Why did the humans leave their original planet to found the colonies?

Question

I watched pretty much every episode of BSG, but I can't quite remember why the humans left their homeworld to found Caprica and the other colonies. I'm guessing it's either nuclear holocaust, pollution, or proto-cylon attack.

Can someone refresh my memory on what causes the humans to abandon their original planet?

Answer 1

Okay, I think I finally have this:

1. Humans evolve on Kobol
2. Human-Cylons colonize the 13th Colony, "earth" and begin to procreate naturally
3. 2,000 years later, after some unknown calamity, the Great Exodus to the 12 colonies occurs
4. Resurrection technology falls away over time on the 13th Colony
5. Eventually, knowing something bad is about to happen, the Final Five build a new resurrection ship around earth and bring back the resurrection tech
6. The mechanical cylons attack earth, and the Final Five are resurrected
7. They try to warn the other 12 colonies, but because of the Theory of Relativity, thousands of years have passed and the colonies are embroiled in wars with mechanical cylons
8. A peace accord is struck with mechanical Cylons
9. 40 years later, the Cylons, led by human-cylon hybrids attack and destroy the 12 colonies
10. After years of searching the survivors from the 12 colonies find the 13th colony, it's still a nuclear wasteland
11. The survivors then find and colonize our Earth, 150,000 years in our past.
12. A child born to a human and a cylon, Hera becomes mitochondrial eve on our Earth.

If I've got this time line wrong, please leave a comment and I'll edit so it's up to date.

Answer 2

[edit] Actually, I had it wrong too. It does look like the cause of the Great Exodus is unnamed. The thirteenth tribe left 2000 years before the great exodus, according to Battlestar Wiki. They were humanoid at the time of their exit. But they had evolved from mechanical cylons created by the humans of Kobol. They were eventually destroyed by their own mechanical cylons (centurions). It's unclear whether it's a reinvention of the cylon or centurions who never evolved. I always figured it was reinvention.

I'd also always thought the cause of the Great Exodus was a cylon - human war. You know the whole "this has all happened before and it will all happen again". Battlestar's cycle is:

1. humans invent cylons
2. cylons rebel
3. cylons become human
4. humans invent cylons
5. rinse, repeat

[/edit]

Great Exodus

Thirteenth Tribe

Answer 3

It's never made clear in the series itself. Kobol was clearly abandoned, but a reason wasn't included in the narrative, or if it was, it was too subtle for me to catch.

See the article on Kobol at Battlestar Wiki - The great exodus has no known reason I can find. There are some hints in the sacred scrolls, but no form reason is given, and the scrolls are treated as unreliable in the series.

Answer 4

According to the original BSG there was a natural disaster that forced the 13 tribes to leave Kobol. 12 of the tribes were human & left for the 12 colonies, whilst simultaneously the 13th tribe left for earth. The 13th tribe were created by humans as living robots. There was a Nuclear war on Cylon Occupied earth of which the final five recreated resurrection. They left for the 12 colonies to warn them. By the time the final five got to the 12 colonies the first cylon war broke out.

It's from here that I don't understand the finer details. 1. Why was there a nuclear war on the Earth of the 13th tribe? Was it a civil war? 2. Why do the final five need to travel to the 12 colonies? What are they warning them? Are they warning them about the cylons? That makes no scents considering they the humans created them on Kobol to begin with. 2. If the humans created the cylons on Kobol did they create resurrection? And did they purposefully forgot how to create cylons?

In the scriptures they never mentioned the 13th tribe as cylons. It's unfortunate Caprica ended, it was starting to answer some interesting questions.

Answer 5

Here is my take ...

Humans on Kobol invent Humanoid Cylons. There is a Cylon and Humans conflict. 12 tribes leave for Caprica one tribe leaves for Earth (humanoid Cylons). The tribe on Earth creates mechanized Cylons. The Mechanized Cylons destroy Earth. The final five recreate Resurrection and travel to Caprica. It takes them a freaking long time because the Space Jump system was more rudimentary. Finally the 5 get to Caprica and witness the Cylon and Human War. They upgrade the Cylons with Humanoid technology in return for Peace. Humanoid and Mechanic Cylons attack Caprica 40 years later and brainwash the 5.

Answer 6

The reason why kobol was destroyed was due to Fact that kobol had become decadent and technology run amok, gluttony. When the 13 tribes left kobol 12 tribes settled on twelve planets to become the 12 colonies of kobol. The 12 tribes were human... The 13th were human created cylons. Direct memory transfer(resurrection) was from kobol.. When the 13th tribe settled on earth they began to procreate biologically and direct memory transfer fell out of use. Now the final five cylons on earth were warned by "Angels" that a calamity was coming and therefore instructed them to recreate direct memory transfer(ressurection). When the holocaust happens on earth the final five ressurect on a ship they had in orbit. They then headed back to the 12 colonies to warn them to treat their mechanical cylons well to avert catastrophe. But the didnt have jump technology so traveling at sub luminal speeds they got to the colonies during the war with the humans and centurions. They agreed to help the centurions make flesh bodies if they would stop the war. There was peace for 40 years until the fall of the colonies

Answer 7

Because the home planet can be boring? For example, why did the British leave England for America? The fact is that human beings (homo sapiens) left Earth for Caprica and Gemenon because there were more opportunities there than at Earth. As well, Earth had become overpopulated and was too polluted to live on! Also, they thought they were the only ones to colonize Caprica and Gemenon.