Galactic Republic/Legends

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"The Old Republic was the Republic of legend, greater than distance or time. No need to note where it was or whence it came, only to know that... it was the Republic."

―From the Journal of the Whills

The Galactic Republic was the name of the galactic government prior to the establishment of the Galactic Empire in 19 BBY. Although it was commonly known as the Old Republic, this was not so until the establishment of the Empire; its name when it existed was the Galactic Republic, or simply the Republic.

In its latest years, it was said to be a benevolent—though ineffectual—democratic government tied up in layers of bureaucracy.

The Republic, as it was commonly known, had a highly democratic government that was able to sustain itself for over twenty-five thousand years. It is said that its complete history would "fill a thousand libraries".

History

Formation

The Republic was born with the signing of the Galactic Constitution c. 25,000 BBY, during the Unification Wars. During that time, the Humans and Duros invented the hyperdrive, allowing Coruscant to become the capital of the Galactic Republic and would remain that way for twenty-five thousand years. Shortly after the formation of the Republic, the Perlemian Trade Route was mapped, linking Coruscant to Ossus, and bringing the Jedi Knights into the Republic. Over the next millennia, the Corellian Run was mapped, linking Coruscant to Corellia and beyond. The wedge defined by the two trade routes became known as "the Slice". Since the stretch of hyperspace galactic-west of Coruscant was anomaly-ridden and impassible for current Republic technology, the Republic expanded eastward, instead. The Core Worlds' portion of the Slice was known as the Arrowhead, and soon the Republic expanded into the Colonies.

Though history often recalls the Republic as a peaceful goverment, a less biased examination reveals numerous galactic conflicts—such as the Hundred-Year Darkness, the Old Sith Wars,the Vultar Cataclysm, and the Clone Wars— occured throughout its reign.

Early years

File:Oldrepublic.jpg

Former symbol of the Old Republic, before being replaced with the Bendu symbol.

For years, the Jedi Knights and the ancient armies and navies of the Republic defended against violence. Around 25,000 BBY, the First Great Schism occurred, after the Legions of Lettow were established by dissident Jedi who believed that true power was achieved not through passive meditation, as taught by their Jedi Masters, but through emotion. The tension between the Jedi and these dissident Fallen Jedi, led first by Xendor, and then after Xendor's death, by the Arden Lyn, grew until conflict erupted. Eventually, the Jedi succeeded in putting down the revolt.

In 24,000 BBY, the Republic entered into a war with the Honorable Union of Desevro and Tion. The war travelled up and down the Perlemian, and the respective capitals of Coruscant and Desevro both suffered volleys of pressure bombs. The Republic eventually won the war by stirring up the Hutts against the Tionese. Within a century, most of the Tion Cluster swore allegiance to Coruscant, except for Desevro, which chose to remain independent.

During the Great Manifest Period (20,000 BBY–17,000 BBY), the Republic expanded eastwards across the Galaxy. Despite this, the Slice would remain the heart of navigable space. Eventually, the Republic expanded past the galactic-northern and -southern borders of the Slice, though most of the Galaxy was still unknown, except for outposts such as Ord Mantell (12,000 BBY) and Malastare (8,000 BBY). The space west of Coruscant still remained unexplored since analogues to the Perlemian Trade Route and the Corellian Run in that direction still had not been discovered. Worse, progress was limited to dangerous one- or two-light-year jumps into a stretch of hyperspatial anomalies. During this period, the Expansion Region was formed. However, this region suffered greatly as a result of the Alsakan attempting to snatch control of the Republic from Coruscant. This resulted in seventeen Alsakan Conflicts, spanning from 17,000 BBY to 3,000 BBY. However, most of the fighting took place between their holdings in the Expansion Region, rather than in the Core itself. Needless to say, Coruscant won every conflict it fought.

During this period, the First Arkanian Conflict also took place. The Arkanian geneticists also began a series of genetic experiments of other sentient species, most notably bundling away several six-armed Xexto from Troiken, and transforming them into a new species known as the Quermians.

