Today ladies and gentlemen, I nearby declare our independence from the Galactic Republic! Starting today, the corrupt senate will no longer be in control over our worlds or our taxes or our worlds. If the republic will not recognize this, then we will use any means necessary if it means achieving true freedom. Citizens of the confederacy, rise up and defend your freedoms!
—Count Dooku to the Separatist Parliament
The Confederacy of Independent Systems also known as the Confederacy, the CIS, Separatist Alliance, Separatists, Sepies, or Secessionists was a separatist movement and government comrpised of various worlds, corporations, organizations and other entities and beings that sought independence and secession from the Galactic Republic which they saw as a corrupt and failing government. It began in the Outer Rim Territories as a fringe movement but grew in size and popularity during Palpatine's term as chancellor and exploded upon the arrival of Count Dooku leading to the confederacy being established in 24 BBY during the Separatist Crisis.
Tensions rose between the two governments and it resulting in the outbreak of the Clone Wars in 22 BBY which spanned across the entire galaxy. Over the course of the three year conflict, the Separatists and the Republic would battle across countless worlds and star systems leaving behind large amounst of devestation and damage along with way. In the end however, both sides lost and were transformed into the Galactic Empire at the war's end in 19 BBY with the Confederacy having its leadership wipped out that same year. A year later, the last remnants of the Confederate government was destroyed and the Confederacy dissolved into various Separatist holdouts.
History[]
Birth of the Confederacy[]
Decades prior to the outbreak of the Clone Wars, many people across the galaxy viewed the Galactic Republic as a weak and failing government riddled with bureaucracy and corruption that stifled the voices of those in the Galactic Senate. Following the Invasion of Naboo, the senate passed new tax laws and raised taxes on the general public resulting in the growth and spread of secession across the galaxy as many sought to secede from a corrupt and failing government from corporations to regular sentient beings. Secession became very popular in places like the Outer Rim where the region was infamous for having a lack of representation in the senate and trade routes were blocked off due to the high tax rates resulting in many becoming disillusioned with the republic which resulted in the Separatist Crisis.
During the crisis, a former Jedi Master who also became disillusioned with the republic and the Jedi Order, Cout Dooku, stepped in and began supporting and eventually leading the separatist movement. He quickly became a charistmatic figure stirring up anti-republic sentiment across the galaxy and encouraging more and more people to oust their governments from power and replace them with pro-secessionist ones instead. With his efforts, Dooku successfully united many to the separatist cause and the Confederacy of Independent Systems was officially established in 24 BBY after uniting the secessionists as wel as having many coporations such as the Trade Federation, Techno Union, InterGalactic Banking Clan, the Commerce Guild and many others all joined in to finance and support the separatists as well as lead them in a council.
Outbreak of the Clone Wars[]
Two years after the formation of the Confederacy, tens of thousands of star systems began to break away and announce their secession from the republic which caused chaos and panic back home. During this time, the republic and Jedi were largely unaware that the crisis was actually being lead by the Dark Lord of the Sith, Sidious, and that this was a secret plot to overthrow the republic and have the Sith take over the entire galaxy once again after centuries of hiding. In 22 BBY, Dooku met with the Separatist leaders on Geonosis where they all signed a treaty and announced their secession from the republic and pledged their loyalty to the Separatist Alliance and much to Dooku's fortune, the leaders did and the Separatists now had the financial and military backing that they needed. During the meeting of the Separatist leaders on Geonosis, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi was sent to Geonosis after he was able to track down Jango Fett to the planet after the Mandalorian was revealed to be the leader of the conspiracy to assassinate Senator Padme Amidala and saw the gathering of the separatists.
Kenobi however, was captured and this causd his apprentice Anakin Skywalker and Padme herself to travel to Geonosis to save him, but they were both captured as well and were put on trial by the Geonosians for espionage and conspiracy against Geonosis and the Confederacy which justified their execution in the Geonosian stadium. During the planned execution, the Jedi and the senator broke free and managed to defend themselves until a large strike force of 178 Jedi came in and protected them. In the following battle, over 130 of the Jedi were gunned down but not before destroying many battle droids and were eventually saved by the Grand Army of the Republic and the Clone Army. After the clones came in, they rescued their Jedi allies and eventually engaged the legions of battle droids that the Separatists had and this lead to the first clash between the Separatist Droid Army and the Clone Army of the republic in the First Battle of Geonosis instigating the Clone Wars.
