Race and Ethnicity in the Twelve Colonies

This page is a WORK IN PROGRESS

At the Battlestar Wiki, we recognize that race is a problematic concept without any concrete biological definition. Nevertheless, the topic of racial identity in the Twelve Colonies has proven of interest to many fans of the show. Therefore, this page serves to review the information available here as best as possible.

In this article, we have chosen to indicate race by apparent region of origin, within the following broadly defined categories: European, (Sub-saharan) African, Middle Eastern, South Asian, East Asian, and Native American / Amerindian. Where bi- or mult-racial individuals are noted, component ethnicities are listed in alphabetical order. Individuals of apparently Hispanic appearance are noted as biracial Amerindian/Europeans. Issues relating to the Adama family are dealt with in the Caprica section.

Race and Nationality

In general, no clear associations have been made between particular ethnic groups and individual colonies. Thus far, Caprica's population does appear to be substantially of european appearance, and Gemenon's substantially african, but these patterns are not exceptionless. Furthermore, there is some evidence within the series that race and colony of origin are not strongly correlated - when Baltar attempts to guess at Boomer's place of origin in "Flesh and Bone", he comments on her accent, not her physical appearance. For more on this, see the article Language in the Twelve Colonies.

What follows is a list of individuals whose colony of origin has been unambiguously identified, along with their apparent ethnicity.

Aerelon

• Sharon Valerii - east asian (purported, actually a Humano-Cylon infiltrator)
• Sekou Hamilton - mixed race, african/european (Based on his skin tone and accent, the actor, Biski Gugushe, would probably be identified as a light-skinned African-American.)

Canceron

• Robin Wenutu - european

Caprica

• William Adama - mixed race, amerindian/european (The actor, Edard James Olmos, would probably be identified as "latino", "mestizzo", or "hispanic")
• Caroline Adama - european
  • Lee and Zak Adama - their children
• Kara Thrace - european
• Gaius Baltar - european
• Aaron Doral - european (purported, actually a Humano-Cylon infiltrator)

Gemenon

• Sarah Porter - african
• Venner - african

Picon

• Safiya Sanne - east asian
• Playa Palacios - european

Sagittaron

• Dualla - african
• Tom Zarek - european
• Valence - european

Virgon

• Marshall Bagott - european

Race and Sexuality

Interracial couplings seem common to the point of ubiquity, and have never been commented upon. It is interesting that such clearly defined racial groups continue to exist in light of this. Notable interracial couples:

• WIlliam and Caroline Adama
• Sharon Valerii and Galen Tyrol
• Sharen Valerii and Karl Agathon
• Dualla and Billy Keikeya
• Dualla and Lee Adama

That being said, some individuals - particularly Gaius Baltar and Kara Thrace - have demonstrated a preference for individuals of their own race. Again, these are not exeptionless.

Kara Thrace

• Kara Thrace and Gaius Baltar
• Kara Thrace and Samuel Anders

Possible exceptions:

• Kara Thrace and Zak Adama
• Kara Thrace and Lee Adama (see note below regarding the Adama brother's ethnicity)

Gaius Baltar

• Gaius Baltar and Number Six
• Gaius Baltar and Playa Palacious

Exceptions:

• Baltar was found in bed with an east asian woman shortly before the Fall of the Twelve Colonies in the Mini-Series.
• Number Six intimated that he found Sharon Valerii attractive in "Flesh and Bone"