Citizens of the Republic I stand before you proud and thankful for the honor and privilege that I've been bestowed by you, the people to serve as the new Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. We live in dark and dangerous times as enemies are spread throughout the galaxy threatening to bring down our republic. A republic that has brought freedom, peace, democracy and salvation to trillions of beings across the galaxy and I stand before you as a proud and patriotic leader who will lead as a devoted and proud chancellor dedicated to safety and security of both the republic and democracy. Thank you and Long Live the Republic.
—Supreme Chancellor Sheeve Palpatine
The Galactic Republic, also known as the Republic, was the dominate ruling government of the galaxy that had existed for over 25 thousand years prior to the rise of the Galactic Empire. The republic was a representative democracy comprised of millions of star systems and worlds from all across the galaxy all united under one single democratic banner and served as a union of soveriegn planets banned together for economic and political prosperity for all of the galaxy's citizens. The republic was divided into three branches; executive, legistlative, and judicial which made up the central government. The Supreme Chancellor was the head of state and worked alongside the head of government, the Prime Minister and both were kept in check by the Galactic Senate.
Throughout the milleniums, the Galactic Republic reigned supreme as the domiante ruling government in the entire galaxy spanning across all known regions of the galaxy from Core Worlds all the way out into the far reaches of the Outer Rim. Throughout the centuries, the republic had come under attack from countless enemies and threats most notablely, the Sith. The republic was protected by the Jedi, who existed long before the republic did and the two forces fought together in order to preserve freedom, peace, and democracy throughout the entire galaxy. The republic would enter into many conflicts from the Great Hyperspace Wars with the early Sith to the Mandalorian Wars and the Great Galactic War which severly crippled the Republic along with the Jedi Civil War. After centuries of fighting however, the republic survived and eventually reorganized during the Ruusan Reformation and by the end of the New Sith Wars, they proved their worth to be the galaxy's domiante and sole true government.
The Galactic Republic would persist throughout the Post-Old Republic Era period but, it became more and more reliant on their Jedi protectors and the government also became increasingly corrupt with corporate influence as well as greed snuck into politics. The disaster on Naboo as well as a lack of representation in the Outer Rim Territories among others and high taxation rates caused thousands of star systemts to secede and join the Confederacy of Independent Systems sparking the Clone Wars in 22 BBY. The three year conflict would be devestating for the republic and the galaxy and would end with both sides being dissolved and taken over by the Darth Sidious and would reform the republic into the Galactic Empire thus, bringing centuries of democracy to an end.
History[]
Foundation and Early History[]
The Galactic Republic was officially formed in the eyar 25,053 BBY after the signing and ratification of the Galactic Constitution during the Unification Wars. During the conflict, the Human and Duros races had reversed-engineered force-based technologies of the Infinite Empire resulting in the creation of the hyperdrive and the planet of Coruscant became the capital of the new government fifty-three years later and would remain the republic's capitol for the next 25 thousand years. The founding members of this new government were primarily human colonists from the Core Worlds who were largely protected from outside influence from organizations such as the GenoHaradan, an organization that sought to have the new government flourish and who's existance was largely unknown by the galactic population, even the Jedi Order never knew that they existed.
The Galactic Republic was blessed by the mapping of the Perlemian Trade Route which brought Jedi Knights into the republic as well as allowed trading from the other regions of the galaxy into the Core Worlds and vise versa which helped financially support and grow the new government. A currency was formed known as the credit and this would motivate the Muun species to form the InterGalactic Banking Clan and engage in trading with the republic further growing the new government and would help it grow beyond the Core Worlds. Coruscant began expanding slowly but, membershio exploded in 25,000 BBY as countless worlds joined the republic growing its territory at a rapid and alarming rate mainly due to these worlds wanting protection from the Hutt Empire and the republic capital became a major galactic hub.