Early Clone Wars Campaigns[]
Following the beginning of the Clone Wars in 22 BBY, the Confederacy began to marshal their armed forces and deploy them to expand Separatist territory across the galaxy. The Outer Rim quickly fell within the months due to the frustration and lack of representation in the senate. The war grew across numerous fronts with the Confederacy having won many victories during the early days of the war and the republic was pushed out of the Outer Rim and large parts of the Mid Rim as well. Many planets fell to the separatists fast, but it wouldn't be long before the republic would respond and try to hold the line on planets like Christophsis after Separatist troops lead by General Whorm Loathsom and Asajj Ventress. Anakin and Obi-Wan were sent to lead the republic counter-attack against the Separatist invasion force and witnessed the strength of the Separatists such as when Senator Bail Organa was bogged down on Christophsis thanks to the efforts of Admiral Trench and a Separatist blockade cut the planet off.
A republic fleet was originally sent in, but they were cut off fast and were forced to fall back due to the tactics that were used by Admiral Trench and this would later be found out by Admiral Yularen who fought with him years prior. Obi-Wan eventually came in and gave Anakin a stealth ship which gave them the advantage over the Separatist blockade and was used to destroy Trench's flagship and allowed the republic fleet to pour in and destroy the blockade and allow ground troops to land and Bail Organa was saved. Despite Senator Organa being saved, Christophsis was still under siege and large portions of the planet was stil under Separatist control and General Loathsom was still active as well. Republic forces would then launch a counter-attack against the Separatist forces in an attempt to capture Loathsom and force the Separatist forces to withdraw from Christophsis and readied their forces. Meanwhile however, a clone soldier secretly conspired against his fellow comrades and sold information out to the Separatist forces and managed to ruin ambushes and even destroyed various walkers and gunships prior to his capture, but was unable to destroy the cannons to defend against the vast legions of tanks the Separatists had.
Push into the Mid Rim[]
After the first three months of the war had ended, the Outer Rim had fallen to the Confederacy and the Separatist Droid Army now began to push into the Mid Rim. The Republic had managed to pull much of their fleets back in defense of the region, but it wasn't enough and much of the rim quickly fell within weeks. The greatest early victory in the Mid Rim Campaigns was the capture of Ringo Vinda by the Separatists which was turned into a stronghold and a major ship yard for the Confederate Navy. The Republic managed to score a defensive victory at the Battle of Ikkrukk, but the Separatists continued to push onward towards the rim. The most notable of the Separatist victories was the Fall of Ruusan where General Grievous and General Roku captured the planet with the latter holding off Republic counter-attacks earning him the title of Marshal of the Confederacy by the Separatist High Command.
Government and Politics[]
The Confederacy was ran by a single head of state known as the Premier and beneath him was the Separatist Council which was the legistlative body of the Confederacy and was lead by the Chairman who also served as the head of government. The commander-in-chief was the Supreme Commander of the Droid Armies which acted as the Confederacy's military leader and acts in between the Premier and the Separatist Council. The Separatist Parliament was the civilian and domestic legistlative body and delt with more common and non-war issues. The real power behind the Confederacy however was Darth Sidious who ran it from behind the scenes along with the republic and was responsible for most moves that it made during the Clone Wars.
The Separatist Council was the primary governing body of the Confederacy and was made up of the various corporate heads leading up to ten core members. Other members included their various advisors and delegates and consisted of:
- Nute Gunray - Viceroy of the Trade Federation
- Rune Haako - Settlement Officer of the Trade Federation
- Rute Gunray - Advisor to Nute Gunray
- Poggle the Lesser - Archduke of Geonosis
- Sun Fac - Chief Lieutenant of Poggle
- Wat Tambor - Foreman of the Techno Union and Baktoid Armor Executive
- Legal Deputies - Legal Staff and Lawyers of Wat Tambor
- San Hill - Chairman of the InterGalactic Banking Clan
- Lo Vapeet - Vice-Chair of Communications
- Banking Clan Representatives
- Passel Argente - Magistrate of the Corporate Alliance
- Denaria Kee - Associate Planetary Representative of Kooriva
- Passel Argente's Uncle - Relative and Associate
- Oro Dassyne - Confederate Army Commander
- Shu Mai - Presidente of the Commerce Guild
- Cat Miin - Aid to Shu Mai
- Po Nudo - Leader of the HyperCommunications Cartel
- Nank Tun - Aid to Po Nudo
- Aqualish Aid - Advisor
- Tikkes - Leader of the Quarren Isolation League
- B'olba - Associate Planetary Representative
- Tracton - Aid to Tikkes
- Rogwa Wodrata - Senator of Alliga and the Phelleem Sector
- Miraj Scintel - Queen of Zygerria
- Atai Molec - Prime Minister of Zygerria
Military and Defense[]
The military of the Confederacy of Independent Systems was a large and diverse military comprised of battle droids, weapons of war, organic fighters, native warriors, and legions of battle droids. Due to the Confederacy's military being supplied and supported by various corporations such as the Trade Federation and Techno Union, the Separatists possessed the largest known droid army in all of galactic history. The Separatist Droid Army was one of the largest armies in galactic history and was known for their overwhelming numbers which helped the Separatists conquere various worlds throughout the early stages of the Clone Wars and possed a threat to the Galactic Republic and their allies. The leaders of the Confederacy like Nute Gunray and Poggle weren't soldiers, but they made up for that with their knowledge and tactics and were capable of leading their troops while the rest of the Separatist Council was only capable of managing internal affairs and financing the droid armies. The military of the Confederacy was lead by various organic officers and commanders such as Oro Dassyne, Whorm Loathsom, Lok Durd, Merai and various other military generals and officers and the various droid factories helped mass produce the needed droids for their armies.
