Provisional timeline - Galaucus/endless-sky GitHub Wiki

• 2310: A small anarchist colony is established on Freedom, far north of Sol.

• 2400: More anarchist colonies in the north flourish, and band together to form the Federation of Autonomous Worlds.

• 2420: A utopian colonization project is established by a billionaire in the furthest reaches of the outer rim, encompassing all systems beyond the star "Men". Intended to be a privately owned state guided by the "enlightened wisdom" of a single owner-autocrat, billions of credits and thousands of workers are brought in from across the galaxy.

• 2450: The first Alpha War breaks out.

• 2452: With Betelgeuse shipyards threatened by Alpha incursions ranging through the territory of the Federation of Autonomous Worlds, Betelgeuse's corporate government approves unilateral annexation of these planets as an emergency measure. Although this forces troops away from the front lines against the Alphas, a swift and brutal invasion of the FAW provides enough security for a now-unharassed Betelgeuse shipyards to double down on production for the war effort. A treaty is forced upon the occupied worlds that promises them independence in ten years' time. A few anarchist colonies in the far, far north remain independent.

• 2454: Betelgeuse's corporate government passes a wartime emergency resolution to strip voting rights from felons.

• 2455: Protest without a permit is classified as a felony upon specially designated "critical industrial zone" planets, most of these planets lying in the former territory of the Federation of Autonomous Worlds.

• 2462: The Treaty of Betelgeuse expires. Against all expectations, enfranchised citizens upon these planets vote to remain members of the now larger state by a landslide.

• 2532: With new terraforming technology available, the Utopia project is cancelled as it is no longer a worthwhile investment. Executives and supply lines are pulled out, while workers and private security are effectively abandoned among unfinished colonial infrastructure. Security teams band together to seize control of the region, instituting their chiefs as feudal lords. The worker population is effectively enslaved.

Around 2900 independent merchantry became viable for the first time in galactic history. This arose from a combination of factors, including cheaper hulls and technology, but not insignificantly an anti-trust action which forced the Syndicate to spin off its internal logistics division into a separate, ostensibly competing company.

It's around this time that many pirates operated as "raiders" who found safe haven or a home base on underdeveloped worlds throughout the dirt belt. In exchange for bringing back cheap goods for sale to the locals, they were effectively protected from prosecution.

As the Republic rises in power and begins to secure its frontiers the raiders are pushed back. Some of the most respected ones stay with the communities they once helped supply, effectively becoming the first militia - battle-hardened veteran pirates trusted by the locals. The rest are pushed to the edges of human space, where increasing brutality is needed just to survive. Decades pass. The Republic, now finished with its last wave of expansion, finds itself almost fully occupying the known galaxy. With any significant dissent more or less gone, the Navy pulls back to the core worlds - there just isn't need for occupation forces anymore. This creates something of a power vacuum on the fringes of the galaxy, allowing pirates to flood back in. We're now at the year 3000, and the game starts.