Expansion and Early Conflicts[]
As the republic began to expand and annex the vast regions and systems of the galaxy, it wasn't long before they found themselves entangled in various wars and conflicts with various empires and other belligerents. For years, the knights of the Jedi Order had protected and defended the republic from all outside threats and enemies and fought alongside the ancient armies and navies of the republic all across the galaxies in countless wars and conflicts. In 24,5000 BBY, the First Great Schism had occured and the Jedi soon found themselves at war with dissedent members of the order who rejected the Jedi ways and teachings. They wer eventually defeated but, these fallen Jedi would not be the last of their kind and others would fall centuries later. The Toinese War broke out five hundred years later where the republic fought against the Honorable Union of Deservo and Tion which resulted in a republic victory by sturring up the Hutts against the Tionnese species.
From 20,000 - 17,000 BBY, the republic expanded eastward during the Great Manifest Period but the Slice remained part of navigable space. Slice however, found its northern and southern borders reached by the republic and annexed into the government's territory but most of the galaxy had remained unknown and still unexplored. The Expansion Region was eventually formed as other worlds such as Ord Mantell and Malastare were discovered by the republic and new trade routes were mapped out. In 7003 BBY, the Jedi went to war again during the Second Great Schism in which fallen Jedi had emerged and betrayed their masters in another conflict. The war ended with a Republic/Jedi victory but, the defeated fallen knights went into exile and established a new regime on the dark world of Korriban where they exiled Jedi formed the Sith Order based on the red-skin species of the same name due to their connection to the dark side of the force in 6900 BBY after the exiles became the new masters of the Sith species and trained them as well.
The Great Hyperspace War []
Around 5000 BBY, the Sith Order had been around for centuries and had established an empire on Korriban that spanned across other neighboring worlds such as Zoist creating the Sith worlds as a result. The Sith remained a secret. but they clashed with the Jedi Order once again in 5000 BBY sparking the Great Hyperspace War. The Sith wer eager to get revenge on the Jedi for their defeat centuries ago and thus, waged war on them and the republic which the Jedi had protected. The war spread far across the galaxy with Sith forces being able to attack Coruscant but, their leader was betrayed by a power-hungry rival and the invasion ended with the near-destruction of all Sith forces on Coruscant. The Sith fought among themselves and this allowed Korriban, Zoist and other Sith Worlds to be invaded and decimated by the Republic forces in what would become the Sith holocaust thus, ending the war for good.
The Sith however, were not extinct and instead, the survivors fled into exile escaping to Dromund Kaas to rebuild while the Jedi and the republic remained oblivious and believed them to be dead. After the war, a Jedi Temple was built on Coruscant and it became the main headquarters for the Jedi Order as well as the seat of their power and became one of the republic's most iconic landmarks along with Coruscant's as well. Coruscant became a battlefield once again when fighting broke out in 4250 BBY during the Third Great Schism which forced all known Dark Jedi to flee to the Vultar System and discovered ancient technology there.
Mandalorian and Jedi Civil Wars[]
Around 4000 BBY, the Galactic Republic would get involved in a series of conflicts knowna s the Old Sith Wars which would devestate the republic and nearl-destroy it as a whole. The first conflict was the Great Sith War (4000 - 39996 BBY) where the Sith Lords Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma with support of Krath and Mandalorian allies waged war against the republic which left devestation and destruction across the republic until the Republic Military and their Jedi allies finally defeated the dark lords bringing the war to an end. This would later be followed by the Mandalorian Wars (3966 - 3960 BBY) where the Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders lead by Mandalore the Ultimate sought to expand their territory and establish colonies beyond the Outer Rim Territories. The Mandalorians would reak havok upon the republic with the government being saved from collapse by the hands of rogue Jedi Knights Revan and Malak who defeated the Mandalorians at the Battle of Malachor V and killed Mandalore the Ultimate and pursued the remaining Mandalorian forces after the battle.
After Revan and Malak chased the survivng Mandalorian forces, they came across the Sith Emperor and would later be brainwashed into becoming Sith Lords and warriors for the resurrgent Sith Empire which recovered centuries after the devestating defeat on Korriban at the end of the Great Hyperspace War. The Mandalorian Wars however, was a prelude to the more destructive Jedi Civil War which not only nearl-destroyed the republic but also pushed the Jedi Order to near-collapse. Revan and Malak returned and this time, they established their own Sith Empire and waged war against the already battered and weakened republic and the frailing Jedi Order with plans to use the Star Forge as the endgame being put into immediate effect. It was the most desstructive conflict of the entire Old Republic Era with entire worlds devestated and the entire Sith fleet having been wipped out completely.
