Earth Alliance (Babylon 5) - Early Development

Early Development

The Earth Alliance was founded in 2085 by the countries of Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States in the aftermath of World War III to replace the ineffectual United Nations. The founding nations also made a strong attempt to explore space by setting up bases on the moon and a colony on Mars by 2090.

The government of the Earth Alliance is called Earthgov and is based in Geneva, Switzerland. The Earth Alliance is a representative liberal democracy for most of the series. Earthgov is regulated by the Earth Alliance Constitution, which bears a strong resemblance to the United States Constitution and the British Parliamentary form of government (the Westminster system). The Chief Executive of Earthgov is the President, who in turn has a Vice-President and other assistants called ministers. The legislature is called the Earth Senate, which consists of representatives from the Earth's nation-states. By 2122, the Earth Alliance had become the official governing body of humanity and Earth. However, some nations resisted joining the Earth Alliance, and they eventually resorted to violence to try to disrupt it. After San Diego was destroyed by a nuclear terrorist attack in 2150, the Earth Alliance defeated all opposing nations in a brief war, and the Earth Alliance became a true global government. Although the Earth is united under this government, individual nation-states still exist in the Babylon 5 universe, and some nations still complain about Alliance policies, such as when the Interstellar Network News reported that Indonesia's government had complained it was not receiving its fair share of financial aid from Earthgov. ("A Voice in the Wilderness Part I")

Though scientists had discovered hyperspace, they still were unable to send large objects such as ships through. Thus the Earth Alliance began sending ships into space in which people had been put into stasis in the hopes of finding alien life. In 2156, a Centauri patrol fleet made contact with Earth after detecting the use of hyperspace to relay radio communications.

After making first contact with the Centauri, the Earth Alliance saw massive growth. With technology purchased from the Centauri (chiefly with artistic and cultural items), the Alliance was able to technologically advance hundreds of years in just a few decades. Humans began establishing footholds in other star systems. After the expansion brought Earth into conflict with a number of alien races, a military organization called EarthForce was created by the Alliance to protect Earth and her colonies from alien attack. In 2231, in response to pleas for help from the League of Non-Aligned Worlds, the Earth Alliance became a galactic superpower when it declared war on the Dilgar. The Dilgar were a warlike alien species, motivated by the impending destruction of their homeworld as it faced its star going nova. They brutally invaded and conquered numerous worlds, using aliens in sadistic medical and scientific experiments. Within a year of the Earth Alliance's entrance into the war the Dilgar were defeated, and Earth gained great influence among numerous alien governments (see Dilgar War).

After the Dilgar War, the Earth Alliance entered another round of expansion. However, in 2245 the Earth Alliance had a disastrous first contact with a reclusive alien race called the Minbari, resulting in the Earth-Minbari War. The Minbari had been a space-faring race for at least a thousand years and wielded technology far superior to humans. EarthForce ships and soldiers fought bravely, but after two years of bloody fighting the Minbari had conquered or destroyed all of the strategically important human colonies, bypassing the remainder and headed straight for Earth. The last battle of the war was the Battle of the Line, where the Minbari - on the verge of total victory over the Earth Alliance - abruptly surrendered after they found Minbari and Human souls are linked.