Trade Federation Directorate / TFD

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The Trade Federation was a very powerful Republic commerce guild, trade cartel, megacorporation, and lobbying group that was founded in 350 BBY as an association of business and trade groups with its own commercial trade fleet.

The Federation grew to dominate entire star systems and all major trade routes, and possessed a formidable private military. Toward the end of the Republic, it would become increasingly dominated by the commerce-savvy Neimoidians.

The Federation played a major role in the Clone Wars for its allegiance to the Confederacy of Independent Systems. It was dissolved and imperialized upon the Galactic Empire’s formation in 19 BBY but was not officially disbanded until the Imperial Senate was dissolved in 0 BBY.
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In 350 BBY the Trade Federation was founded in the Colonies by many species, including the Neimoidians. The Trade Federation became a shipping corporation and cartel. It made deals with Baktoid Armor Workshop and the Xi Char in order to form its own private military to accomplish their Sith-influenced aims. It was originally controlled by a directorate, which was led by a commanding Viceroy.

The Neimoidians who ran the Trade Federation received their organizational skills from running mass hives and fungus farms on their homeworld of Neimoidia and the Neimoidian purse worlds like Cato Neimoidia, Deko Neimoidia, and Koru Neimoidia.

The Trade Federation maintained a sizable monopoly on interstellar trade and held considerable sway in the Galactic Republic, even managing to gain a seat in the Senate on the same level as a member world, represented by Lott Dod.

In particular, they held maps of hyperspace routes closely rather than sharing them, enabling them to cement their hold over trade routes. Only the Jedi and the Office of the Supreme Chancellor were able to maintain maps of similar quality. The Federation had many planetary protectorates throughout the galaxy, often using the ceremonial halls inside their core ships to sign protectorship agreements.

Neimoidians were very influential in the leadership of the Directorate, though the Federation only became a Neimoidian monopoly in 33 BBY, when six other members of the Trade Federation Directorate were murdered, leaving only Viceroy Nute Gunray. He proceeded to fill up the vacancies with his Neimoidian puppets (some of whom later comprised the Occupation Council that took control of Theed after the Naboo invasion).

When Alaris Prime was discovered, a droid army under the leadership of Nute Gunray settled on the forest moon to begin stripping its resources and establish a base in the strategically located system, struggling against the moon’s native Gundarks. Unaware of the Trade Federation’s presence, the Wookiees legally brought colonists to Alaris Prime under the leadership of Attichitcuk, his son Chewbacca, and their friend Shoran. With the help of a Jedi force, the Federation left the moon.

After procuring the necessary resources on a number of planets, including Alaris Prime, Esseles, and Eos Sidious had approached Gunray and commanded him to use his cheap-and-dangerous army on the prosperous, distant and naïve planet of Naboo, who would fall to the Federation’s will without the unsuspecting Republic’s immediate aide or sympathy.
TradeFederationThe Trade Federation’s invasion force marches on the Naboo capital of Theed.

The Trade Federation protested the taxation of the Free Trade Zone by the Galactic Senate. As a daring example to other planets, Nute Gunray started a blockade to stop trade on Naboo. He was manipulated by Darth Sidious, who ordered him to invade Naboo. Two of the Trade Federations member species—the Caarites and the Filordi—felt this blockade would destroy the Federation, so they split off to form the Metatheran Cartel and forced the Federation out of the Cularin system.

The Trade Federation’s fleet was largely made up of converted Lucrehulk-class freighters. The Executive Board was unwilling to spend more credits (being the thrifty businessmen they were), and chose to convert their enormous commercial freight carriers into formidable, three-kilometer long warships, complete with shields, turbolasers, and military grade communications arrays. Also, the Trade Federation struck deals with numerous species, like the Colicoids and the Xi Char, to construct massive armies for the Federation.

In addition, even in the long awaited and profitable enterprise of battle, the Trade Federation warcraft were still manufactured inexpensively. Unwilling to spend more money on droid brains, the Trade Federation Executive Board proceeded to control their massive armies from a single central control computer aboard a Lucrehulk-class Droid Control Ship.

Following the Invasion of Naboo, the Federation began diversifying its fleets, with new destroyers and cruisers using the modular core ships as control cores. In addition, Pammant Docks provided the Trade Federation with massive Providence-class carrier/destroyers, such as the Invisible Hand.

Around 24 BBY, Count Dooku began rallying various systems and corporations to form the Confederacy of Independent Systems on Raxus Prime including the Trade Federation which established the Separatist Council with Nute Gunray as its head.

“With these new battle droids we’ve built for you, you’ll have the finest army in the galaxy.” ―Wat Tambor to Nute Gunray, telling how the Techno Union has built one of the strongest armies in galactic history for the Trade Federation

In 22 BBY at the wake of the Clone Wars, Nute Gunray pledged the Trade Federation’s resources to said cause in exchange for the death of Padmé Amidala, as revenge for the fiasco on Naboo. Unfortunately, a botched attempt on Amidala’s life by Zam Wesell resulted in Obi-Wan Kenobi tracking a bounty hunter to Geonosis, where Gunray and the other various members of the CIS had gathered. Kenobi was captured, but this merely resulted in Anakin Skywalker and Amidala setting out to rescue Kenobi.

Eventually, these events spiralled into Mace Windu leading a Jedi attack on the arena where the prisoners were about to be executed, much to Gunray’s dismay. Upon Yoda’s arrival with a large clone army, it descended into a full scale battle, starting off the Clone Wars between the Confederacy and the Republic. The Trade Federation was unable to break off now, and soon Federation automata formed much of the CIS army.

During the Clone Wars, planet Rosha was deeply involved with the Trade Federation.

With Nute Gunray’s death in 19 BBY at the hands of former Jedi Anakin Skywalker, now Darth Vader, the Trade Federation fell. Acting Viceroy Sentepeth Findos who was on Cato Neimoidia resisted for a brief moment but was forced by Stormtroopers to sign a peace treaty with the Empire only a few days after the Clone Wars ended, giving all of the Federation’s resources to Palpatine’s disposal to help him build the Galactic Empire but there was still some resistance. This had made the federation a puppet government of the Imperial Senate. Some of the insurgents were absorbed into the Rebel Alliance in 2 BBY. The rest continued to be a puppet government until they sank with the Imperial Senate in 0 BBY. Several months after the Battle of Yavin, the empire defeated what was left of the insurgents.

Nonetheless, Trade Federation holdouts remained after the Battle of Yavin. Fanatical loyalists, zealots, and avengers affiliated with the Trade Federation remained on the planet Naboo, where they were considered enemies of the Royal Naboo Security Forces and the Nal Raka Criminal Empire led by Borvo the Hutt. In fact, the Nal Raka Criminal Empire assumed control over the Old Trade Federation Route following the Invasion of Naboo.