Sith Return and Great Galactic War[]
In 3681 BBY, the Sith Empire had returned after centuries in hiding rebuilding and took the republic by storm. This instigated the Great Galactic War and would span across the entire known galaxy with the war officially beginning after Korriban was retaken by the Sith. After retaking Korriban, the Sith Imperial Forces marched forward conquering the Outer Rim with ease and pushing straight towards the Core Worlds while the senate debated, the Jedi hesitated, and the republic retreated. The Sith Empire won victory after victory and morale for the republic plummited until the decsivie republic victory at Bothawui which rejuvinated morale among the republic and motivated them to push forward. When the Sith tried to take Bothawui again, they on but suffered heavy casualties and losses and proved that even the mighty Sith weren't unstoppable. The republic continued to push forward as well with their successful capture of the Dread Masters and their victory on Alderaan which eventually forced the Sith to call in their Mandalorian allies and have a blockade imposed to cut off republic supply lines.
In response, the republic hired Hylo Visz and her smuggler cartel to attack and break the Mandalorian blockade in exchange for payment and she complied and much to the fortune of the republic, she broke the blockade and supplies came in smoothly. Despite these victories however, the Sith still pushed onward and eventually made it to Coruscant where they invaded and ransacked the planet destroying many buildings, including the Jedi Temple, and ultimately forcing the republic to the negotiating table where the Treaty of Coruscant was signed thus, the war ended and the both the Republic and the Jedi Order lied in ruins.
New Sith Wars and Recovery []
In the centuries following the Great Galactic War, the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire were entagled in a Cold War which ended when hostilieis errupted again and the Eternal Empire launched an invasion of the galaxy where they won and forced both sides to retreat. A slave revolt broke out however and the Eternal Empire collapsed and reformed into the Eternal Alliance while most of their former worlds were anenxed either back into the republic or into the Sith Empire. Prior to 2000 BBY, the Sith Empire mysteriously collapsed and the republic re-annexed all former Sith Imperial worlds back into the republic. The Sith however, were still not dead and returned once more in 2000 BBY where they waged yet another war against the republic under the banner of the New Sith. Like before, the Sith overran the republic and eventually forced it into a mere rump state cornered in the Core Worlds and the senate, desperate to save the republic, gave the Jedi full authority over the government and the remnants of the Republic military. Eventually, the Jedi spearheaded by the Army of Light launched an offensive against the Sith and overran them retaking back lost worlds and reclaiming lost territory.
In 1000 BBY, the Jedi and Republic won at the Seventh Battle of Ruusan which saw the destruction of the New Sith, Brotherhood of Darkness, and the near-extinction of the Sith Order as a whole with only Darth Bane being left as the sole survivor. Bane would go on to create the Rule of Two and restore the Sith back to their former glory but, in a new and more effecient way while the Republic established its power again and reclaimed its place as the rulers of the galaxy. At the end of the war, the remnants of the Sith went into hiding while the Russan Reformation was conducted which radically altered and reformed the republic as well as help save it and restore is honor back.
Decline and birth of secession []
Over the next couple of centuries following the end of the Old Republic Era, the Galactic Republic was finally at a state of peace. The Republic had finally recovered and reclaimed its former glory, the Jed Order was reorganized, and alive and the Sith were believed to be extinct. The Republic had grown more and more in terms of power, but it also grew to become more corrupt as well. Bureacracy and had grown to infest the Republic over the millenium and chocked any attempt at an effective government. Corporations like the Trade Federation and the Techno Union also grew in size to the point of having their own militaries and had large sums of power and influence in the senate as a result of the growing rate of corruption and greed in Republic politics. Naboo was cut off with a blockad and even invaded by the Trade Federation in 32 BBY prompting a resone but, the Republic could do nothing and so, Sheeve Palpatine was elected into office and the invasion of Naboo would be repealed, but it would also signal the beginning of the end of the Republic.