In 15,500 BBY, after a disastrous first contact, Coruscant was assaulted by Star Dragons in the Duinuogwuin Conflict. The conflict was peacefully resolved by Supreme Chancellor Fillorean and the Star Dragon philosopher Borz'Mat'oh, who together founded the University of Coruscant. At some time prior to 12,000 BBY, the Galactic Museum was established on Coruscant.

Around 12,000 BBY, Contispex became Supreme Chancellor. He and his descendants belonged to the theocratic Pius Dea cult that would control the Republic for the next 1,000 years. These fanatic Supreme Chancellors sanctioned "crusades" against rival alien sects in the Rim. The fate of the cult after 11,000 BBY is unknown, but may have violently dissolved. The tensions from the fallout of the crusades would deepen the rifts between the Core Worlds and those of the Rim, which Emperor Palpatine would exploit during his reign millennia later.

Around 9,000 BBY, Blotus the Hutt became Supreme Chancellor and ruled the Galactic Republic for 275 years during the Rianitus Period. Unlike most other Hutts, Blotus was a distinguished and just ruler. At least by 7,308 BBY, the Galactic Standard Calendar was fixed.

In 7,000 BBY, the Second Great Schism occurred when a group of fallen Jedi discovered a Force technique that could alter lifeforms. This started the centuries-long Hundred-Year Darkness, which saw the creation of monstrous creatures, most notably the serpentine Leviathans, which drew life-energies into blister-traps on their backs. At the Battle of Corbos, the Jedi crushed the rebellion and banished these fallen Jedi from known space. However, the fallen Jedi discovered Ziost, a desolate world inhabited by the relatively primitive but unusually Force-sensitive Sith people.

Using their training in the Force, the fallen Jedi amazed the Sith and elevated themselves to god-like status on nearby Korriban, becoming the rulers of the Sith people. As years passed, and interbreeding occurred between the fallen Jedi and the Sith, the term "Sith" came to mean not only the original inhabitants of Korriban and Ziost, but also their fallen Jedi masters.

In 5,000 BBY, the Jedi and the Sith Empire clashed in the Great Hyperspace War. Many worlds were forever scarred in that battle, but the Jedi were able to repulse the invaders. After that, the Republic granted the Jedi land over a Force nexus: a sacred mountain on Coruscant.

In 4,250 BBY, the Third Great Schism occurred, which involved fighting on Coruscant. The surviving Dark Jedi were forced to flee to the Vultar system, where they discovered ancient technology indicating that the system's worlds were artificial constructs, probably the creations of the mysterious Celestials who had also built the Corellian system. These Dark Jedi took over these machines, including the Cosmic Turbine, but could not control them, and soon destroyed the whole system and everything in them during the Vultar Cataclysm. In 4,019 BBY, four Jedi Masters (two Warrior Masters and two Sage Masters) established the ziggurat of the Jedi Temple over the Force nexus on Coruscant, which would stand for four thousand years.

Old Sith Wars

The year 4,015 BBY saw the Great Droid Revolution on Coruscant, led by HK-01, who was eventually defeated by Arca Jeth and the Jedi. During the conflict, Arca Jeth discovered techniques for disabling machines through the use of the Force.

Following those conflicts were those of the Old Sith Wars of c.4,000 BBY which almost destroyed the Republic. During the Great Sith War (4,000 BBY–3,996 BBY), the Sith Lords Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma, along with their Krath and Mandalorian allies, waged war on the Republic, casuing devastation until they were defeated by the combined Jedi and Republic forces. Afterward, the Great Hunt (3,995–3,993 BBY) and the Cleansing of the Nine Houses occurred.

These would be followed by the Mandalorian Wars (3,966—3,960 BBY). They were fought between Mandalorian forces hoping to expand their colonies beyond the Outer Rim and the Galactic Republic, which feared further incursions. The Mandalorian Wars were a prelude to the more devastating Jedi Civil War (3,959—3,956 BBY). The Jedi Civil War was fought between the Republic and the Sith Empire under Darth Revan and Darth Malak. It was possibly the most destructive conflict of that entire era.

In 3,900 BBY, Queen Elsinore den Tasia of the Core World of Grizmallt sponsored an expansion fleet of three vessels—Beneficent Tasia, Constant, and Mother Vima. This fleet was led by the Republic explorer Kwilaan, and would discover the planet Naboo.

