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Theories
"I don't appreciate your tone."
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I didn't fight a one thousand-year war for this planet's independence to take orders from the likes of you!

Pearl, "Back to the Barn"

The Rebellion or the "Gem War" is the name given to a major Gem civil war that occurred approximately 5,750 years ago, according to Garnet, pitting the rebel group known as the Crystal Gems against the forces of the Gem Homeworld. The war was believed to be instigated by a Rose Quartz, founder and leader of the Crystal Gems, who recognized the value and sanctity of the life existing on Earth and sought to protect the planet by putting an end to Homeworld's colonization effort, led by one of the four Gem matriarchs, Pink Diamond, who was later supported by Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond

Description

Gem warrior

An unknown Gem warrior fighting against Rose during the Rebellion.

In "It Could've Been Great", Peridot reveals that the primary goal for the Homeworld Gems was to colonize the Earth in order to take advantage of its rich organic resources to expand the Gem empire. This would be done by making Kindergartens on the planet in order to produce more Gems, but would strip the Earth of its resources while virtually erasing all preexisting life on Earth. Rose Quartz saw that every life was important and worth protecting, and started to rebel against her kind, with Pearl alongside her.

According to Pearl, the war lasted approximately 1000 years. Countless battles were waged all across the Earth during this time. Meanwhile, the Crystal Gems, initially only consisting of Rose Quartz and Pearl, gradually grew to encompass a sizable and diverse number of Gems, enough to effectively fight Homeworld's forces to a standstill for a majority of the conflict.

The Answer 060

Rose and Pearl appear, bringing forth the Rebellion.

In "The Answer", Garnet made it seem as if Homeworld was previously colonizing the Earth under Blue Diamond's jurisdiction, though it was actually under Pink Diamond. During that time, 5,750 years ago, the Quartz soldier Rose Quartz started a rebellion. After this, a small group of rebels emerged to oppose the colonization of the planet. Due to this, Blue Diamond summoned Sapphire and had to assign three Ruby guards to protect her, one of which was the future Crystal Gem Ruby.

During a two-Gem raid by Rose and Pearl's conduct, Ruby fused with Sapphire by accident to form Garnet for the very first time. After the two rebels fled the scene, Blue Diamond demanded that Ruby be shattered for the incident. Sapphire reacted by grabbing Ruby and jumping out of the arena towards the Earth's surface. Over an unknown period of time, Ruby and Sapphire developed a romantic relationship and fused once again. After running into Rose and Pearl again in a chance encounter, Ruby and Sapphire as Garnet joined the Crystal Gems' rebellion.

Pink Diamond was believed to have been shattered somewhere between halfway through the Rebellion (when Jasper was made) and the end in what would later be known as Korea. This was revealed by Eyeball. [1]

In "Sworn to the Sword", Pearl reveals that some of the first battles for Earth happened at the Ancient Sky Arena. In "Rose's Scabbard", the Crystal Gems visit an ancient Gem Battlefield where Pearl says a battle was fought over 5,000 years ago. Garnet describes that countless Gems were broken in a maelstrom of death and destruction during the fight. Pearl also states in "On the Run" that the Homeworld Gems wanted to do something bad to the Earth, and some Gems, such as herself, Garnet, and Rose Quartz found their proposals unfair to the life already existent on the Earth. They rebelled against them, and the historic battle happened with Rose Quartz leading her armies of Crystal Gems, fighting against the Gem Homeworld.

Sworn to the Sword 104

An unknown Gem warrior almost kills Rose, but Pearl intervenes, sacrificing herself instead.

Greg Universe also appears to have knowledge of the war; he states in "The Return" that during the Rebellion, Rose could only use her shield to save a handful of her closest friends, and that many Gems and people died during the conflict. In this episode, Jasper also states she was present during the war for Earth, and that she fought against Rose's armies, enough to develop a level of respect for her tactics.[2]

"Serious Steven" is the first episode to show this battlefield, and the events of the Rebellion are most likely recorded on the walls of the Pyramid Temple, as one can see a carving of Rose fighting against an unknown Gem.

Same Old World 166

The attack unleashed by the Diamonds, resulting in the corruption of the Crystal Gem army, except Rose, Pearl, and Garnet.

In "Same Old World", Lapis, as she tells Steven her backstory, shows him how, when it became clear there was no hope of stopping the rebellion, the Homeworld Gems remaining on Earth quickly fled the planet by using either the Galaxy Warp or the original colonization ships. She was accidentally left behind in the panic to escape.

In "Monster Reunion", it is revealed the Centipeetle was the captain of a squadron that was sent to Earth together by an unknown commander. At the end of the Rebellion, the soldiers were ordered to retreat and a flash of bright light was cast upon the Earth by the Diamonds, which caused the corruption of Gems.

In "Bismuth", it is revealed that Rose told the Gems that they lost Bismuth the Gem at "The Battle of the Ziggurat." But it is revealed that Rose bubbled her because Bismuth wanted to use a device called the Breaking Point to shatter Gems, including the Diamonds, but Rose didn't want to use it. It was presumed it was for moral reasons but another reason was revealed in A Single Pale Rose.

