During the reign of the Empire, its government claimed dominion over the entire galaxy.
Yet even at the height of its power, this declaration was never fully realized.
Protectorates and autonomous territories traded wealth and influence to remain free of Imperial
rule and so long as their continued cooperation with the authorities on Coruscant was assured,
the Empire was content to let these enclaves govern themselves.
While none of these territories could ever hope to match the economic or military potential
of the Empire, some were known to wield power of a different kind.
One above all would persist like an open wound carved across Imperial Space, a haven of corruption
and piracy, and home to the disreputable elements of the galaxy: the Hutt Cartel.
A loose confederation of criminal families, mercenary elements, and front organizations,
the Hutt Cartel was said to have a hand in every illicit enterprise in the Outer Rim.
The nature of this consortium prohibited any strong central authority and it was instead
governed by the Grand Hutt Council, ruling body of the Hutt species and by extension,
the highest authority in all of Hutt Space.
The council was comprised of the most influential and high profile Hutt leaders.
Its members were responsible for the day to day affairs of Hutt space and when dealing
with foreign powers, namely the Empire, they assigned one of their own to act as a type
of head of state.
While this arrangement gave the Hutts the pretense of legitimacy, its government reflected
the corrupt nature of its enterprises and was prone to instability as rival Hutt families,
known as kajidics, engaged in an endless shadow war against their rivals.
These kajidics were typically engaged in spice smuggling, slavery, gambling, extortion, and
bounty hunting and their successes here allowed wealthy Hutt crime lords to live opulent lives
surrounded by retinues of loyal servants and followers.
Over the centuries of a typical Hutt lifespan, they could grow to enormous sizes and were
typically obese as a result of their hedonistic existence.
While the profits from their criminal activities kept the Hutts in power, the greatest treasure
they possessed was Hutt Space itself.
This region was situated between the Mid Rim and Outer Rim Territories, it’s hyperlanes
among the most valuable and strategically important in the galaxy.
At its heart lay Nal Hutta, a humid swamp covered planet and homeworld of the Hutt race.
Nal Hutta was the site of the Hutt Grand Council, while it’s moon Nar Shaddaa, featured a
vast ecumenopolis, its unchecked urban sprawl dotted with casinos and infamous ports of
call.
Surrounding sectors contained numerous star systems and native species, many of which
had been either enslaved or vassalized by Hutt crime lords.
The influence of the Hutts spread far beyond their space however and they acted with impunity
across much of the Outer Rim.
The stranglehold on key hyperlanes enjoyed by the Hutt Cartel made them a valuable partner
and one courted by both the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems
during the Clone Wars.
The Separatists attempted to influence the Hutts by supporting kajidics amenable to their
cause and even orchestrated the abduction of the son of the powerful Hutt crime lord
Jabba Desilijic Tiure.
When their manipulations were exposed however, the Hutt Cartel formally sided with the Republic,
opening the Outer Rim to the Republic fleet.
During the Rise of the Empire, Imperial authorities launched a massive crackdown on the criminal
elements that had been allowed to flourish during the Clone Wars.
While not entirely overlooked, the Hutt Cartel was allowed to persist under favorable conditions
and soon developed extensive dealings with the Galactic Empire.
Hutts were known to be involved in the management of the Empire’s black sites across the Outer
Rim while the Imperial Navy eradicated much of the Hutt’s competition.
This relationship remained tenuous at best.
The Hutts respected the strength of the Empire and even provided raw materials to their industries
at a vastly reduced rate.
Nevertheless, the Cartel continued to expand their criminal enterprises, but rarely in
such a manner that might draw the ire of Imperial authorities.
During the collapse of the Empire, the Rebel Alliance, and later the New Republic, began
to exert greater power across the Outer Rim, eventually mobilizing comprehensive patrols
that severely curtailed the power of the Hutts.
At the same time, the leader of the Hutt Grand Council, Jabba, was assassinated by rebel
agents during a celebratory jaunt on his Sail Barge across the sands of Tatooine.
The death of Jabba threw the Council and the Cartel into disarray and as Republic authority
and rival criminal elements expanded their presence across the Outer Rim, the influence
of the Hutts faded away.
Over their long history the Cartel had attempted to appease all the great powers of the galaxy
in a bid to maintain their own status but this strategy had earned them no true allies
and by the rise of the First Order, they were widely hated by every side.
While the criminal element endured across the galaxy as it always had, the hegemony
enjoyed by the Hutt Cartel was over.
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