From 3,970 BBY–3,670 BBY, the Kanz Disorders took place in the Kanz Sector. During that time, the Provisional Governor Myrial of Argazda seceded from the Republic and established a military regime throughout the Kanz Sector. During the conflict that followed, her military forces invaded planets that resisted her reign throughout the Kanz Sector, including Lorrd. She often enslaved their inhabitants, most notably the Lorrdians of Lorrd.

The enslaved Lorrdians were forbidden by their masters from communicating with each other. As a result, they were forced to develop a system of subtle gestures, facial expressions, and body postures to talk to each other. This nonverbal form of communication would still be in use over four millennia later. After three centuries and the loss of over five billion lives, including those of some 500 million Lorrdians, the Kanz Disorders finally ended when Jedi/Republic efforts toppled the regime in 3,670 BBY.

In 3,000 BBY, the 17th Alsakan Conflict ended with the final defeat of Alsakan, and the introduction of the Invincible-class Dreadnaught into the Republic fleet. Also, the pioneer woman and Brentaal native Freia Kallea discovered the Hydian Way, which spanned the entire north-south width of the Galaxy. This allowed the Republic to expand past the Slice into the worlds of the Mid and Outer Rims, and also led to the discovery of more hyperspace routes, including the Corellian Trade Spine, thus starting the Second Expansion Wave.

New Sith Wars

In 2,000 BBY, the Republic once more faced the menace of the Sith, who had formed a New Sith Empire far larger than any of its predecessors. This time, the Jedi took the forefront of the war. The conflict fluctuated until the Battle of Mizra in 1,466 BBY, which saw one of the largest Sith victories in the entire war. The losses for the Republic were so catastrophic that a dark age began, with widespread social unrest and economic collapse.

The Republic itself shrunk to just a rump state surrounding the Core Worlds, with the Sith Empire encompassing the rest of the Galaxy. The Jedi took over absolute authority, ruling the remainder of the Republic directly. The Senate was bypassed, with sole governing power residing in the Jedi, while the Republic's armed forces were absorbed into the Jedi Army of Light.

After nearly five hundred years of continued war, the Army of Light had beat back the Sith to the planet Ruusan. They were finally defeated in 1,000 BBY at the Seventh Battle of Ruusan, although all the forces of the Army of Light that were on Ruusan also perished.

Following the battle, the Ruusan Reformation was enacted by Chancellor Tarsus Valorum. It returned power to the Senate, placed the Jedi under the authority of the Republic government, and disbanded the vast majority of its remaining military.

With peace and prosperity came a dangerous complacency. Vast armies and navies were downscaled, and the Republic came to rely on the Jedi more and more for the maintenance of civility. Despite a few isolated flash points — like the Stark Hyperspace War and the Battle of Naboo—full-scale military conflict remained a distant memory.

The decline of the Republic

"The Republic is not what it once was. The Senate is full of greedy, squabbling delegates. There is no interest in the common good."

―Senator Palpatine

As the Republic grew more and more powerful, many of the bureaucrats and Senators that ran the government grew increasingly corrupt or complacent. The bureaucracy that had grown and festered over millennia choked any attempt at proactive government. Furthermore, patron politics and personal agendas also hampered effective governing.

During this time (some 968 years after the final Battle of Ruusan) the Senator of Naboo was Palpatine. His homeworld was under siege by the Trade Federation. Despite the full-scale invasion of the planet, the call to condemn the invasion was tied up in bureaucratic procedure. When Queen Amidala—the elected leader of the sovereign system of Naboo—spoke before the Senate, calling for action, she also called for a Vote of No Confidence in the leadership of the Republic, under the persuasion of Palpatine, and Chancellor Finis Valorum was voted out of office. This led to the increasingly-popular Palpatine's election as the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic.

The Clone Wars

"There hasn't been a full-scale war since the formation of the Republic."

―Sio Bibble

Traditionally, the Chancellor could only serve two four-year terms, but Palpatine stayed in office much longer, due to the prolonged Separatist Crisis.