The Separatists were not only supported by their near-endless legions of battle droids from th B1 Battle Droids to the B2 Super Battle Droids along with the infamous Droidekas, they were also helped out by various organic volunteers and pro-Separatist militant groups from across the galaxy who enlisted on behalf of the Confederacy. Such organizations existed lik the Gossam Commandos, Neimodian Gunnery Battalion, and the Koorivar Fusiliers were among the many organic units that made up the Confederacy military. Many organix beings also volunteered during the war as well and formed various units who played major roles in holding back republic forces during their invasions of Confederate worlds, especiall during the Outer Rim Sieges towards the later stages of the war.
Culture and Society[]
The Confederacy was similiar to the republic in that it was large and diverse as a result of their size despite the Confederacy being smaller in comparison to the Republic. Countless different alien species made up the populations of Separatist contolled worlds and brought with them their various cultures and values as well. Humancentrism was far less prevelant in Separatist controlled space than the Republic due to the larger alien population in comparison to the Republic as well as the discrimination that many alien Republic citizens suffered which caused them to defect to the Confederacy during the Separatist Crisis. The Separatist valued their diversity as well and used it as a propaganda tool to be used against the republic during the war.
Due to the state of war that made up virtually all of the Confederacy's history, militarism and nationalism made up the mindsets and dominate ideologies of the Confederate population. Many were willing to volunteer to fight either as soldiers or allowed and/or worked in various droid factories that were established across Separatist control space in the galaxy. Despite having larger portions of alien citizens than the Republic, the Confederacy still took part in various acts of slavery during the war and were responsible for having many pro-Republic beings and even whole races enslaved due to their allegience during the war but kept it hidden from their citizens and even made an alliane with the Zygerrian Slave Empire as well and many Confederate officials bought slaves in the auctions on Zygerria.
Economy[]
The Confederacy was very similiar to that of the Galactic Republic in that trade dominated the entire economy. Tax rates were very low due to the various corporations that made up and lead the Separatists throughout the Clone Wars and were able to make high profits off of the war effort and it benefited the Confederate economy greatly. Many poor worlds in the Outer Rim were supported by the Separatist companies like the Trade Federation and Techno Union which built many droid factories and facilities on these worlds supporting their economy and Separatist financial support also benefited from client worlds owned by Separatist companies such as the Corporate Alliance and Commerce Guild regardless if the planets were in Republic or Separatist territory.
The Confederacy had their own currency and credit system formed after their secession in 24 BBY and was backed up by the InterGalactic Banking Clan during the war along with the Republic credit as well. The war brought in the most wealth to the Confederacy and profits were high as a result, however slave labor was often used by the Separatists as a means of supporting production and enslaved species and beings were often used in factories and facilities under Separatist control. These species were often enslaved due to their allegience to the Republic and the Trandoshans were given the permission to take part in the Separatist military and use slave labor to develop weapons in factories.
Astrography[]
The size of the Confederacy's territory had varied over the short history of the government. At the start of the Clone Wars, over ten thousand star systems had signed the Articles of Secession and seceded from the Galactic Republic. During the early campaigns of the war, Separatist forces advanced at a fast pace and conquered most of the Outer Rim and various portions of the Mid Rim rising the number of member systems by the thousands by 22 BBY. The size of Separatist space also grew when taking into account the various client states and worlds along with other systems and territories owned by the various companies that made up the Separatist Alliance as well as various puppet governments across the galaxy.