History
After Earth's natural resources were used up generations ago, mankind abandoned the planet (which now exists in myth and legend as "Earth-That-Was"), and moved out into the stars. But, mankind held onto the tenets of culture and civilization in the exodus, carrying with it those things both material and spiritual that make us human.
Relatively little is known of the early history of the Alliance (such as the exact date of the exodus from Earth, and the reasons why China and the U.S. allied themselves with each other).
At the Battle of Serenity Valley, both the Alliance and the Browncoats suffered heavy casualties, particularly amongst officers. Survivors from both sides were stranded on the battlefield until the Alliance was able to send a fleet of medical transports to rescue them.
The day that the Unification War ended is known as "Unification Day" (often abbreviated to "U-Day") and is celebrated as a holiday throughout the Alliance. Alliance military officers like to drink a toast to Unification Day and enthusiastically encourage others to join in the festivities.
Read more about this topic: Alliance (Firefly)
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The basic idea which runs right through modern history and modern liberalism is that the public has got to be marginalized. The general public are viewed as no more than ignorant and meddlesome outsiders, a bewildered herd.”
—Noam Chomsky (b. 1928)
“All history becomes subjective; in other words there is properly no history, only biography.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Culture, the acquainting ourselves with the best that has been known and said in the world, and thus with the history of the human spirit.”
—Matthew Arnold (1822–1888)