- "Then came the Dark Days, the uprising of the districts against the Capitol."
- —The Hunger Games, Chapter 1
The Dark Days were a major civil war in which a rebel coalition of districts, armed by District 13, launched an open insurrection against Panem's totalitarian government.[1] The conflict lasted for three years,[2] ending 74 years prior to The Hunger Games trilogy. The Capitol was victorious, so the twelve remaining districts were brought back under its control.[1]
History[]
Background[]
After the world was devastated by natural disasters and war, the nation of Panem was established in North America. It consisted of thirteen districts, with its capital and seat of power, the Capitol,[1] situated in the Rocky Mountains.[3] In the Capitol's version of events, they brought "peace and prosperity" to the districts,[1] so the true circumstances that led to the rebellion are not told.
War[]
Students at the Capitol's Academy were taught that District 13 had instigated the conflict, disseminating arms and communications to rebels throughout the other districts.[4]
Capitol air raids[]
A few months into the war, the first major rebel air raid on the Capitol immobilized the city for several days.[5] Every citizen was assigned a bomb shelter near their residence. However, the Capitol's surveillance system relied on electricity, and rebel interference in District 5 caused frequent blackouts. Under these circumstances, air raid sirens were unreliable, so citizens were often caught off guard and forced to shelter in place.[6]
Retaliation by the Capitol[]
The Capitol staged high-profile executions in the Capitol Arena, making it a prime target for rebel bombers.[7]
Muttations[]
Alongside regular military units, the Capitol used genetically-modified muttations against the rebels. Tracker jacker nests were strategically placed around the districts like land mines, but could be sedated by smoke.[8] In Districts 9, 11, and 12,[9] jabberjays were used to spy on rebels, but they were countered by simply feeding them false information.[3]
Rebel siege[]
Rebels were able to sustain the fight on their end with support from District 13's military arsenal. For the last two years of the conflict, the Capitol was under siege, entirely cut off from outside supplies.[2] As a result of this, food supplies ran low, forcing desperate families to sell their goods and furniture for rations, or else face starvation. In extreme cases, some Capitol citizens resorted to cannibalism.[10]
Failed rebel invasion[]
Eventually, the rebels attempted to break the siege by scaling the Rockies and invading the Capitol itself. The terrain left them exposed to Capitol aircraft, likely resulting in heavy rebel casualties. This turned the tide of the war in favor of the Capitol.[11]
Ceasefire deal[]
- "After all, it was 13 that started the rebellion that led to the Dark Days, and then abandoned the rest of the districts when the tide turned against it."
- —Coriolanus Snow[src]
Realizing that the rebels had lost their advantage, District 13 abandoned the other twelve districts in order to secure its own independence. 13's forces wrested control of the Capitol's nuclear missiles and trained them on the city, threatening mutually assured destruction.
Unbeknownst to most of Panem's residents, District 13 set up a secret ceasefire deal with the Capitol in which they would withdraw their forces from the war and present the illusion that the Capitol had destroyed District 13. The Capitol reluctantly agreed to the terms. They allowed District 13 to withdraw from the war and retreat to their existing underground facilities, before demolishing the infrastructure above through repeated carpet bombing.[12] The Capitol then used the ruins in propaganda as a warning or threat to the other districts. Without the support of District 13's military, rebel forces in the other districts were overrun and reunified under the firm grip of the Capitol.[1]
Aftermath[]
Treaty of Treason[]

The Treaty of Treason in The Hunger Games film.
Following the collapse of the rebellion, the Treaty of Treason introduced new laws to subjugate the remaining districts. It instituted the Hunger Games as an annual reminder of the failed rebellion, keeping the districts divided and suppressed so they couldn't rise up against the Capitol again.[1]
District 13[]
Cut off from the other districts, District 13 struggled to survive and nearly collapsed several times. Despite this, it fought to become self-sufficient and rebuilt its military forces and arsenal over the next seventy-five years— all while remaining underground.[12] This eventually allowed them to stage the Second Rebellion.
Trivia[]
- The Dark Days lasted for 3 years, as Snow was 5 years of age when the first year the war broke out, and was 8 years old when the Hunger Games officially began.[2]
- When the jabberjay project failed, the Capitol abandoned the birds, releasing them into the wild and inadvertently creating mockingjays, which ironically became the symbol of the Second Rebellion.[3]
- The outcomes of both rebellions were decided through air raids conducted in the Rocky Mountains.
- In the Dark Days, the Capitol conducted a massive air raid on rebel forces scaling the mountains, thwarting an invasion and winning them the war.
- During the Second Rebellion, the rebels conducted an air raid on the Nut. This disabled the Capitol's air force, leading to a rebel victory.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 The Hunger Games, Chapter 1
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 1
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 The Hunger Games, Chapter 3
- ↑ The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 22
- ↑ The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 5
- ↑ The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 10
- ↑ The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 9
- ↑ The Hunger Games, Chapter 14
- ↑ The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 26
- ↑ The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 2
- ↑ The Hunger Games, Chapter 4
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Mockingjay, Chapter 2