In reality Rose Quartz and Pink Diamond were the same person. Pink saw the value of the Earth and she created the identity of Rose Quartz in order to stop her fellow Diamonds from destroying the Earth, having exhausted peaceful efforts to end Homeworld's colonization by pleading with her fellow Diamonds, Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond for years. This reality was unknown to all other participants of the conflict, with the exception of Pearl. Pink Diamond had hoped the start of the Rebellion would force Homeworld's forces off the Earth. However, after nearly a millennium of conflict, with mounting casualties on both sides and no clear end to the war in sight, it became clear to Pink that more extreme measures would need to be taken.

At the climax of the conflict, Pink Diamond devised a plan to fake her own assassination, hoping her "shattering" would put an end to the conflict once and for all as well as allowing her to fully commit to living as her alter ego Rose Quartz, believing her fellow Diamonds did not care about her. The plan worked, with Pink Diamond's "demise" sending shockwaves through Homeworld and turning the war in the Crystal Gem's favor. Unfortunately, Pink Diamond, now Rose Quartz, did not anticipate the response from the remaining members of the The Great Diamond Authority.

Furious at the apparent death of Pink Diamond at hands of a regular Gem, the remaining Diamonds sought their own extreme measure to end the war on their terms. At the conclusion of the conflict, the Diamonds ordered for the evacuation of all Gems in allegiance to Homeworld from Earth. Once this was done, they combined their powers and launched a last-ditch attack on Earth, hoping to obliterate all the rebelling Gems on the planet. Unknown to them, however, the attack instead had the unforeseen effect of corrupting every unprotected Gem that remained on Earth. Ultimately, the Crystal Gems emerged victorious, but at an extremely terrible cost.

Timeline of Events

Over 6,000 Years Ago

  • Homeworld declare the Earth as a colony under Pink Diamond's rule, creating many Gem structures and installations, including the Prime Kindergarten and the Moon Base.

Over 5,750 Years Ago

  • Pink Diamond, at the suggestion of her Pearl, disguises herself as a Quartz soldier to experience the birth of her first soldiers. During this venture, she begins to take notice of the life around her colony. She gains an immediate fondness for the life on Earth and over time, eventually comes to value it as well.
  • Pink realises if the colonization of Earth continues then the Earth and everything on it will die.
  • Pink begins pleading with Blue and Yellow Diamond to allow her to abandon the colonization effort and leave Earth alone, a discussion she would continue to have with them for several years. She tries different approaches with each Diamond, only for all of them to fail.
    • Blue creates the zoo and abducts thousands of humans as a result of Pink's pleas to let the human race live.
  • As time goes on, believing all life is precious and that the other Diamonds did not respect or care about her enough to listen to her, Pink decides to create an alter ego with her Quartz disguise, later becoming known as Rose Quartz, and rebels against her own kind. Destroying an injector in the Prime Kindegarten, she calls upon her fellow gems to assist her, forming the Crystal Gems with her Pearl to scare the Homeworld Gems off the planet. This action signifies the start of the Rebellion.
  • Rose's message begins to resonate quickly around the colony and the Crystal Gems' numbers begins to swell. Fearing that their fellow Diamond's colony would completely fall apart, Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond come to help Pink suppress the rebel forces.
  • Blue Diamond establishes her court on the Cloud Arena with the singular goal of putting an end to Rose's rebellion. She summons Sapphire in order to learn what will happen next regarding the rebels.
  • Sapphire arrives with three Ruby guards and informs Blue Diamond that the rebels will attack the Cloud Arena, but will be captured and the rebellion will end.
  • Rose Quartz and Pearl lead a direct attack on the Cloud Arena as predicted, but one of Sapphire's Ruby guards changes the future by saving her; she was supposed to be poofed. Instead, Ruby and Sapphire accidentally fuse into Garnet.
  • Disgusted by the fusion, Blue Diamond and her court close in on Ruby and Sapphire, which allows time for Rose and Pearl to escape unharmed. Ruby is ordered to be shattered by Blue Diamond, but Sapphire saves her and the two escape. Now outcasts, Garnet is formed once again, and she joins Rose's rebellion.
  • Completely fascinated about Garnet and the nature of her fusion, and Pearl's emerging independence, Pink changes her goal for the war to making Earth a safe haven for Gems who don't fall under Homeworld's ideals.

Over 5,500 Years Ago

  • The Crystal Gems amass an army and wage open war against Homeworld. The Rebellion officially begins.
  • According to Pearl, some of the first battles of the Rebellion took place in the Ancient Sky Arena.

Over 5,300 Years Ago

  • Lapis Lazuli arrives on Earth and is caught up in one of the battles. She is poofed by a Gem that resembles Bismuth and is later mistaken by a Homeworld Gem for a Crystal Gem. She is placed in a mirror to be used as a tool by Homeworld Gems in order to find out more about the Crystal Gems and their base.

Unknown Period of Time

  • At some point, Bismuth and Garnet take on battalions of Quartz soldiers together.
  • At some point, Bismuth and Pearl enter a Nephrite's drop ship, where Pearl throws her out of the cockpit.