Over the next eight years, taxation would only increase throughout the galaxy and burdensome regulations were imposed on trade routes making economic growth and development in places like the Outer Rim nearly impossible. In response, a new movement was formed of secessionists and they advocated for secession from the Galactic Republic in favor of a new government which would represent them. Such an idea was turned into a reality when former Jedi Knight Dooku, took over the separatist movement and declared the establishment of the Confederacy of Independent Systems in 24 BBY and would later rally tens of thousands of star systems to the cause of Confederacy while the republic grew weaker and more corrupt. This however, was all part of a secret plan as while the Separatist Crisis rocked the senate, the Sith conspired to take power and would use the separatists as part of their master plan.
Clone Wars and dissolution []
In 22 BBY, the leaders of the Confederacy of Independent Systems gathered on Geonosis where they were to ratify the treaty and announce their secession from the Galactic Republic as well hand over all assests and resources to the Separatist cause. The treaty was signed and the Confederacy officially announced their secession from the republic. During that time however, Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi along with Senator Padme Amidala were all captured while they were on Geonosis and were to be executed when a Jedi task force came in and rescued them in the Geonosis stadium. During the battle, the Jedi held their ground but most of them were cut down and killed before being saved by the newly formed Clone Army. The Clone forces would then engage the Separatist Droid Army on the deserts on Geonosis sparking the beginning of the Clone Wars and would span across the entire galaxy and would tear it apart as well.
Following the outbreak of the war, the republic had lost almost the entire Outer Rim and large portions of the Mid Rim to as many worlds defected to the Confederacy in response to years of neglect and abuse at the hands of the senate and the republic. The republic would battle the Separatists across the entire galaxy over the span of three years where the galaxy was split in two and whole star systems and regions were ravaged by war leaving trillions dead and whole societies in shambles and ruin. In 19 BBY, the Separatist forces invaded Coruscant taking advantage of the thinnly-spread Republic armies and almost captured Chancellor Palpatine befor Kenobi and Skywalker came in and saved him. Dooku was killed and Grievous took over, but it didn't take long for the war to come to an end where they Jedi found out about Palpatine's Sith identity and tried to have him arrested which resulted in him surviving, Anakin becoming his apprentice, and the execution of Order 66. The Jedi Order was in ruins and that same year, the republic was dissolved and reformed into the Galactic Empire bringing an end to democracy.
Legacy and Impact []
After the Clone Wars had ended, Palpatine gave his famous Decleration of a New Order and the republic was officially dissolved. Following the formation of the Galactic Empire, the republic was declared as the "Old" Republic by Imperial authorities who began to censor and abolish any survivng remnants of the old republic from symbols to government bodies and ideals to purge them from the imperial populace. The democratic ideals and beliefs came to an end and the authoritiarian ideals of the empire were reinforced and while the majority of the general population had accepted the new ideology of the empire, many did not and this included those within the Republic Military. Following the collapse and surrender of the remnants of the Separatists in 18 BBY, various factions of the Republic Armed Forces had escaped into the outermost regions of the gaalxy and occupied many worlds and secured control over worlds that were occupied during the Clone Wars and formed the Provisional Government of the Republic in its place. The provisional government was formed to preserve the Republic and its ideals and would go to war with the Empire in 12 BBY and managed to convince many rebel cells to join the cause. By 10 BBY, the provisional government and its rebel allies merged to form the Alliance to Restore the Republic and waged a galaxy-wide civil war against the empire.
Government and Politics[]
The Galactic Republic was a democratic federal government comrpised of three branches; executive, legistlative, and judicial as a means of having a system of checks and balances in order to retain the democratic ideals of the government. The central government was located in Coruscant and was lead by Galactic Senate as the legistlative branch behind the Supreme Chancellor who served as the head of state. The executive branch was the Office of the Supreme Chancellor which was lead by both the Chancellor and the head of government, the Prime Minsiter while the Supreme Court reigned as the Judicial Branch. The biggest weakness of the republic was that the government was a coalition of numerous sovereign planets and star systems which did cooperate together for peace and prosperity but many would only work to improve themselves which was more prominent during the final days of the republic.