The crisis occurred when several of the Republic star systems and commercial organizations united in order to separate from the Republic. This unified front became known as the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Tensions between the Republic and the Separatists eventually escalated into all-out war, and the Clone Wars began.

The Senate granted Palpatine emergency powers to deal with the Separatist Confederacy in a motion introduced by the Naboo representative Jar Jar Binks. Palpatine's first move, widely supported at the time, was to create a vast army of clone warriors to serve as the Republic's fighting force against the Confederacy. The Republic had not previously needed an army, since until then any small conflicts within the Republic could be solved by recourse to the peacekeeping Jedi, or to local navies and militias. However, the fact that the Confederacy had access to an enormous army of droid soldiers required the Republic to construct a more formal federal military in order to effectively fight.

In the ensuing years, the Senate increasingly gave more power to Palpatine, who became the war's political Commander-in-Chief. Such actions were justified in the name of security, and eventually Palpatine did not need the approval of the Senate for many of his actions. Since the Chancellor held the loyalties of a vast majority of supporters in Senate, this was considered a perfectly reasonable way to increase the wartime government's efficiency.

The end of democracy

"So this is how liberty dies—with thunderous applause."

―Senator Padmé Amidala

Tension between Palpatine and the Jedi began to grow, as the war progressed. Many members of the Jedi Council remained skeptical of Palpatine's growing powers, especially at the expense of the Senate—the only body they were legally obligated to serve. Eventually the Jedi, with the help of Anakin Skywalker, discovered that Palpatine was actually the elusive Darth Sidious, Dark Lord of the Sith, and they conspired to arrest him. Palpatine killed all four of the Jedi Masters sent to take him into custody—most notably, Mace Windu—and responded by issuing a decree which declared all Jedi to be enemies of the Republic, after portraying them as anti-democratic presidential assassins.

At the conclusion of the Clone Wars, Palpatine addressed the Senate and declared that the Galactic Republic would become a Galactic Empire so strong as to never be threatened by outside forces again. The Chancellor, who by this time had been grotesquely disfigured (he claimed by Jedi insurrectionists), proclaimed himself to be the first Emperor of the Galaxy. Deluded by Palpatine's charm and skill, in conjunction with the effects of his dark side powers of persuasion, the majority of the Senate cheered him on loudly in approval.

After twenty-five millennia, the Galactic Republic had ceased to exist. Only a shrunken, powerless Imperial Senate would continue to exist—and decades later, shortly before the Battle of Yavin, Palpatine finally dissbanded the Senate, and effectively swept the last remnants of the Republic away.

After the fall of the Empire and the Galactic Civil War, the Galactic Republic was re-established as the New Republic. Following the establishment of the New Republic, the Galactic Republic was often referred to as the Old Republic.

Government and politics

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Galactic Senate building, behind the Avenue of the Core Founders.

The Republic began as a mutual protection and economic alliance among a number of planets in the galactic core. Each member state (system governments) returned a representative (a Senator) to a central legislative body (the Senate). Senators were the ambassadors of their homeworld, and member worlds were able to maintain their government and society in accordance with local beliefs, customs, and traditions. There was a wide variety of different local governments along the political spectrum: from monarchies to republics to hive-like communes. In some systems, the Senator was elected to that post; in others, the world government appointed the senator. Naboo's monarch appointed their Senator, while the Alderaan Council of Elders elected their senator out of their own ranks (usually the heir to the Royal House of Organa, as the heir was also the leader of the council).

When the Republic's power and influence expanded, many new areas of the galaxy were incorporated into the Republic. A reorganization of Senatorial representation occurred in the year 1,000 BBY, during the Ruusan Reformation. The most common organization for these new territories was to group regions into sectors of approximately fifty inhabited worlds. Each sector was represented by a Senatorial delegation. When the number of sectors became too large, sectors were organized into roughly a thousand regions, each represented by one delegation to the Senate.

The Senate served as the governing body of the Galactic Republic, while the Jedi Order served as its defenders. Soon thereafter, the Senate—and therefore the seat of government—was established on the planet Coruscant.

File:Galacticsenate.jpg

The Senate Rotunda.

