CHOAM
the galactic trade monopoly
CHOAM, the Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantiles, was the vast commercial monopoly that governed nearly all trade across the Imperium. Its directorships were the true measure of political power, and its profits, many of them tied to the spice melange, sustained the Great Houses.
The Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantiles, known throughout the Known Universe as CHOAM, was one of the major galactic organizations of the Corrino Empire and later the Atreides Empire. It was a gigantic monopoly encompassing all forms of commerce across the Imperium, and it controlled in practice all economic affairs of the cosmos. CHOAM relied on the Spacing Guild for transport, owing to the Guild's monopoly on faster-than-light travel, and its commerce touched nearly every product the Guild would carry, above all melange. Most economic ventures in the Imperium were conducted through CHOAM, in which the Imperial House, the Landsraad, the Bene Gesserit, and the Spacing Guild all held a stake. (Dune)
Role in the Imperium#
CHOAM was the largest single source of wealth in the Old Empire. Because it controlled interplanetary commerce, influence within the combine became the central goal of political maneuvering, pursued both to receive dividends and to skim off profits. Directorships in CHOAM were the real evidence of political power in the Imperium, and they passed with the shifts of voting strength within the Landsraad as that body balanced itself against the Emperor and his supporters. A directorship was the key to wealth, with each noble House dipping from the company's coffers whatever it could under that power. So many Houses depended on CHOAM profits, and so great a proportion of those profits depended on melange, that control of the combine was inseparable from control of Arrakis, the sole source of the spice. (Dune)
Structure#
CHOAM was the universal development corporation of the Imperium. It was controlled by the Emperor and the Great Houses of the Landsraad, which comprised the Minor Houses, the Great Houses and the Imperial House, with the Spacing Guild and the Bene Gesserit acting as silent partners. Its directorships went to the noble Houses and were prized as the key to wealth. (Dune)
Decline#
Under the God Emperor Leto Atreides II, who held the only supply of spice, CHOAM lived on as every other old power did, under his control. It was still part of the Imperium's commerce after the Scattering, when the Lost Ones and the Honored Matres began to return to the Old Empire. (God Emperor of Dune; Heretics of Dune)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CHOAM in Dune?
- CHOAM, the Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantiles, was a gigantic monopoly encompassing all forms of commerce across the Imperium, controlling in practice all economic affairs of the cosmos. It was one of the major galactic organizations of the Corrino Empire and later the Atreides Empire.
- Who controlled CHOAM?
- CHOAM's management and board were controlled by the Padishah Emperor and the Landsraad, with the Spacing Guild and the Bene Gesserit acting as silent partners. Directorships were held by the noble Houses and shifted with the balance of voting strength in the Landsraad.
- Why were CHOAM directorships so important?
- Directorships in CHOAM were the real evidence of political power in the Imperium, since the combine controlled interplanetary commerce and was the largest single source of wealth in the Old Empire. A directorship was the key to wealth, with each noble House dipping from the company's coffers whatever it could under that power.
- How was CHOAM connected to melange and Arrakis?
- So many Houses depended on CHOAM profits, and so great a proportion of those profits depended on melange, that control of the combine was inseparable from control of Arrakis, the sole source of the spice. CHOAM's commerce touched nearly every product the Spacing Guild would carry, above all melange.
- What happened to CHOAM's power over time?
- Under the God Emperor Leto Atreides II, CHOAM survived but, like every other power, under his control, since he held the spice. It was still trading in the time of Heretics of Dune, when the Lost Ones and the Honored Matres returned from the Scattering.
Gallery
Images via Dune Wiki
Sources
- BookDune, Frank Herbert, 1965
- BookGod Emperor of Dune, Frank Herbert, G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1981
- BookHeretics of Dune, Frank Herbert, G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1984
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry
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Melange, commonly called simply the spice, was a naturally produced awareness spectrum narcotic found only on Arrakis. It was the foundation of commerce, longevity, and interstellar travel across the Imperium, the single resource capable of creating or destroying an empire.
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The Scattering was the great dispersal of humanity into uncharted space that followed the death of the God Emperor Leto II. Driven by famine and the collapse of his empire, countless humans fled the Old Imperium forever, fulfilling the design of the Golden Path.
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