Today, the 4th of July, is officially Independence Day in the U.S., celebrating the day (give or take) that the American colonial government declared independence from Great Britain. Given how many space settlement advocates like to draw parallels between their vision for humanity’s future in space and the colonization of North America, should we expect history to repeat itself someday in the form of space settlements fighting for independence from terrestrial governments?
There’s a general sense, especially among American futurists and sci-fi writers, that similar declarations of independence— or even wars of independence, like the American Revolutionary War that followed the original July 4— will be inevitable as humans build new communities far from Earth. Classic science fiction stories like Robert Heinlein’s The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and Kim Stanley Robinson’s Mars trilogy explore the triggers and consequences of lunar and Martian rebellions against Earth. As sci-fi author Stephen Baxter has noted, “in American-dominated mid-twentieth-century SF, 1776-style rebellions of near-future space colonies against the centre were represented as something of a default.”
Many of the space enthusiasts who grew up reading revolution-themed science fiction still carry this unexamined belief in the inevitability and desirability of space colony independence movements. When SpaceX released Starlink’s terms of service in late 2020, it was quickly noticed that the ToS included a section stating, “For Services provided on Mars, or in transit to Mars via Starship or other spacecraft, the parties recognize Mars as a free planet and that no Earth-based government has authority or sovereignty over Martian activities. Accordingly, Disputes will be settled through self-governing principles, established in good faith, at the time of Martian settlement.” Legal experts quickly chimed in to point out that that’s not how international law works, but part of the reason this legally void clause struck a chord with many SpaceX fans is the common belief that Mars should and will one day soon be “a free planet”.
But if we turn towards history rather than Western science fiction, it’s clear that independence movements are not as common (and thus natural and inevitable) as Americans may think. Historian Lauren Benton, whom I interviewed for my podcast, explained that this “odd impression that people sometimes have” that independence was “the most central preoccupation of the colonies” is a misconception: “The colonies very often depended very much on trade, and their elites depended [on their home country] for social advancement and economic advancement.” In fact, colonial elites dreamed of returning home, or of sending their children back to their home country to be educated or married.
In a settlement on the Moon or Mars, especially during the first couple of generations, space settlers will still have strong ties to Earth, in terms of both social connections and financial assets. Plus, they’ll depend heavily on trade with Earth, not just for mutual profit but for survival, until settlements can be developed enough to be able to produce everything they need in space with imports from Earth (which won’t be for a long, long time).
The relationship between a space settlement and terrestrial governments will probably depend on the economic balance of power, which may shift over time as new space resources are discovered or technologies for accessing or using those resources are invented. And it will also depend on the economic and political structure of the settlement itself: historically, the parent/colony relationship often looked very different from the perspective of the colonial elites than that of the working class or oppressed groups.
Of course, there will still be conflict and political disagreements in space no matter what, just as on Earth, and cultures and legal systems will evolve differently in space settlements than on Earth due to the immense distance, communication delay, and extremely different environments. But that doesn’t mean that violent conflict in space is inevitable, in the form of some kind of revolutionary war (as I argued in a recent newsletter about war in space). Hopefully, our descendants in space will be able to create new holidays celebrating peaceful historical events and interplanetary friendship and cooperation, rather than repeating our bloody history of oppression and violent revolution here in the U.S.
Other News
I’ll be moderating a panel on crew selection for the Interstellar Research Group’s 8th Interstellar Symposium in Montreal on July 10-13 (my panel will be Tuesday afternoon). I’ll also be participating in a public panel on the evening of Monday, July 10, so if you’re in Montreal but not able to attend the full conference, consider stopping by!
I’ve had the pleasure of being interviewed for several podcasts lately, including Eclectic Spacewalk, John Batchelor’s Hotel Mars, Inquiry on WICN, and Moncrieff Highlights on Newstalk.
Here are a couple of more concepts to consider, when considering what expanding into a new frontier could be like.
1. John Carpenter's "Ghost of Mars" film.
2. The Donner Party's Oregon Trail experience.
Nice dreams,
Floyd III
Great piece!
[Actually is about alien invasions … from the indigenous Martian ( et. al. ) POV.]