The Senate was an enormous building containing many floating platforms, each of which contained several senators. Each platform in the Senate represented a "sector" of the Galaxy, with one Senator from each planet in that sector. Some platforms represented individual worlds, others the special interest guilds such as the Trade Federation. Along with the senators, the leaders of the individual member planets also had the power to vote in the Senate and introduce legislation.

The members of the Senate would then elect a Supreme Chancellor from amongst their ranks who would serve as the Republic's head of government (and, by default, head of state) and chief diplomat. The Senate followed such parliamentary rules as a Motion of No Confidence, such as that introduced by Queen Amidala of Naboo which forced Chancellor Finis Valorum out of office in 32 BBY.

Senators received one vote in all matters, procedural and substantive. The Chancellor was elected from within the Senate. The assembly was in turn divided into individual committees, each specializing in specific fields of government administration, and which were responsible for creating legislation to be reviewed by the full assembly.

Although legislation passed by the Senate was binding to all member worlds, most of the everyday legislation followed by citizens of the Republic was created at the planetary, sector, or regional level. Therefore, the main functions of the Senate were to mediate disputes between members, provide for the common defense, and regulate inter-system trade. The Jedi, who answered to the Senate, became travelling representatives of the Senate, responsible not only for protecting the Republic and its citizens, but also to serve as representatives of the Republic, and as mediators for individual disputes.

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The Senator of the Trade Federation "has the floor".

The Republic's greatest failing was its lack of formal organization. Much of its operation was based on non-binding constitutional conventions, which were often ignored and undermined by corrupt and power-hungry politicians. Coalition governments were common, with special interest defining the legislative agenda.

However, the waning years of the Republic were a time of corruption and great social injustice. The Senate became divided between those who genuinely wished to uphold the values and ideals of the Republic, and those who wished to further their own goals. After a series of weak and ineffectual Chancellors and a crisis involving the invasion of the planet Naboo by the Trade Federation over a tariff passed in the Senate, the time had come for strong leadership to end the corruption.

Economy

The Galactic Republic's influence on the galactic economy was linked to its regulatory powers, production of Republic dataries, and authorization of relevant bodies.

At heart of the galactic economy was planetary trade. Intraplanetary trade could support a local economy, but, in many cases, the high levels of government spending required for an advanced society could only be funded only by interplanetary exports. While some planets maintained their own shipping fleets, most relied on large freight firms, such as Xizor Transport Systems, or independent freight haulers to carry their goods along major hyperlanes.

The Corporate Sector was first formed in 490 BBY to free the Republic lawmakers and the Corporate moneymakers from their differences. In the last millennia of the Galactic Republic, commercial interests began to form guilds to increase their influence on relevant legislation and achieve greater efficiency. While most of these guilds, like the Trade Federation, Techno Union, and the Commerce Guild, collapsed after the Clone Wars, a number of surviving members flocked to the Corporate Sector Authority.

Thousands of currencies were used across the Galaxy. The Galactic Republic's dataries were perhaps the most widespread form of currency. Because of the Republic's exceptional membership, dataries were accepted on all but the most remote planets.

Society and culture

The Galactic Republic had a very diverse culture. Member worlds were able to maintain their own culture in accordance with local beliefs, customs, and traditions. There was a wide variety of different cultures within the republic: from religious communities like the Jedi to hive-like communes.

The republic had a liberal policy towards arts also. The dominant aesthetic style of Galactic Republic-era was opulence and ornamentation.

Although humanocentrism was technically outlawed by the Rights of Sentience clause of the Galactic Constitution, it still very much existed throughout the life of the Galactic Republic. Human-led companies such as Czerka enslaved entire non-Human races, while planets such as Taris reserved the best sections of the world for Humans, while forcing nonhumans into ghettos. The majority of slaves in the Galaxy were non-Humans. At the time the Clone Wars broke out, there were still lawsuits pending about pro-Human bias in the Republic government.

Military

Main articles: Republic Army, Republic Navy, Grand Army of the Republic.

The Republic's earliest days were not peaceful ones, since, as the Republic expanded across the Galaxy, it encountered many warlike species. The Republic realized the need for an army and navy to keep the peace. The Republic's military forces would serve throughout many conflicts, including the Great Hyperspace War, the various conflicts of the Old Sith Wars, and the New Sith Wars.

