
of Bajor. In Cardassian history, it was recorded that they were
once a peaceful and spiritual people. But because their planet
was resource-poor, starvation and disease were rampant, and
people died by the millions. Although it is perhaps accurate to
ascribe their aggressive tendencies based on their plight, one
still can't use this as evidence to articulate a major reason
for an invasion.
     Because war is a social act, motives should be searched for
in the nature of societies. The Cardassian social class system is
diverse; people need sufficient food, clothing, and living
space. Deprivation of any of these leads to anxiety and to a
search for ways to relieve the deprivation. Starvation impels a
social group to look for more territory. This can result in
colonization of uninhabited and habited lands. The Cardassian
occupation was also an extension of politics; acquiring
territories to strengthen the military and the economy through
economic expansion: technology and industrialization of the
state, therefore, the occupation of Bajor was socioeconomic in
nature. The search for natural resources, combined with a need
for technology and manufactured goods, fueled their campaigns.
     The Cardassian belief system, whether deployed as knowledge
or as theory, are socially mediated. Their social existence is
characterized historically by a struggle for survival, therefore,
their social existence determines their consciousness. To call
them a militaristic race is a gross misconception of the origins
of society itself, which is rooted in struggle. A regimental
society should not be construed as militarism, for the basic
premise for the military was to feed the populace. It is true
that the domination of the military class had a tremendous impact
upon the cultural milieu of society, however, it wasn't in
relation to the occupation of Bajor.
     Naturally, anytime a social class is dominated by a military
class, one easily assumes that the society is consumed by the
forces of war and ideology. You could argue that the military did
indeed determine society's "legal" and "political"
superstructure, but you would be in error if you extrapolated
that as the reason in which Bajor was occupied (see the
"Neverending Sacrifice").
     The withdrawal from Bajor was due to military overexpansion.
The continued "militarization of the economy" to support their camp-
aigns, and the "border wars" with the Federation, had begun to deplete
the resources that they had acquired: manpower and industrial-resources
(ore). After sixty-years of occupation, I find it impossible to believe that
the
Cardassian withdrawal was due to the insurgence of a mobbish band of
Bajoran rebels. The Bajorans didn't possess the armaments to launch a
full-scale assault on a space station that was built haphazardly for defense,
but could easily withstand the resistance "best" efforts.