The War of Earthly Aggression: Difference between revisions

== [[Anime]] ==

* This is one of the most common themes in ''[[Gundam]]''. Due to Gundam's influence, it's also a common theme in [[Humongous Mecha]] anime as a whole.

** ''[[Gundam AGE]]'' has {{spoiler|the UE, which turn out to be Martian colonists who were abandoned by the Earth Federation some 150 years ago and are still bitter.}}

* The war in ''[[Martian Successor Nadesico]]'', while originally presented to the Earthlings as an attack by alien invaders, turns out to be something like this.

* ''[[The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress]]'' by [[Robert Heinlein]]. Neither side is shown to be really ''evil'', per se, it's just that people on the Moon discover that their ecology is on the brink of collapse (due to their exporting almost exclusively agricultural products and never getting imports of things like ''water'' in return) and Earth not believing them. Of course, the Moon is much more ''sympathetic'', not only because the story is from [[Sympathetic POV|their POV]], but also because Earth regards them as literal scum of the Earth due to lunar colonization's origins as a [[Penal Colony]].

** Heinlein also did ''[[Literature/Red Planet|Red Planet]]'' (Mars) and ''[[Between Planets]]'' (Venus).

** The first extrasolar colonies did not follow ethnic streaming, and so, served as an example for future generations: they were splintered into warring nations and financially bankrupt.

* The [[Red Mars Trilogy]] seems to have this, where a revolution in the first book is slapped down with orbital lasers and whatnot, but the 2nd one works, in part due much better planning.

* In ''[[The History of the Galaxy]]'' series, the First Galactic War starts when the [[The Empire|Earth Alliance]] president orders the invasion of the Dabog colony, one of the many which refused to submit to Earth rule. When the invasion fails due to the farmers proving themselves a little too good at fighting, the fleet admiral nukes the planet. The other [[La Résistance|Free Colonies]] band together and turn what was supposed to be a Blitzkrieg into a decades-long war, which Earth eventually loses (due to a betrayal in their top brass). The war turns the colonies into industrial and scientific powerhouses that later form the core of the [[The Federation|Confederacy of Suns]]. Earth is left alone but under watch, populated by only a few million people (most having escaped the horrors of war).

** The invasion of Dabog is detailed in the novel ''Dabog'', where it's revealed that the Earth Alliance never made itself known to the colonies. They merely sent spies to infiltrate the colonies and detemine if the colonials would accept additional settlers from Earth (whose population numbers in the hundreds of billions). While the colonials claim they would accept more people, they wish to reserve the right to select appropriate candidates (i.e. people with useful skills and no criminal past). Not liking this, the President sends a strike fleet to Dabog. There are to be no ultimatums, no negotiations. The fleet makes itself known by nuking two cities from orbit. Even the Earth soldiers don't much care for the colonists.

** And now The Honorverse is doing it too in the war against the Solarian League.

 

== [[Live Action TV]] ==

* ''[[Firefly]]'': Although Earth was ancient history, the war between the Alliance and the Independents over Unification is the same basic pattern, fought between rich central worlds and poor, far flung colonies.

* Came up sometimes on ''[[Blake's Seven|Blakes Seven]]'', but only one episode at a time and one planet at a time. It was the theme of the whole series, but the rebellion seemed to be a ''lot'' less organized and systematic than the other examples of this trope.

* In ''[[Star Trek]]'', the Maquis were rebelling because they felt the Federation sold them out. In fairness, the Cardassians were committing ''blatant'' treaty violations, and the Federation wasn't exactly very quick to respond.

** That was a pretty complicated situation borne of a monumentally stupid redrawing of lines on the map where Federation citizens ended up on the wrong side of the line... and in fairness to the Federation, there were more than a few in the hierarchy that were on the side of the Maquis (and the Cardassians also had to cede worlds as well) - it's just that the Federation didn't want another war. As far as Star Trek goes, this is one of the few political situations that had actual depth and not just good vs. evil.

*** Also note that it wasn't a clear 'wrong side of the line'. Some colonies ended up in an ambiguous 'demilitarized zone'. Others ended up in enemy space and were evacuated, but many of the colonists refused to leave.

 

== [[Tabletop Games]] ==

** Until recently the Imperium was winning. Now it's constant wars of trying to hold onto Imperium-controlled worlds.

* ''[[Tech Infantry]]'' has the Frontier Worlds Territory and a few other colony-world minor political entities who broke off from the Earth Federation, along with the various internal rebel groups who aren't so much interested in independence as in taking over the whole shebang for themselves.

* Dream Pod 9's older franchises tend to incorporate this. In ''[[Heavy Gear]]'' Earth decides to reclaim its colonies after years (well, more like a ''millenium'') of neglect only to find the Terra Novans are more than willing to fight them rather than each other. [[Jovian Chronicles]] also has this, but things aren't so clear cut.

** And the Atlanteans. And the Caprician Liberati. And {{spoiler|whatever we learn about New Jerusalem in 2012.}}

* ''[[Starcraft]]'' has a lot of these. The whole plot kickstarts when Raynor, marshall of a tiny little backwater colony, joins the rebels out of spite against the Confederacy's suspiciously lengthy response to a Zerg infestation. After the Confederacy is overthrown, the United Earth Directorate is sent to reclaim the territories lost to the Zerg, The Terran Dominion and the Protoss. It might seem like the UED are [[Les Collaborateurs]]... problem is, {{spoiler|the rebels and the resulting Terran Dominion was pretty much as bad as the Confederacy}}.

** There was also the little fact of [[Jerkass|General Duke]] imprisoning Raynor for destroying an obvious Zerg infestation. Anyone would be upset at this point.

** But the Earth Empire collapsed on itself long ago, and the succeeding United Earth Federation was merely trying to hold on its territory while the Crusading Aeons wanted to convert or exterminate by force. The Cybrans' struggle is greyer, as they try to free cyborgs who are essential to the proper administration of the UEF territories. The UEF is really on the defensive there.

* The Asian campaign in ''[[Empire Earth]]: Art of Conquest'' is about Mars rebelling against the Earth government.

* Not quite this trope, but the whole point of ''[[Ground Control]] II: Operation Exodus'' is the desperate fight of the [[The Alliance|Northern Star Alliance]] against the ruthless [[The Empire|Terran Empire]]. The difference is that the colonies that make up the NSA have rebelled centuries before, and the government they have rebelled from no longer exists, having been taken over by the Draconis Empire, which renamed itself the Terran Empire after conquering Earth. As far as the imperials are concerned, though, all of space rightly belongs to them.

* The "A New Hope" scenario of ''[[Sword of the Stars]]'' is about this.

* ''[[Power Dolls]]'' is about the independence war of planet Omni against the Earth forces.

 

* ''[[Angels 2200]]'' milks the "morally ambiguous" version of this trope for all it is worth: the Terrans have a [[State Sec]] and use biological warfare; The Colonials use [[Child Soldiers]] as kamikazes and torture their prisoners. On balance the Terrans come out slightly on top, since most of their viewpoint characters are noble warrior types whereas the Colonials' commander tends to do [[Magnificent Bastard]] things like deliberately sacrificing his own troops as bait.

* In ''[[Galactic Maximum]]'', the [[Backstory]] of the [http://maximumcomic.com/?strip_id=6 Great Solar Wars]. [[The Federation]] is the aliens who showed up to help the colonists.

 

== [[Western Animation]] ==