Cardassian Occupation of Bajor

For roughly half a century the Cardassian Union occupied Bajor, an ancient and deeply spiritual civilization. The occupation's start is given differently from one episode to another: Cardassians were present on Bajor by around 2319, while the formal annexation is usually placed in 2328. Its end in 2369 is well established.

Seeking resources for an empire with a poor homeworld, the Cardassians stripped Bajor of its minerals, polluted its land and forced Bajorans into labor camps. The orbital station Terok Nor processed uridium ore under Gul Dukat, who served as prefect of Bajor. Millions of Bajorans died, and many more fled to refugee camps on other worlds. A determined resistance, in which the young Kira Nerys fought, waged a guerrilla campaign against the occupiers.

The mounting cost of resistance eventually led Cardassia to withdraw in 2369. Bajor emerged devastated, politically divided and wary of outsiders, and its provisional government invited the Federation to administer Terok Nor, renamed Deep Space 9. The occupation's legacy of trauma, collaboration and justice runs through the whole of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.