Various government bodies and ministries had also been around to and they served to help the general public with their basic necessities which was headed by the General Ministry that was handeled by the bureacratic nature of the republic. Various government agencies that existed included the ministries of Education, Health, State, Intelligence, Commerce, Defense, Finance, Liscenses and Permits, Public Information, Security, Science, Security and Intelligence, Science and Education, and Internal Security.
Military and Defense[]
The Republic Military was one of the most powerul and largest standing armies in all of galactic history. The Galactic Republic knew to form a military during its early days due to the harsh and cruel nature of the era as well as the many violent species they'd run into and so, they began building fleets and ships for their navy and assembling troops for their army. The Republic Military was overseen by the Ministry of Defense and was lead by the Supreme Commander of the Republic Armed Forces who served as the commander-in-chief. The military had a ranking system and fought hard throughout the deadly wars that made up the Old Republic Era.
After the New Sith Wars ended, the Ruusan Reformation was conducted and in accordance with the reformation, the Republic Military was abolished in favor of the Judicial Forces who served as a peacekeeping force. This was done to demonstrate the peaceful ideals of the republic as well as have the Jedi Knights fufil their roles as peacekeepers as well. After the outbreak of the Clone Wars however, the Judicial Forces were disbanded and instead were replaced by the Grand Army of the Republic which was made up of clone soldiers from the DNA of the infaous bount hunter, Jango Fett, in order to combat the vast droid armies of the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
Culture and Society[]
The Galactic Republic was a large and diverse society comprised of trillions of sentient beings from countless different species and races. As a result, the culture of the republic was very diverse and was made up of countless different ideals, beliefs, customs, and values that originated from the various races that made up republic society. The republic had a very liberal policy towards certain culture practicies such as art and it showed throughout the various republic worlds. Various groups of people also existed from religious communities like the Jedi, to hive-like groups, to urbanized city dwellers like those of Coruscant and there was a high level of tolerance on average. As a result, diversity was highly valued in the republic and was often championed as one of the republic's core values and accomplishments.
Despite this diverse culture and high tolerance however, Humancentrism remained a prominate ideology throughout the republic despite it being illegal according to the Rights of Sentience clause of the Galactic Constitution and continued to exist. Human supremactis organizations such as Czerka had entire alien races enslaved while other worlds such as Taris reserved their best sections for humans and forced aliens to live in croweded ghettos. The majority of slaves in the galaxy were non-human at the time and this caused many alien republic citizens to defect to the Confederacy due to their alien majority population.
Economy[]
The Galactic Republic had the most control over the Galactic Economy and was linked to the Republic's regulatory powers, production of dataries, and authorization of relevant bodies. The heart of the Galactic Economy was trade and the dominate trading hub of the galaxy was at the center in Coruscant, the Republic's capital. Exports between the various member systems were capable of supporting various local economies, but it needed interplanerary exports in orde to support such actions and policies on massive scale exchange. While some worlds had their own shipping fleets, the majority relied on other trading companies and transport systems in order to help support their economies, especially the various Outer Rim worlds which suffered higher levels of poverty in comparison to the rest of the Republic and galaxy as a whole. Various currencies were used across the Republic in their many member systems but the Republic dataries were the most widespread and valuable currency of them all and were accepted by most worlds. Since its inception, the Republic Credit was backed up by the InterGalactic Banking Clan on Muunilist but it did also support the Confederate Credit during the Clone Wars to.
Astrography[]
The Galactic Republic had control over most of the known galaxy stretching from the Core Worlds and Colonies to as far as the Outer Rim territories (at least partially), though preference for the colonies and core worlds was common policy. The number of planets that were under republic control was at around three million at the height of its power but, it shrank to 1.3 million in 21 BBY at the start of the Clone Wars due to the impact of Old Republic Era conflicts as well as the various worlds that seceded in favor of the Confederacy. Coruscant was the capital of the republic as well as the primary economic and political hub of the entire galaxy and was located deep in the Core Worlds.