After the Battle of Ruusan, the Republic decommissioned much of its military, retaining a small force only for security purposes. This force would later become known as the Judicial Department. This was to display the Republic's peaceful ideals, as the Republic used Jedi Knights as "keepers of the peace."

Several trade organizations, such as the Trade Federation, the InterGalactic Banking Clan, and the Commerce Guild, kept their own security forces in order to protect their profits, but they often abused this power, such as in the Battle of Naboo. Individual sectors also maintained their own security forces, such as Naboo's Royal Naboo Security Forces or CorSec from Corellia, and these were sometimes used to combat small threats. However there was no centralized command, and the members of the late-period Republic loathed change.

The Clone Wars changed all this. The Republic had no standing military to combat the Confederacy of Independent Systems, and thus was a Military Creation Act was proposed, which was strongly opposed by many of the Republic's pacifist leaders such as Padmé Amidala of Naboo, who feared the possibility of going to war. Supporters of the Military Creation Act were Orn Free Taa of Ryloth and Ask Aak of Malastare.

However, a clone army had already been created in secret on the remote planet Kamino, ten years earlier. When it became clear the Confederacy had no intention of negotiating with the Republic, the Republic adopted this army, along with AT-TE walkers, LAAT/i and LAAT/c gunships, A5 and A6 Juggernauts, Victory I-class Star Destroyers, Venator-class Star Destroyers, among numerous other crafts and vehicles, in a combined force known as the Grand Army of the Republic. The army was unleashed in 22 BBY on Geonosis against the Separatist droid forces. These loyal troops would serve on many battles throughout the conflict on worlds such as Muunilinst, Dac, Jabiim, Cato Neimoidia, and even Coruscant.

In 19 BBY, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine transformed the Galactic Republic into the Galactic Empire. The loyal clone troopers of the Grand Army of the Republic would become the dreaded stormtroopers, while the regulars and starships were segmented into the Imperial Army and Imperial Navy, respectively.

Astrography

The Galactic Republic was composed of a significant portion of the known Galaxy, stretching from the Core Worlds to Wild Space, though it was widely believed that the government held little power in the outlying regions, and preferred to focus its attentions on the Core Worlds.

The capital of the Galactic Republic was Coruscant, a planet considered to be the cultural and economical center of the Galaxy, despite being located outside of the Deep Core. To signify its importance in galactic affairs, Coruscant was given coordinates 0-0-0 in the standard galactic coordinate system.

Behind the scenes

In the Expanded Universe, the Republic is well established to be extant for 25,000 years, based on Obi-Wan Kenobi's line in A New Hope that the Jedi had been "the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic" "for over a thousand generations." For a long time, EU sources were the only works set during the Republic era—most notably, the popular Tales of the Jedi sagas. However, in Attack of the Clones, Palpatine mentioned the Republic had "stood for a thousand years." This would seem to conflict with both the C-canon EU history, and the G-canon internal continuity within the films. However, the Ruusan Reformation—in which the Republic is reorganized following the already-established defeat of the Sith a thousand years prior to the films—was invented by subsequent writers to give an alternate explanation on Palpatine's line, thus bringing all these sources into relative harmony.

The Republic was said to belong to a "Type 3" civilization (in the Kardashev scale—whereas Earth is home to a "type 0.7" civilization). This scale takes into account the level of integration and civilization between peoples (albeit this integration also involves different species, rather than just racial variations of only one sentient species, as it is on a sole planet), which in essence form one single "galactic civilization," given the political unification (despite the few separatisms) and the integration of the worlds in spite of the considerable distances (with effective means of transportation).

Appearances

• Tales of the Jedi series (First appearance)
• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II
• Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
• Star Wars: Battlefront
• Star Wars: Bounty Hunter
• Star Wars: Republic
• Star Wars: Republic Commando
• Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter
• Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
• Star Wars: Battlefront II
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars
• Star Wars: Clone Wars
• Star Wars: Obsession
• Labyrinth of Evil
• Reversal of Fortune
• Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
• Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (First mentioned)

Sources

• Galactic Republic in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link)
• The New Essential Chronology