Federation-Cardassian Treaty and the Birth of the Maquis

After years of border conflict ended in an uneasy truce, the Federation and the Cardassian Union concluded a peace treaty in 2370 that redrew their frontier and created a Demilitarized Zone. Several Federation colonies ended up on the Cardassian side of the new border, and Cardassian settlements on the Federation side; colonists were expected to relocate or accept foreign rule.

The arrangement was painful in practice. In "Journey's End" Captain Picard was ordered to remove the Native American settlers of Dorvan V, who ultimately chose to stay under Cardassian jurisdiction. Elsewhere, Federation colonists who refused to leave faced harassment from Cardassians secretly arming their own settlers, and began to fight back.

They organized as the Maquis, a resistance movement that raided Cardassian targets and was outlawed by the Federation. The Maquis drew in Starfleet defectors such as Chakotay, Ro Laren and later Michael Eddington, and created a lasting dilemma for Starfleet officers like Sisko and Picard. The movement endured until 2373, when the Cardassians, newly allied with the Dominion, wiped it out.