Confederacy of Independent Systems

The Confederacy of Independent Systems, abbreviated CIS and also known as the Separatist Alliance, was a confederation of outlying star systems that declared independence from the Galactic Republic, with its capital on the planet Raxus Secundus. Its secession traced back to the Raxus Address by former Jedi Master Count Dooku of Serenno, who pointed to excessive taxation, corruption in the Galactic Senate, and the neglect of the Outer Rim by the Core Worlds. Secretly backed by major galactic corporations and, unknown to its own members, controlled by the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious through Dooku, the Confederacy became one of the two combatants of the Clone Wars.

Secession from the Republic#

For a millennium the galaxy had been overseen by the Galactic Republic, but its government had grown weak and corrupt. A growing number of senators valued loyalty to their home systems over the Republic as a whole, while the commerce guilds and trading corporations grew disillusioned after new taxes fell hardest on poorer outlying worlds. Count Dooku channeled this dissatisfaction into a galaxy-wide secessionist movement. Thousands of disgruntled systems broke away to form the Confederacy, presenting it as a cure for the Republic's corruption. In truth, the movement was steered by the same corporate titans who had crippled the Senate, holding senators' home systems hostage to control their votes.

Corporate backers and leadership#

The Confederacy was supported by a coalition of corporations whose leaders formed its executive council: the Trade Federation under Viceroy Nute Gunray, the Stalgasin hive under Archduke Poggle the Lesser, the InterGalactic Banking Clan under Chairman San Hill, the Techno Union under Foreman Wat Tambor, the Commerce Guild under Presidente Shu Mai, and the Corporate Alliance under Magistrate Passel Argente. A Separatist Senate served as its civilian legislature, while General Grievous commanded its Droid Army. Behind all of it stood Darth Sidious, who led the Confederacy through Dooku while simultaneously governing the Republic as Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, deceiving both sides at once.

The Clone Wars#

The conflict between the Confederacy and the Republic exploded into the Clone Wars at the First Battle of Geonosis. After the arrival of the Grand Army of the Republic turned the battle, Poggle the Lesser entrusted Dooku with the plans for a moon-sized superweapon before the Separatist leadership retreated. Over the following three years the Confederacy fought on countless fronts, seizing control of major hyperspace lanes to isolate the Republic from its army. Its forces unveiled superweapons such as the warship Malevolence, whose ion cannon could disable entire fleets before Anakin Skywalker destroyed it during the Malevolence Campaign. The Separatists won and lost worlds in turn, fighting major engagements on Malastare, Mon Cala, Umbara, Felucia, and many others, and waging proxy campaigns alongside allies like the Zygerrian Slave Empire.

Failed peace and shifting alliances#

Following a secret meeting between Padmé Amidala and Separatist Senator Mina Bonteri, the Separatist Senate approved peace talks with the Republic. Dooku destroyed the process through two attacks: the murder of Bonteri and a bombing of the Republic capital on Coruscant. A later peace conference on Mandalore, presided over by Duchess Satine Kryze, collapsed when Lux Bonteri publicly accused Dooku of murdering his mother and the negotiations fell apart, denying the Confederacy the legitimacy it sought. The Death Watch of Mandalore briefly allied with the Confederacy, performing sabotage missions against Republic targets, while corporate intrigues such as the Trade Federation's blockade of Pantora drew further worlds toward the Separatist cause.

Defeat and dissolution#

By the third year of the war the Confederacy had suffered major defeats in the Outer Rim Sieges. It lost much of its fleet and its Head of State, Count Dooku, at the decisive Battle of Coruscant. In the days that followed, Grievous was neutralized on Utapau, collapsing the Separatist leadership and effectively ending the fighting. After the rise of the Galactic Empire, Viceroy Nute Gunray and the surviving leaders gathered on Mustafar hoping to secure peace with the new regime. Instead, Emperor Palpatine sent his apprentice Darth Vader to wipe out the remaining leadership and deactivate the droid army, bringing the Confederacy to its end.

Legacy#

With the Clone Wars over, the Galactic Empire reintegrated former Separatist worlds, though several holdouts survived in opposition to Imperial power. Many of these remnants were suppressed as Imperial rule expanded, but an idealized view of the Separatist cause persisted among its remaining supporters. Secessionist tendencies lingered for decades, surviving even into the era of the New Republic.