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The Twelve Colonies of Man was the main human civilization in the original 1978 science fiction movie and television series Battlestar Galactica and the 2003 miniseries and 2004 remake Battlestar Galactica.

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The Twelve Colonies of Kobol

The Twelve Colonies were founded by settlers from Kobol, the birthplace of all humans. Twelve tribes of humans settled twelve different planets, presumably in the same solar system (representing the Twelve Lost Tribes of Israel). The names of the planets are taken from the signs of the Zodiac:

• Tauron (Taura in the original)
• Gemenon
• Virgon
• Sagittaron (Sagittara in the original)
• Caprica
  • Homeworld of most of the characters on the Galactica. Appears to be the most important colony.
• Picon
  • Location of Colonial fleet headquarters. Destroyed in the first wave of Cylon attack.
• Leonis *
• Canceron *
• Aerilon *
• Aquaria *
• Scorpia *
• Libris *

"*" - revealed in the new series' DVD box set and in episode 'Colonial Day'

All Colonial planets were depopulated by the Cylons during The Destruction of the Twelve Colonies.

Colonial Government (1978 Series)

The Quorum of the Twelve is the main governing body of the Twelve Colonies. There are twelve members, one from each colony. There is a President of the Twelve Colonies, who acts as the head of state. There is also a Commander in Chief of the armed forces. The President and civilian government leads the Colonies, unless martial law is declared. After the death of President Adar and the death of the Quorum of the Twelve, the Colonial remnants under the protection of the Battlestar Galactica were placed under martial law by Commander Adama, the last surviving member of the pre-Destruction Quorum. Count Baltar, a member of the Quorum who survived due to his treachery, was presumably stripped of his rank by his gross betrayal of humanity. The Quorum has the power to repeal martial law itself, but after a disastrous attempt at reestablishing civilian rule in the "Rag-Tag Fleet," such matters were dropped for the present.

The Quorum has also been called the "Council of the Twelve."

Colonial law

There is no death penalty, even for treason. The maximum punishment is life imprisonment. Officers of the court include 'Opposers' (prosecuting attorneys) and 'Advocates' (defense).

The Colonial military

The Colonial Navy

The Colonial Navy is the first line of defence against Cylon invasion. This force of battlestars and Vipers has held the Cylons at bay for at least a thousand yahren and can easily outfight superior Cylon numbers through human cleverness.

Colonial warriors

Renowned for their bravery and prowess in warfare in the Colonies and beyond, Warriors are the Viper pilots and ground troops of the Colonies. They are similar to Earth-bound Marines in their versatility.

Colonial/Council security

These officers clad in black form a catch-all police force, under the direct control of the Quorum of the Twelve. Their jurisdiction appears to cover both civilian and military police roles.

Colonial Government (2003 Series)

In the 2003 remake of Battlestar Galactica, the Colonial government (what is known) is somewhat different. There is a Presidency, and a "Political Cabinet" (which includes the ministries of Defense, Civil Defense, and Education), which each ministry headed by a secretary. The Secretary of Education is the 43rd and presumably last in the order of succession. There is a death penalty, and treason is punishable by it. Local government includes mayors, of whom President Adar was one before his first term as President of the Twelve Colonies. The Colonial Government appears to include some form of civil religion.

The Quorum of the Twelve does exist in the series (an interim one is established a month into the exodus) but its structure and purpose is different. The Quorum's sessions are presided by the President of the Twelve Colonies, who may cast a vote in case of a draw. Each Colony gets a single vote. The functions of the Quorum of Twelve include taking nominations for and electing the Vice President - whether this is common practice or an emergency attribution in the case of a vacant Vice Presidency is not known. Quorum members may run for the Vice Presidency, but must resign to their Quorum seat if elected. Given that the Colonies used to be independent nations until a few decades before the Cylon Attack), the Quorum of Twelve is described as a mixture between the United States Senate and the UN Security Council.

In his blog, Battlestar Galactica's producer Ronald D. Moore has indicated that the Colonial government presumably included a larger, still unnamed representative body and an independent judiciary system, as well as another (also unnamed) religious body with an advisory function.

The differences in Colonial government in the 2003 remake stem from the fact the new situation that Cylons were created by Man as servants and soldiers, though there are no alien races. The production team has established that the Cylons were used as soldiers in wars between the Twelve Colonies. Indeed, while the Exodus from Kobol was 2,000 years before the final Cylon defeat of the Twelve Colonies in the TV series, the "Articles of Colonization" are stated as being only 52 years old (predating the First Cylon War--which was 40 years ago--by only 12 years). As such, the Colonial Government made up of the Presidency and the Quorum was meant to be less of an unified one as seen in the original series and more of an alliance of independent members, like NATO or the United Nations. This is evidenced by statements that different colonies had entirely different governments and laws; for example, Sagittaron was ruled by a corrupt military dictatorship. Further, it is stated that Sagittaron law allows a convict that has served their sentence to regain citizenship, implying that all of the colonies were not ruled by the same law.

The Colonial Military appears to be made of at least two branches:

• The Colonial Fleet, which operated a force of about 120 Battlestars and several support vessels. The Colonial Fleet was organized around "Battlestar Groups", such as Battlestar Group 75 (from which Galactica receives its BSG-75 designator). These groups, which can be seen as analogous to a present-day Carrier Battle Group were possibly composed of a number of Battlestars protected and supported by smaller vessels. The Colonial Fleet also operated the Viper squadrons and Raptors attached to the battlestars; pilots may go on and command battlestars later in their career. The Colonial Fleet has a mixed Army/Navy rank system: Admiral, Commander, Colonel, Major, Captain, Lieutenant, Lieutenant junior grade, Ensign. Non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel have a Naval-style rank system as detailed by Ronald D. Moore in his blog: Master Chief Petty Officer, Chief Petty Officer, Petty Officer 1st and 2nd Class, Specialist, Deckhand and Recruit.
• The Colonial Marine Corps, a specialized ship-based ground force operating onboard the ships of the Colonial Fleet. Marines are used for strike actions and for security purposes such as repelling boardings and maintaining a ship's brig. The role the Marine Corps may have played in planetary defense is still not known, or even if there was a separate Colonial Army for that role. Marine non-commissioned and enlisted personnel use regular Army rank titles; whether their officers use the same mixed rank structure as Colonial Fleet officers is not known, as no Marine officer has so far been shown.

• Fictional governments
• Battlestar Galactica