Over 5,000 Years Ago

  • The Beta Kindergarten is constructed in order for Homeworld Gems to quickly get more soldiers on the ground.
  • Jasper is produced in the Beta Kindergarten and is able to take out 80 Crystal Gems on her first day of fighting.
  • As the Rebellion rages on, it becomes clear that the Diamonds' forces prove to have the advantage on the battlefield. With no end to the war in sight, Rose begins to fear she would soon no one left to protect. 
  • A battle presumably titled the "Battle of the Ziggurat" occurs at the Strawberry Battlefield, where many Gems were shattered according to Garnet.
  • Rose Quartz and Bismuth have a disagreement regarding their ideals, which becomes violent. Rose ultimately bubbles Bismuth and tells the other Crystal Gems that she was lost at the Battle of the Ziggurat.
  • After a final, fruitless discussion with Yellow and Blue Diamond on abandoning the Earth to the Crystal Gems, Pink comes to the conclusion that her fellow Diamonds do not care about her nor care what she has to say. She thus devises a plan to fake her assassination at the hands of her alter ego Rose Quartz as a final measure to both cut her ties from Homeworld and end the Rebellion once and for all.
  • In Korea, Pink Diamond enacts her plan to fake her shattering, as a message to the other Diamonds, and decides to live on Earth as Rose with the Crystal Gems forever.
  • Following the "death" of Pink Diamond, Earth is no longer deemed fit to be a colony. Shifting tactics, Homeworld begins collecting the shattered remains of Crystal Gems and forcing them to fuse together in a series of experiments for a geo-weapon named the Cluster, which is planned to be inserted into the Earth and eventually rip the planet apart inside-out when it forms.
  • The Cluster is inserted into the Earth's crust at the Beta Kindergarten.

Over 4,500 Years Ago

  • The Diamonds, furious at the death of Pink Diamond, enact their own final measure to end the Rebellion. Homeworld commanders order their troops to begin a mass retreat from the Earth as the Diamonds combined their powers to launch one final attack in the form of the Corrupting Light, hoping to obliterate every Crystal Gem on Earth.
  • Rose Quartz is able to protect Garnet and Pearl with her shield, but every other Gem exposed to the light became corrupted (the attack was mainly directed at the Crystal Gems, though some Homeworld Gems, like Nephrite, got affected by it as well). This event marks the end of the Rebellion as a pyrrhic victory for the Crystal Gems.

Known Participants

Homeworld Gems

Crystal Gems

Unknown Alignment

Trivia

  • The material weapons of the Gem Warriors, who were destroyed during the Rebellion, were left on the Battlefield.[3]
  • Sets of armor are seen that Pearl refers to as "The Armor of the Fallen" in Rose's Secret Armory; it is possible that the armor used to belong to the Crystal Gems during the Rebellion.
    • However, the majority of Gems did not use external armor (aside from weapons similar to Jasper's Helmet that could be summoned and dismissed at will). Greg Universe told Steven that both Gems and Humans were involved in the Rebellion, so the Armor of the Fallen might have belonged to Human warriors that died in battle fighting alongside Rose Quartz.[4]
  • Amethyst was not part of the fighting because she emerged about 500 years after,[5] and it is later stated by Steven that she did not "come out of the ground" until the Rebellion was over, which might indicate that she was still incubating during the event of the war.[6] Amethyst never experienced the war, though she has said that she wishes she could have been a part of it.[7]
  • Greg said the Rebellion ended with Gems and people being destroyed, indicating humans might have fought in the Rebellion or were unfortunate victims of it.
  • Pearl confirms that the Crystal Gems used the Wailing Stone during the Rebellion to communicate in "Rose's Room".
  • Pearl states that the Rebellion lasted roughly one thousand years.
  • It seems that the knowledge about of the Rebellion was either restricted, or openly discouraged, on Homeworld; in "Marble Madness", Peridot didn't know that any Gems existed on Earth at all, and clearly didn't understand who the Crystal Gems were supposed to be, and why they were trying to interfere with her activities.

References

  1. Back to the Moon-Eyeball: "I was there. I saw it with my own eye. I watched the leader of the Crystal Gems, Rose Quartz, shatter Pink Diamond!"
  2. The Return - Jasper: "I was there, you know. At the first war for this garbage planet. I fought against your armies. I respected your tactics."
  3. Serious Steven
  4. Rose's Scabbard
  5. Marble Madness - Pearl: "This site has been damaged enough by the gems that were incubated here 6,000 years ago!"
  6. Guide to the Crystal Gems (Steven Universe), page 39 "...she didn't come out of the ground until after Garnet and Pearl and Mom were already done fighting the earth war."
  7. Rose's Scabbard
    Pearl: "That's right! And I fought alongside her."
    Amethyst: "Man, I wish I could've seen it!"
    Garnet: "No, you don't. Countless Gems were broken here. It was a maelstrom of destruction and death."
ve Events
Cultural Beach City or BustBeach City Underground WrestlingBeach-a-PaloozaBoardwalk ParadeDelmarvaCon
Historical Corrupting LightThe Rebellion
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